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Session Highlights:
- Panelists shared how COVID-19 will disproportionately affect women because of their overrepresentation in hard-hit sectors and their designated roles as caregivers in the family and society. Governments tightening fiscal policies and deregulation of labour policies may also have a negative impact on gender equality, eroding previous progress.
- Despite the negative impacts, the pandemic has surfaced opportunities in the post-Covid world particularly around greater digitalisation and revamped methods of operation. However, panelists point out that the disparity in access to technology still needs to be overcome for a truly inclusive recovery.
- The panel stressed the importance of governments and corporations to challenge societal norms and traditional gender roles, pointing out that we need to look both at the roles of women at work and men at home.
Session Description:
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The sectors that are the most affected across Asia because of the outbreak of COVID-19 are also the engines that will power the recovery, and women’s economic empowerment will be key to how quickly this growth returns to the region. Ensuring that women led and owned businesses are supported, that children return to full time education and that women are encouraged to return to the workplace will be vital if the gains made towards gender equality over the last decade are not lost.
This session will explore the initiatives that Corporates, foundations and investors from across the region are deploying to respond to this challenge and how they are working with their beneficiaries, employees and investees to overcome these setbacks. Now, it is more important than ever to ensure that women are supported to foster global, long term socio-economic recovery.
Key Takeaways:
- How to advance women’s and girl’s independence and empowerment by increasing their access to economic resources and entrepreneurship opportunities
- An insight into innovative projects and activities that are currently taking place to improve the economic and social conditions of women and girls in the APAC region
- Knowledge about how to identify and strengthen gender equality within their impact work
