Employment, Skills and Human Capital
When we look at air pollution and climate change, we see two dire situations: As the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt across the world’s economies, supporting SMEs to maintain operations and employment is rightfully the focus of policymakers and industry-leading businesses. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) need to remain top of mind in the months to come to ensure the vibrancy, diversity, economic stability and creativity of all industries globally. • The pandemic is an opportunity to change higher-education delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic is a tragic health crisis causing irreversible damage to the global economic and financial system. It is also worsening trade restrictions and reducing trade volumes globally. Coupled with the scarcity of financing in general, and trade financing in specific, coronavirus is causing serious damage to developing economies. Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nation The first phase of the COVID-19 crisis posed an unprecedented challenge for the private sector. In early March, as the pandemic took hold and lockdowns went into effect in the US, companies scrambled to adapt to profound disruptions to their business operations and markets. The rush to protect employees, jobs, financial liquidity – and in some cases the survival of the firm – was all-consuming for many companies. The COVID-19 pandemic is posing challenges to governments and institutions around the world. To address urgent public health and economic needs, stakeholders are coordinating and forming new partnerships—in some instances led by international organizations. Yet, there has also been an increase in geopolitical turbulence as global stress points are exacerbated by competition over resources, battles over national narratives, and overall questions about the benefits of globalization. COVID-19 has created a human tragedy on a huge scale, with deep consequences for the global economy that will lead to an extended recession and long-term hardship. The way the world views drones is changing. Once a nuisance buzzing around our heads, drones are now life-saving tools in the battle against COVID-19. When China overtakes the United States as the biggest economy in the world, as it will do in the next few years, that will be just one milestone. With the country’s growth likely to continue at a relatively fast pace for the next generation, it will soon become by far the largest economy in the world. China’s rapidly expanding influence on the world stage – and its assertiveness in pursuing its strategic interests – will become ever greater. As much of the world shelters in place, a new future is being invented. The global pandemic, for all the human misery it has wrought, is changing communities in profound ways, forcing people and businesses to fundamentally rethink basic assumptions. Amid the grim statistics, there are countless stories of human adaptability and courage. Businesses too have been battered like never before, yet there are numerous examples of innovation and resilience. A “strategic mindset” may be key to success, research finds. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest jobs report, roughly 17.75 million Americans were unemployed in June 2020, resulting in an unemployment rate of 11.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of people that are currently not employed is much higher than 17.75 million, however, as a look at another indicator, the employment-population ratio, reveals. The COVID-19 pandemic could be a game-changer for digital financial services. Low-income households and small firms can benefit greatly from advances in mobile money, fintech services, and online banking. Financial inclusion as a result of digital financial services can also boost economic growth. While the pandemic is set to increase use of these services, it has also posed challenges for the growth of the industry’s smaller players and highlighted unequal access to digital infrastructure. Several actions will need to be taken to ensure maximum inclusion going forward. The world has been planning for the future in the mistaken belief that it will resemble the past. But as COVID-19 coincides with cyclones in South Asia and the Pacific and vast locust swarms in East Africa, the need to prepare for a world of unexpected shocks has become clearer than ever. Epidemics, floods, storms, droughts, and wildfires are all expected to become more frequent and severe, affecting hundreds of millions of people each year. What is common between leaders like San Francisco 49ers head coach Bill Walsh, Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison and California cuisine pioneer Alice Waters? They, and scores of others like them, “generate and regenerate talent on a continuous basis,” according to Sydney Finkelstein, a professor of management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a 67-page document with guidelines to improve the development and well-being of children aged 0-to-3. Its conclusion: In order to support kids, we must support their caregivers, because their love and care is what children really need to thrive. The coronavirus pandemic could wipe out “the modest progress” made on gender equality at work in recent decades with women globally at greater risk of losing their jobs, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warned. The scale of remittances is vast. But it’s under threat. The effects of climate change may more far-reaching than you think. 