Employment, Skills and Human Capital
May 17 marks the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOT), aimed to celebrate sexual and gender diversities, and raise awareness against continued violence and discrimination experienced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people. • The recent ransomware attack on a major US pipeline owner outlines the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. While Human Resources – HR – has been on life support for years, COVID-19 has sounded its death knell. Less than 20% of us want work to return to how it was. According to Gallup, even prior to COVID-19, only 1 in 10 of us were actually engaged in our jobs. While not all occupational malaise can be laid at HR’s doorstep, one has to ask the question: what would employees miss if the HR department disappeared tomorrow? Sadly, the answer is not much. Minutes before midnight March 22, two art collectors got into a heated bidding war at a charity auction for a climate organization. The auction was happening online, but it was eliciting the same staggering dollar amounts and tense drama of an in-person auction house. Researchers in Singapore have found a way of controlling a Venus flytrap using electric signals from a smartphone, an innovation they hope will have a range of uses from robotics to employing the plants as environmental sensors. The number of postings for entry-level jobs in the United States plunged nearly 68% last year, dashing the dreams of young job seekers across the country. While the drop was clearly driven by the pandemic, in many ways it was a continuation of a trend that began following the last recession, when companies looked to cut costs by reducing the number of low-level positions most suited for workers just starting their careers. With the first COVID-19 vaccine now authorized for adolescents, ages 12 and up, a big question looms: Will students be required to get the vaccine before returning to their classrooms in the fall? In early 2020, a few months after the Covid-19 pandemic began, scientists were able to sequence the full genome of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the Covid-19 infection. While many of its genes were already known at that point, the full complement of protein-coding genes was unresolved. A pedestrian suspension bridge that claims to be the longest in the world, named 516 Arouca and measuring 516 metres in length, has opened in northern Portugal. Working long hours is killing hundreds of thousands of people a year in a worsening trend that may accelerate further due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization said on Monday. In the south of Finland, the small city of Lahti became the winner of the 2021 European Green Capital competition in recognition of its environmental ambitions. It plans to be carbon neutral by 2025 – that’s 10 years ahead of Finland’s national goal to achieve the same status. Raju is a sixth-grade student. He is attentive and attends all his classes regularly. He is very good at maths, average at geography and not so good at English. Almost nine in every 10 companies will require or encourage their employees to get a COVID-19 vaccination or face consequences, according to a new report. Africa already had the slowest COVID-19 vaccine rollout of any continent, with less than 2% of the continent vaccinated. Now, recent announcements of export control from Indian manufacturers hit by the surge in cases in India is affecting the COVAX rollout on which 41 sub-Saharan countries are relying to vaccinate 20% of their population, according to the World Bank. 1. How COVID-19 is affecting the globe Today’s leaders tackle a host of unexpected challenges – from the climate to the pandemic. The organizations best poised to address those problems, says Rich Lesser, Boston Consulting Group’s CEO, are the ones that understand the value of collaboration.Collaboration doesn’t just help individuals and organizations swiftly share knowledge and make change happen. Solutions for the climate will require system-wide changes – and government and business to work together like never before.Leaders have an important role in making any collaboration successful, says Lesser. Teams watch for signals to understand what’s most important to an organization, especially when deciding to pursue short term wins over longer-term gains. Even before the pandemic, anxiety and depression were estimated to cost the global economy over $1 trillion every year in lost productivity. Around the world, people are experiencing both the subtle and stark effects of climate change. Gradually shifting weather patterns, rising sea levels and more extreme weather events are devastating evidence of both a rapidly changing climate and an urgent need for solutions. The shift to low-carbon energy (LCE) is a crucial part of addressing the challenges of the climate crisis. Unless emissions are reduced and greener energy is increased, the thresholds for temperature rises outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement could be breached. The eruption of the La Soufrière volcano after lying dormant for 40 years has plunged the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines into unimaginable levels of devastation and suffering. The dates of both the Paris and London 2020 elections have changed due to the unprecedented global outbreak of COVID-19, but the one constant is the polemical issue of the housing crisis. Among others, rent price control is one of the fundamental topics at the heart of candidates’ mayoral campaigns in both capital cities. An explosion of data We have all heard of COVID-19, the flu and bacterial infections. But what is actually happening to our cells when we contract these diseases? Many of our body’s cells don’t live to tell the tale. But cell death isn’t necessarily a bad thing — in fact, the death of infected cells can provide a sacrificial mechanism to stop pathogens in their tracks before they can spread through our body. Senior healthcare leaders from 14 countries say strengthening resilience and preparing for future crises is a top priority, according to a new report commissioned by Philips Healthcare. One of the greatest impediments to our ability to transition to a circular economy for plastics in emerging markets is a dearth of private investment capital. While investment in the recycling and circular economy space is occurring, particularly in the South and Southeast Asia regions, the flows of capital are neither large enough nor sufficiently consistent to scale solutions. Show Agenda posts
View more Employment posts
3 ways to protect LGBTI rights across the world
Monday 17th of May 2021
The US pipeline attack shows the energy sector must act now on cybersecurity. Here are 6 ways how
Monday 17th of May 2021
3 ways to humanize HR and create a culture of connections
Monday 17th of May 2021
What does digital art have to do with sustainability?
