NEW HAVEN, Dec. 4 -- The gender dimension of the pandemic has received far less attention than its racial and socioeconomic aspects. Whenever we do shift our focus to the post-pandemic recovery, we must use that occasion to enact changes that will improve women's lives.

Although COVID-19 infections and deaths are surging in many parts of the world, recent announcements of apparently successful vaccine trials have offered a light at the end of the tunnel. One hopes we can soon redirect our attention from the urgent need to save lives to the longer-term costs of the pandemic, not least those being borne disproportionately by women.

The pandemic has compounded a longstanding problem for women around the world: large and persistent barriers...