The Importance of a Global Gender-Responsive COVID-19 Recovery Plan

Women and girls tend to be the most vulnerable groups during conflict and crisis, and COVID-19 has put them more at risk all around the world.

Women are more likely to be exposed to the virus and experience the social and economic challenges created by the pandemic. They disproportionately work in the care economy as health care and frontline workers and are usually the ones to look after their families and children. They are overrepresented in industries hardest hit by the pandemic.

Access to women’s health care becomes even more limited as resources get diverted to combat the virus, a common trend during epidemics. The list goes on and on.

Millions of girls may not return to school in 2021 and domestic violence rates are skyrocketing. Women who have been able to hold onto their jobs during the pandemic still receive the lowest wages for work in developing and developed countries alike.

At this rate, it could take 163 years to close the gender wage gap — even longer if women keep leaving the workforce in droves.

A global gender-responsive COVID-19 recovery is imperative to keeping the world on track to achieve the United Nations’ Global Goals and can help end extreme poverty through sustainable development by 2030.

Here’s why world leaders, corporations, philanthropists, activists, and everyday Global Citizens must take action before it’s too late.

3 Things You Should Know About Global Gender-Responsive COVID-19 Recovery

• Only 1 in 8 countries worldwide had measures in place to protect women from the social and economic impacts of COVID-19.
• COVID-19 could push 47 million women into poverty.
• Women make up 39% of global employment but account for 54% of job losses overall. Women’s jobs are also 1.8 times more vulnerable than men’s jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.