UNWOMEN, Nov 24, 2020
By Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women
Date: Monday, November 23, 2020
Originally published in "G20 Saudi Arabia: The 2020 Riyadh Summit"
With markets destabilized, supply chains disrupted, businesses forced to close or scale back operations, and millions without jobs and livelihoods, the economic and social impacts of COVID-19 are likely to reverberate for years to come. However, although women are especially affected, losing their jobs and incomes at an alarming rate, they are also a key to rapid and sustainable recovery. Analysis and intentional response through targeted gender responsive investments, economic stimulus packages and recovery plans are fundamental strategies for sustainable recovery, with women front and centre.
The potential consequences of inaction- or wrongly prioritized action – will affect poverty levels across the world. Already the pandemic threatens to erase decades of progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment. Now, new estimates are that by next year, an additional 47 million women and girls will have been pushed into extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic, reaching a total of 435 million women and girls living on less than USD 1.90 a day, while gender gaps in extreme povertywill widen even further. By 2030, there could be 121 women in poverty for every 100 poor men globally, with the worst affected being young women between the ages of 25-34- the age when many are raising families.
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