The COVID 19 crisis has laid bare the entrenched gender inequalities that, compounded with other inequalities, plague labour markets. As the latest ILO Monitor: COVID-19 and the world of work, fifth edition has shown, the employment of women is relatively at greater risk than that of men, due to their overrepresentation in the service sectors severely impacted by the crisis. In this interview, Valeria Esquivel, Senior Employment Policies and Gender Officer/ILO EMPLOYMENT Policy Department, discusses how the current crisis is different from previous crises in terms of its impact on women workers, and highlights some policy recommendations the ILO has to offer.