It has become clear in recent weeks that this pandemic and the concurrent economic crisis is impacting women differently than men.
Women, who already shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, have come under even more pressure as schools and daycares have closed. Many are also at an increased risk of exposure to the virus, since they work on the frontlines of our global effort against the pandemic, providing essential medical and other services. In the future, they are also more likely to be disproportionately affected by the economic shocks that will follow the pandemic, as they represent a higher percentage of persons in precarious, informal, or poorly paid work.
Additionally, the current lockdown orders, which are in place in a majority of the world’s States is likely to exacerbate the incidences of domestic violence at a time when shelters are closing and women can’t leave their homes.
Our Wednesday ‘Right On’ web chat will highlight key women’s rights concerns during the pandemic, and look to develop recommendations for how governments can mitigate the negative impact of their crisis policies on women. Finally, the discussion will aim to identify opportunities to ‘build back better’ from the crisis and re-energise progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 5 and gender equality.
Join our discussion on Wednesday, 29th April at 1pm UTC (3 pm CEST).
For more information about Right On, and to register, visit the dedicated webpage.
Speakers for this event include:
- Ms Michelle Bachelet (United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights)
- Ms Socorro Flores Liera (Permanent Representative of Mexico to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations in Geneva)
- Ms Monica Ferro (Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Geneva)
- Mr Mohammad Naciri (Regional Director of UN Women for Asia and the Pacific)
- Ms Dubravka Šimonović (United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women)
- Moderator: Ms Anniken Enersen (Minister Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Norway in Geneva)
- Moderator: Ms Charlotte Marres (Policy Analyst at the Universal Rights Group in Geneva)
About Right On
The ‘Right On’ initiative emerged out of the interest to provide an agile response to changes brought about by the Coronavirus outbreak.The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted many aspects of our lives, including the global conversation on human rights which is very much needed, in particular at a time when many fundamental human rights and freedoms are being challenged by emergency measures enacted in response to the virus outbreak. To read more about Right On and its partners, visit the dedicated webpage.
