|
|
Issue 21, specially covering Gender and COVID-19 | 19 March 2020
|
|
|
Dear Colleague,
In our previous edition, we recognized that 2020 marks the commencement of the UN Decade of Action. With the celebration of the International Women’s Day on 8th of March – we must recall that 2020 also marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, which sets out how to remove the systemic barriers that hold women back from equal participation in all areas of public and private life; the 20 years of implementing the Security Council's landmark resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security; and the 10 th anniversary of the creation of UN Women.
Our current issue highlights some of the recent relevant events and news on gender equality as well as the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Check out the article by our CoP Champion Luis Felipe Lopez-Calva for the International Women’s Day; and don’t forget that you can still register for the MOOC on “Designing a Multidimensional Poverty Index.”
Share your views or ask how this community can help you in your work by sending a message to cop-poverty@undp.org
Stay well,
Ricardo, Rishi, Ider and Renata
|
|
|
|
Curious about what our CoP offers? Play this trailer to find out.
|
|
|
Tackling Social Norms: A game-changer for gender inequalities (UNDP, March 2020)
New York, 5 March. UNDP has released a new Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) Report. It reveals that despite enormous progress in the closing of inequalities between men and women, nearly 90 percent of the global population holds some sort of gender bias. The Index sheds light on how social norms can work as invisible barriers to gender equality in areas such as politics, work, and education. UNDP encourages governments and stakeholders to deploy a new generation of policy tools to remove discriminatory beliefs and attitudes against women and girls. Read more & Check your bias.
|
|
|
Gendered effects of marriage and child rearing on labour market outcomes (UN Women and ILO, March 2020)
New York, 3 March. UN Women and ILO hosted a seminar on “Gendered effects of marriage and child rearing on labor market outcomes”. This seminar introduced new labour market indicators related to Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth). The work is a product of a partnership between UN Women and ILO. At the seminar, key findings emerging from the analysis were presented, including on the role family dynamics and structures play in women’s access to employment opportunities. Learn more.
|
|
|
Highest level of political commitment needed to fight
COVID-19 (UNDP, March 2020)
On 10 March, UNDP announced its actions to monitor the latest developments related to the novel coronavirus and to raise resources, expand partnerships, and conduct effective communication to lessen its consequences. Building on its experience with the COVID-19 response in the Asia Pacific, the organization has established a Crisis Management Team in the city of Bangkok (other regions are following). The UNDP Global Policy Network will work with countries to ensure they have the tools and resources required to address the virus and help the most vulnerable. Read more.
|
|
|
Coronavirus: Can policymakers avert a trillion-dollar crisis? (UNCTAD, March 2020)
The COVID-19 shock could trigger a deceleration of global annual growth to below 2.5 percent, with some countries facing a recession scenario. That is the conclusion of a new analysis by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released on 9 March. The length and depth of the crisis will depend on how effective our policy response to the health and economic effects of the virus is, the UNCTAD says. Some recommended measures include targeted macroeconomic policy and sound institutional reforms to reduce the risks of economic collapse. Read more.
|
|
|
Crafting Pakistan’s National Human Development Report
Inequality is not just about disparities of income and wealth, but also about diverging opportunities, resources, and prospects for a better future. Pakistan’s National Human Development Report (NHDR), set to be released in April 2020, looks at inequality from a multidimensional perspective. It combines sophisticated statistical analysis with human stories told by women living in poverty, transgender population, religious and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, refugees, domestic workers, displaced persons, and more. In addition, the Report examines the political economy of inequality at the national, provincial, and district levels, paying particular attention to how Power, People, and Policy interact and shape social opportunities and outcomes nationwide. Learn more.
|
|
|
Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men (Caroline Criado Perez, March 2019)
As we celebrated the International Women’s Day on 8 March, your COP Team invites you to revisit one of the best books of 2019 and a best seller - “Invisible Women” by writer and activist Caroline Criado Perez. The book focuses on the disempowering consequences of gender data gap – a cognitive bias that consistently excludes women’s desires, interests, and perspectives from our everyday practices. Backed by a large number of examples and statistics, it sheds light on the subtle forms that gender exclusion and discrimination can take, from medical research to tech culture, urban planning, and the world of work. Read more.
|
|
|
La culpa no era suya
(by Luis Felipe López-Calva, March 2020)
If you read Spanish or not (you can use Google translator), do not miss this piece by our CoP Champion Luis Felipe López-Calva on the occasion of the International Women’s Day 2020. It discusses how violence and discrimination against women operate in the household, in the market, and society. To fight power asymmetries, we need to expand women’s representation in policy decision-making and promote measures that transform social norms and perceptions towards meaningful gender parity. Read more.
|
|
|
How Will COVID-19 Affect Women and Girls in Low- and Middle-Income Countries?
