COVID-19: How Business Can Support Women in Times of Crisis

Many of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are hitting women disproportionately hard.  Women are more likely than men to work in low-paying, insecure and informal jobs. Women also make up the majority of health professionals and essential workers at the frontlines of the COVID-19 response, risking their health and safety, as well as those of their families.

As health resources are diverted to address the pandemic, women also face additional challenges to accessing sexual and reproductive health services, especially in the least developed countries. As schools and childcare facilities close in response to COVID-19, women are further burdened  with increased childcare responsibilities, adding to an already uneven load. And when quarantines are in effect, the risk of domestic violence against women and their children increases, while support services for victims decrease.

From immediate relief efforts to longer-term recovery strategies, all sectors of society, including business, have a responsibility to ensure actions taken to combat COVID-19 are responsive to the unique and unequal impacts on women. This special Academy session will cover steps business can take to respect and support the rights and lives of women and girls during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speakers:

• H.E Margaret Kobia, Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for the Public Service, Youth and Gender Affairs
• Ann Cairns, Vice Chairman, Mastercard
• Lise Kingo, CEO & Executive Director, United Nations Global Compact