Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic left its mark on family life, fertility, and gender dynamics. While immediate impacts, including astonishing variation in the pandemic’s fertility response, have been well documented, less is known about the longer-term pandemic implications for reproductive processes, fertility, family dynamics, particularly through a gender lens. Moreover, a geographical knowledge divide emerged: Research on the Global North has primarily examined changing fertility motivations, birth rates, and gendered time use, while research on the Global South has focused on access to and use of reproductive health services and related behaviours (e.g., contraceptive use). The pandemic is now over and COVID-19 is endemic, however, its consequences likely extend to family and fertility dynamics across the globe.  

Questions emerge to strengthen understanding of these post-pandemic effects: How are medium- and long-term effects of the pandemic on family and fertility dynamics unfolding? In what ways did the pandemic exacerbate or otherwise affect gender inequalities in family and fertility dynamics? What underlies the unexplained heterogeneities in the pandemic impact on birthrates, and are gender dynamics part of the explanation? How do pandemic impacts on fertility, family, and reproductive processes such as contraception, abortion, or sexual behaviours vary between the Global North and Global South, and what do we know about their gender implications?   

This conference aims to bring together scholars who examine these issues. The organisers invite submissions that document reproductive processes, fertility, and family dynamics from pre- to post-pandemic across the globe, investigate their causes and correlates, place them into established or novel theoretical contexts, or use new data sources or methods to illuminate or predict such outcomes. They are particularly interested in research which investigates the gendered dimensions of reproductive processes, fertility, and family dynamics, and traces gender inequalities in families and reproductive issues and change therein from pre-to post COVID-19 pandemic times. 

Deadline for submissions is 30 April 2025.

The conference will take place on Sunday the 13th of July 2015 as a side meeting to the IPC 2025 at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, as an in-person meeting. Please submit an abstract of 300-500 words, including information on the research question, theoretical background, data, methods, and hypotheses or results, via the IUSSP Abstract Submission Form. Any conference-related inquiries may be directed to postpandemic@iussp.org. Applicants will be notified about the outcome by May 10. 

A special issue based on conference contributions is envisioned—more information to follow. 

The meeting is organized by Natalie Nitsche, Anna Kurowska, Celia Karp and the IUSSP Panel on COVID-19, Fertility, and the Family.