This article asks the questions:How do we reach the goal of gender-mainstreamed health systems across countries of the world? How can health systems be gender responsive and gender resilient? With whom should we engage, and how, so that the catastrophic effects of disease outbreaks are offset for individuals and collectives whose disadvantages are compounded by intersecting identities and characteristics, including gender?These and other questions were crowdsourced across 5 thematic areas for the research prioritisation process on gender and COVID-19 co-convened by the United Nations University – International Institute for Global Health, and the University of the Western Cape’s School of Public Health.