Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
There has been progress over the last decades: More girls are going to school, fewer girls are forced into early marriage, more women are serving in parliament and positions of leadership, and laws are being reformed to advance gender equality.
Despite these gains, many challenges remain: discriminatory laws and social norms remain pervasive, women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership, and 1 in 5 women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 report experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner within a 12-month period.
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic could reverse the limited progress that has been made on gender equality and women’s rights. The coronavirus outbreak exacerbates existing inequalities for women and girls across every sphere – from health and the economy, to security and social protection.
Women play a disproportionate role in responding to the virus, including as frontline healthcare workers and carers at home. Women’s unpaid care work has increased significantly as a result of school closures and the increased needs of older people. Women are also harder hit by the economic impacts of COVID-19, as they disproportionately work in insecure labour markets. Nearly 60 per cent of women work in the informal economy, which puts them at greater risk of falling into poverty.
The pandemic has also led to a steep increase in violence against women and girls. With lockdown measures in place, many women are trapped at home with their abusers, struggling to access services that are suffering from cuts and restrictions. Emerging data shows that, since the outbreak of the pandemic, violence against women and girls – and particularly domestic violence – has intensified.Thanks.
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Hello Dennis! I really enjoyed reading your post, but it also made me quite sad. As most of the world already struggles with record deficits brought on by the global COVID-2019 pandemic, women have to not only work much harder, but suffer more as well. And I believe that this is one of the best examples that the world is not fair; while the majority of women have done nothing but help the world and care for people, they are getting hit far harder than men, and it is showing. At the same time though, I believe that we need to keep our heads high and fight even more now for gender equality than before. It is going to be much more difficult, but if we work with each other instead of against each other, we can do it!
P.S. Don’t forget to cite your sources!
Some resources you may find useful are:
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/future-of-work/covid-19-and-gender-equality-countering-the-regressive-effects#:~:text=Women%20are%20more%20vulnerable%20to,to%20the%20COVID%2D19%20pandemic.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/covid-19-gender-inequality-jobs-economy/
Hi Dennis!
I think that this is a very interesting topic, since many people overlook the major impact covid has had on women and our fight for equality. All of a sudden, women who have worked so hard for their careers find themselves at home cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the kids. As Victor mentioned, we need to take a stand against this, and work hard to make sure we don’t lose any of the progress we’ve already made. It’s difficult, because we need to find a way to keep fighting for gender equality, while still respecting the measures in place to protect against covid. I was wondering, do you have any ideas on how we could prevent some of the things you mentioned from happening?
I look forward to reading your future research,
-Jasmine Paduraru