Monday 17th of May 2021
Researchers control Venus flytraps using electric signals
Monday 17th of May 2021
Is the entry-level job going extinct?
Monday 17th of May 2021
Could America’s schools make COVID-19 vaccination mandatory?
Monday 17th of May 2021
Researchers have sequenced the most comprehensive map of the SARS-CoV-2 genome yet
Monday 17th of May 2021
World’s ‘longest pedestrian suspension’ bridge opens in Portugal
Monday 17th of May 2021
WHO: Working long hours is a ‘serious health hazard’
Monday 17th of May 2021
This Finnish town will be carbon neutral by 2025. Here’s how.
Monday 17th of May 2021
5 questions to ask now to shape blended learning of the future
Monday 17th of May 2021
Survey: Will employees be required to get the COVID-19 vaccination?
Monday 17th of May 2021
How India’s COVID-19 crisis is affecting Africa’s vaccine supply
Monday 17th of May 2021
COVID-19: What you need to know about the coronavirus pandemic on 17 May
Monday 17th of May 2021
‘We can go further than we think’: Boston Consulting Group’s Rich Lesser on Meet the Leader
Friday 14th of May 2021
Can ‘corporate wellness’ beat a mental health pandemic? This week’s Radio Davos
Friday 14th of May 2021
Climate change is coming for the world’s poorest. Here’s how this charity is helping
Friday 14th of May 2021
4 charts that show how technology is enabling the energy transition
Friday 14th of May 2021
Devastating natural disasters show the need for resilient, sustainable and inclusive infrastructure
Friday 14th of May 2021
Why rent controls won’t solve the urban housing crisis
Friday 14th of May 2021
Want to understand the extent of the world’s digital divide? Look at these 3 charts
Friday 14th of May 2021
The cells in our body have ‘a license to die’, protecting us from infectious diseases
Friday 14th of May 2021
This is what healthcare leaders see as the future for digital health
Friday 14th of May 2021
Here’s how private investors can turn plastic into gold
Friday 14th of May 2021
Gender Parity
On the green benches inside London’s historic River Thames-side landmark, the Houses of Parliament, sit twice as many men as women. Wendy Niculescu is ready to get back to work after nearly a year and a half of being a stay-at-home mom. A year ago, the world changed. While the pandemic’s effect on workers has varied worldwide, the new reality has left many mothers scrambling. With schools and daycares closed, many were forced to leave their jobs or cut the hours they worked. New IMF estimates confirm the outsized impact on working mothers, and on the economy as a whole. In short, within the world of work, women with young children have been among the biggest casualties of the economic lockdowns. I had a baby during the pandemic and everything changed. Throughout West Africa, the artisanal fishing sector is a crucial source of livelihoods and food security. For instance, in Nigeria artisanal fishing accounts for 80% of the fish consumed and supports the livelihoods of about 24 million people. For people in the developed world, a mortgage is a step toward owning a home. In developing countries, that dream is often elusive—especially for women. The COVID-19 crisis cost women around the world $800 billion in lost income in 2020, Oxfam said, as it demanded steps to tackle gender inequality. Far from being science fiction, artificial intelligence is already part of our lives. From self-driving vehicles to virtual personal assistants, AI is a reality. Within 72 hours of announcement, the European Super League (ESL) was killed. It was a testament to the power of fans and a reminder that football isn’t just about the interest of owners but a game for all. Since moving to Southern Africa in 2019, I have had the great privilege of meeting many impressive women working in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) related fields. Among them is Dr. Quarraisha Abdool Karim, a globally renowned scientist at the forefront of research and innovation in HIV/AIDS, worldwide. Her work, through the Center for the Aids Program of Research in South Africa has not only shaped the global response to the HIV pandemic but contributed significantly to COVID-19 (coronavirus) research. • COVID-19 exposed persistent inequalities for women in the African workforce. This article article was written by contributors following a webinar on 8 March and originally published by WISE. When a man consults a doctor about pain, he will hope to be taken seriously: to convince the doctor that the pain is real, and a problem that needs addressing. The experience is different for women, who may suspect that gender stereotypes could lead their doctor to conclude they’re not in as much pain as they say they are. Women now hold many of the jobs controlling the world’s largest economy – and they’re trying to fix it. Much work has been done to close gaps in gender and race equality in the tech industry, but a new report indicates there’s still more needed. Based on 2020 trends, the global gender gap was not expected to be closed for another 100 years. Already a mammoth prospect, but according to the latest WEF estimates for 2021, the world is now going backwards on this long road to gender equality. The time required is now forecast at 136 years. The main reason for this? Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director and Head of the WEF’s Centre for the New Economy and Society writes: “The Covid-19 pandemic has raised new barriers to building inclusive and prosperous economies and societies. Pre-existing gender gaps have amplified the crisis asymmetrically between men and women, even as women have been at the frontlines of managing the crisis as essential workers.” • Panamanian women, like women around the world, have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Childcare is a challenge for working mothers the world over. In developed nations it’s often the cost that is a barrier to women rejoining the workforce. But in other parts of the world, childcare for working mothers is virtually non-existent. For decades, the forces that drive our global dependence on single-use plastics and our inability to keep plastic waste out of the environment have hit women and marginalized communities the hardest. Progress towards reaching gender parity has stopped – and in some cases reversed – due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a terrible toll on progress towards gender equality. Many of the gains of recent years have been reversed. The length of time until women and men are truly equal has increased from 99.5 years to 135.6 years in the space of just twelve months. Iceland is the world’s best country for gender equality, topping a World Economic Forum index for the 12th year in a row. Last year’s Global Gender Gap report offered insights into what drives the world’s gender pay gap. Among other factors, it showed the impact of the motherhood wage penalty and the fatherhood wage premium. It concluded, “an important step to closing the gender pay gap is the more equitable sharing of parental responsibilities between men and women.” The release of the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap report every year is a reminder of how many centuries away we are from achieving gender parity – and women’s jobs are no exception. This year, the report says we are still 257.2 years away from closing the gender gap in “economic participation” and “opportunity”. Show Agenda posts
View more Gender posts
This UK campaign is working to close the politics gender gap
Tuesday 11th of May 2021
One key to getting women back to work post-pandemic: Childcare
Tuesday 11th of May 2021
Mothers have been some of the worst affected by COVID-19. Here’s how to help them
Friday 7th of May 2021
Having a baby during COVID-19 gave me new respect for the job ‘mom’
Friday 7th of May 2021
Women are a mainstay of fishing in West Africa. But they get a raw deal
Thursday 6th of May 2021
There a lack of female home ownership in Latin America – here’s how can we change this
Tuesday 4th of May 2021
COVID-19 has cost the world’s women $800 billion in lost income
Tuesday 4th of May 2021
What the EU is doing to foster human-centric AI
Monday 3rd of May 2021
The European Super League could have been very problematic for women’s football – here’s why
Wednesday 28th of April 2021
Why we need more girls in Africa in STEM – and how to get them there
Tuesday 27th of April 2021
To unlock African women’s potential, we must end gendered patterns of labour
Friday 23rd of April 2021
COVID-19 has harmed girls’ education. Here’s what needs to be done
Thursday 15th of April 2021
Women’s pain is routinely underestimated, and gender stereotypes are to blame – new research
Thursday 15th of April 2021
What happens when women run the economy? We’re about to find out
Wednesday 14th of April 2021
8 charts that show the impact of race and gender on technology careers
Tuesday 13th of April 2021
It will take another 136 years to close the global gender gap
Monday 12th of April 2021
Panama’s fight for a delayed right: women’s economic independence
Tuesday 6th of April 2021
Mobile creches are transforming the lives of women and children in Africa
Thursday 1st of April 2021
Three experts on why eradicating plastic pollution will help achieve gender equality
Wednesday 31st of March 2021
7 of the most surprising facts about global gender gaps
Wednesday 31st of March 2021
4 ‘big bets’ to close the post-pandemic gender gap
Wednesday 31st of March 2021
These are the top 10 countries for women’s rights and opportunities
Wednesday 31st of March 2021
The COVID-19 effect on the global gender gap: Measuring it is the first step towards closing it
Wednesday 31st of March 2021
Closing the global gender gap – whose job is it anyway?
Wednesday 31st of March 2021
