Focus-19

Do men and women call 2-1-1 for different reasons?

Americans calling 2-1-1 since COVID-19 are disproportionately women, but it varies a lot based on the caller’s needs. Nearly all requests (80-90%) for diapers and toilet paper, child care, and clothing and household items come from women. Similarly, three out of four requests for food, rent, mortgage and utility payments come from women. Men make up a larger proportion of requests to 2-1-1s for job search (35%) and unemployment benefits (34%) and transportation assistance (34%). Men also make up 35% of all COVID-19 information requests. The chart below shows proportions of requests to 2-1-1s from women (pink) and men (blue) for 13 different needs. Mouseover each bar to see the proportion women and men. All requests were made between March 15 and April 18, 2020, to 2-1-1s in 19 states that capture and report callers’ sex: AL, AR, CA, CT, FL, HI, IA, IL, KY, MD, ME, NC, NE, NJ, NY, OH, PA, WA, WY.

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