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COVID-19 and new gender equations
Respond, Recover, And Thrive
We are delighted to partner with the UN ecosystem to promote gender equality and release our report COVID-19 and new gender equations: Respond, recover, and thrive during the fourth edition of the Gender Equality Summit.
The pandemic has had widespread implications on economies and societies. Our research indicates that the economic, social, and health consequences on women and girls have been significant, widening existing gender gaps and reversing decades of positive gender shifts. As businesses and communities attempt to rebound from lockdown cycles and continue social distancing, the gendered economic impact is the most tangible. The female labour force participation in India is already one of the lowest in the world and these existing gender inequalities seem to have widened during the pandemic. The negative economic impact in terms of loss of livelihoods has been largely observed in women employed in the informal sector. Before COVID-19, women employed in low-medium skill jobs saw wage disparities, while they experienced significant job and income loss during the pandemic (25 percent women vs. 21 percent men). 1 Around 740 million women globally are employed in the unorganised sector and 60 percent of them experienced lower incomes in the first month after the spread of the virus. 2 In combination with the economic challenges, a shadow pandemic emerged in terms of negative social and health impact on women.
Government, industry, intermediary organisations, and not-for-profits will play a key role in any gendered recovery. Our report provides actionable insights for stakeholders to advocate and invest in gender-inclusive and gender-responsive policies and programmes. Read more in our report.
1 UN Women. Sep 2020. COVID-19 and its economic toll on women: The story behind the numbers
2 UN Women. From Insight to Action: Gender Equality in the Wake of Covid-19. 2020.