1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe Cybercrime is a major threat to global prosperity. Even now, in the midst of the worst public health crisis in a century, the cybercriminals just keep at it. Rightly lauded for its contributions to the fight against COVID-19, university-supported, science-based entrepreneurship must also be part of the vanguard of the global response to the pandemic. Through their engagement, teaching and research, universities must redouble their efforts to work alongside corporations, governments and NGOs as they search for new business models and policies to assist “the Great Reset”. As average temperatures rise in many parts of the world, encroaching on the 1.5ºC Paris Agreement target, extreme weather events are becoming increasingly common. And while it’s too soon to say whether 2020 will be the warmest year yet, it looks likely to be among them. Bicycles are simultaneously symbols of social hope and white oppression – an age-old duality reflected in American racial culture. Changing this perception is important to break down the racial and social divide found in America’s cities.Show Agenda posts
View more Employment posts
These are the best ways to tackle air pollution and climate change together
Monday 6th of July 2020
Companies need help to overcome rising data inequality
Monday 6th of July 2020
COVID-19: Why higher education in the US must embrace digital
Monday 6th of July 2020
COVID-19 is exacerbating the global trade finance gap
Monday 6th of July 2020
UNAIDS Report on Global HIV & AIDS
Monday 6th of July 2020
Why some companies leapt to support the COVID-19 response
Monday 6th of July 2020
4 views on the shape of global cooperation in the time of COVID-19
Monday 6th of July 2020
To build a resilient world, we must go circular. Here’s how to do it
Monday 6th of July 2020
We’re about to see the Golden Age of drone delivery – here’s why
Monday 6th of July 2020
China is here to stay – and America isn’t going away
Monday 6th of July 2020
How COVID-19 is making companies act for the long term
Monday 6th of July 2020
Want to achieve success? Develop a strategic mindset
Monday 6th of July 2020
The U.S. employment-population ratio drops to a historic low
Monday 6th of July 2020
How COVID-19 is rapidly evolving digital financial inclusion
Monday 6th of July 2020
Preparing for the next crisis – before it’s too late
Monday 6th of July 2020
The one crucial thing businesses can do to get through COVID-19
Monday 6th of July 2020
WHO’s early years childcare guidelines have changed – Here’s everything you need to know
Monday 6th of July 2020
COVID-19 could wipe out gains in equality for women at work – U.N.
Monday 6th of July 2020
Remittances could fall by $100 billion because of COVID-19 – here’s why that matters
Monday 6th of July 2020
How air conditioners contribute to inequality and ‘energy poverty’
Monday 6th of July 2020
COVID-19: What you need to know about coronavirus on 6 July
Monday 6th of July 2020
How do we beat COVID-19 cybercrime? By working together
Monday 6th of July 2020
Great Reset: What university entrepreneurship can bring to the post-COVID world
Friday 3rd of July 2020
Siberia is experiencing heatwaves and forest fires – this is why it matters
Friday 3rd of July 2020
How cycling could help drive racial equality
Friday 3rd of July 2020
Gender Parity
The coronavirus pandemic could wipe out “the modest progress” made on gender equality at work in recent decades with women globally at greater risk of losing their jobs, the International Labour Organization (ILO) warned. ‘Systemic racism’. ‘Unconscious bias’. How can we recognise the more insidious forms of racism and counter their very real impact on the employment chances, pay, health and political engagement of ethnic minorities? South Asia’s record on gender equality is weak, to say the least. The region has the world’s highest rate of child marriage, and domestic violence against women is pervasive. Women are over-represented in unpaid work, and under-represented in the labor force, even in countries like Sri Lanka, which has invested heavily in girls’ schooling. Yet there is one sector where women are taking over: agriculture. This is an opportunity for women’s economic empowerment that should not be missed. The COVID-19 pandemic has killed more than 400,000 people worldwide and has generated a massive global economic crisis. The world economy is projected to contract sharply by 3% in 2020 (IMF 2020) and poverty is set to rise for the first time since 1998, bringing 40-60 million people into extreme poverty (World Bank 2020). However, unlike previous economic crises, this crisis will negatively affect women more than men, creating a significant blow for gender equality. Policymakers should step up their efforts to reestablish the path towards a more equal society for men and women. Recent protests over the killing of George Floyd have sparked a nationwide conversation about racism in all areas of American life, including in the office. • Women around the world are losing paid work and doing more unpaid work as a result of the pandemic. We must move fast in the transition to the future of remote work. But not too fast, otherwise our journey to gender equity – and economic recovery – could take a turn for the worse. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced the agency’s headquarters building in Washington, D.C., will be named after Mary W. Jackson, the first African American female engineer at NASA. Working mothers in the United Kingdom are faring worse than fathers since lockdown began, a study shows. Men can expect to die approximately five years sooner than women, and men are more likely to die as a result of unintentional injury and suicide relative to women. • Women and girls must be front and centre of coronavirus response and recovery. Four million girls are at risk of child marriage in the next two years because of the new coronavirus pandemic, a global charity said on the 15th of May, as campaigners warned that the crisis could undo decades of work to end the practice. Since the beginning of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, there’s been a lot of media attention paid to the relationship between female leaders at the helm of various nations and the effectiveness of their handling of the COVID-19 crisis. What most crises have in common is that they hit the most vulnerable and marginalized populations—among which women are disproportionally represented—the hardest. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women, especially those facing multiple forms of discrimination related to poverty, race or disability, is increasingly being documented. As reported in the UN Secretary General’s “Policy Brief: The Impact of COVID-19 on Women”, and captured widely through media reports, women and girls globally suffer more from the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, simply by virtue of their gender. I’m at home – not at the bench doing experiments, not in my office speaking with colleagues and not in the field on an expedition surveying and collecting venomous snails. Instead, I’m cooking, feeding, cleaning, dressing and trying to homeschool my two children. The coronavirus lockdown could lead to a 20% surge in domestic violence as victims remain trapped at home with their abusers, the United Nations predicted on Tuesday, warning the pandemic will have a “catastrophic impact” on women. Our response to COVID-19 is fundamentally a question of who we are. When we say that ensuring the wellbeing of half the world’s population matters, do we believe it? Or do we say it to be diplomatic? The COVID-19 pandemic increases the urgency of recognizing and valuing carers and reducing gender bias because it presents enormous and unexpected challenges associated with increased caregiving. For COVID-19 patients and their families, there will be a great need for palliative and end-of-life care, especially in settings where resources are constrained and many will not be hospitalized. Global health is a system that’s neither fair nor fit-for-purpose. In February a now-infamous photo made its rounds on social media. Posted by US Vice President Mike Pence, the image, which showed the members of the US Coronavirus Taskforce, left many asking a single question: where are the women? The COVID-19 pandemic is not just a health issue. It’s a profound shock to our societies and economies. It has drastically altered everyday life as we know. And while we are all in it together, as it happens in any crisis or pandemic, women are being impacted by COVID-19 in different and less visible ways. • The gender wage gap remains at the centre of efforts to achieve gender parity. • Low-income communities are more vulnerable to climate change – especially women. • Recent global gender gains are under threat from growing conservatism. • E-commerce has the potential to level the economic playing field for women in developing countries.Show Agenda posts
View more Gender posts
COVID-19 could wipe out gains in equality for women at work – U.N.
Monday 6th of July 2020
What is systemic racism, and how can we combat it?
Thursday 2nd of July 2020
Farming could empower millions of women across South Asia – here’s how
Thursday 2nd of July 2020
Why COVID-19 is a backwards step for gender equality – and what to do about it
Wednesday 1st of July 2020
What is a microaggression? 14 things people think are fine to say – but are actually racist, sexist, or offensive
Wednesday 1st of July 2020
COVID-19 is the biggest setback to gender equality in a decade
Wednesday 1st of July 2020
How AI can ensure your transition to remote work is equitable
Friday 26th of June 2020
NASA names its headquarters after ‘hidden figure’ Mary W. Jackson
Thursday 25th of June 2020
COVID-19 lockdown hits working mothers harder than fathers
Thursday 4th of June 2020
Men are more reluctant to go to the doctor – and it’s putting them at risk
Wednesday 3rd of June 2020
10 lessons from the COVID-19 frontline for a more gender-equal world
Friday 22nd of May 2020
Coronavirus could put 4 million girls at risk of child marriage
Wednesday 20th of May 2020
The reason why female leaders are excelling at managing the coronavirus
Monday 18th of May 2020
Our recovery from the coronavirus crisis must have gender empowerment at its heart
Thursday 14th of May 2020
5 tips for working from home as a woman in STEM
Friday 1st of May 2020
UN: 3 months of lockdown could result in 15 million cases of domestic abuse worldwide
Thursday 30th of April 2020
Here’s how to achieve gender equality after the pandemic
Saturday 25th of April 2020
COVID-19 highlights how caregiving fuels gender inequality
Friday 24th of April 2020
7 out of 10 global health leaders are men: Study
Thursday 16th of April 2020
Why we need women’s leadership in the COVID-19 response
Friday 3rd of April 2020
Coronavirus: 9 ways you can support gender equality from your home
Thursday 2nd of April 2020
Why do multinationals pay women less in developing countries?
Tuesday 31st of March 2020
Women lose most from the climate crisis. How can we empower them?
Tuesday 24th of March 2020
There can be no human rights without gender equality
Monday 23rd of March 2020
How women in developing countries can harness e-commerce
Friday 20th of March 2020