(Center for Global Development, March 2020)
This blog post by David Evans (CGD) reflects on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on women and girls. It highlights the findings of the Lancet article by Wenham, Smith, and Morgan (COVID-19: the gendered impacts of the outbreak) on sex-based immunological and gendered differences influencing the number of COVID-19 related deaths. It notes that other dimensions will generate gendered differentiated impacts such as the impact of the pandemic on health workers; school closures; travel restrictions; allocation of health resources and expenses; sexual health; the burden of unpaid care; economic crises and more. Evans cautions against early assumptions and stresses that current sex-disaggregated data are incomplete. He advocates for the inclusion of women as central part of teams designing COVID-19 responses. Read more.
|
|
|
How many women are in your parliament?
(UNDP Europe and Central Asia, March 2020)
Have a look at this infographic prepared by UNDP Europe and Central Asia on women’s representation in parliaments for the UNECE region. Overall, most countries that have implemented electoral gender quotas have seen a significant increase of women representatives. Still, for most countries, women entering electoral politics continue to face obstacles such as male predominance in political parties, lack of funding, and sexist stereotypes. Read more.
|
|
|
The Great Contagion (Project Syndicate, March 2020)
Check out this selection of articles made by Project Syndicate on the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. It features pieces by Kaushik Basu on the urgent need for a coordinated global response; Barry Eichengreen, who calls for greater autonomy of public health authorities; James K. Galbraith on effective communication; Daniel Gross on policies to mitigate health and economic damage; Lucrezia Reichlin and Koichi Hamada on fiscal measures; and Adaora Okoli, on mobilizing support for Africa. Explore more.
|
|
|
[The Economist Radio podcast] Stimulating discussion: policy responses to COVID-19 (March 2020)
Tune into the Economist Radio podcast, which discusses what economic policy measures countries are taking, or should be, to cushion economies against the COVID-19. Such economic policy measures countries are putting in place include an extension of the sick pair regime; concentration of resources on supporting households; and supporting businesses, particularly small businesses among others. The podcast suggests that it results in better economical outcomes when fiscal and monetary policy makers across countries coordinate their responses. Tune in now.
|
|
|
[Free e-course] Designing a Multidimensional Poverty Index
If you have not done so, you can still register for the Massive Open Online free 5-weeks' online course on “Designing a Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)” developed by UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), Oxford University. The course is not only for technical experts, practitioners and policy-makers who are engaged in developing national and subnational MPIs, but it is open to anyone interested on poverty issues. Facilitated in English, the course will run until 17 April 2020. Learn more and register now.
|
|
|
[Free e-course] COVID-19: Tackling the Novel Coronavirus
Interested in enhancing your understanding of what COVID-19 is and the practical implications for responding to the outbreak? Offered by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine as well as the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team, this free 3-weeks' online course will help you learn the latest of what's known about COVID-19, presented by international experts. Course starts on 23 March 2020. Register now.
|
|
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Research and Public Policy Analyst, Better than Cash Alliance, UNCDF
P2 | New York, NY, USA | Apply by 19 March 2020
Regional Digital Hub Manager, UNCDF
P5 | Bangkok, Thailand | Apply by 22 March 2020
Global Innovation Advisor
P5 | Istanbul, Turkey | Apply by 25 March 2020
Senior Social Sector Specialist, ADB
IS5 | Metro Manila, Philippines | Apply by 25 March 2020
Portfolio Manager, Economic Recovery & Institutional Development (ERID)
P5 | Mogadiscio, Somalia | Apply by 27 March 2020
Senior Social Development Specialist, World Bank
GG | Jakarta,Indonesia | Apply by 2 April 2020
|
|
Your CoP team will be happy to hear from you. Contact us at
cop-poverty@undp.org to send feedback or content you may wish to share.
|
|
|
|
|
