At the beginning of its spread, analysts were afraid that the Corona epidemic would represent a disaster for women, as the pressure caused by closures due to the Corona virus would lead to disproportionate losses between the sexes, forcing more women to leave work, as well as perhaps making them more vulnerable. Domestic violence.

Writer Ishan Tharoor said in his report published by the American newspaper "Washington Post" (Washington Post) that all these concerns are valid, but the social damage caused by what he called the "shadow pandemic" may continue its impact for decades to come.

Unevenness index

This harsh result was confirmed by the annual report on the global gender gap issued this week by the World Economic Forum, which monitors the "gender disparity" index in 156 countries, based on the assessments in each country that include 4 fields, namely:

  •  Women's participation in political life

  •  Economic opportunities

  • the health

  • Education

    • The organization previously predicted that achieving gender equality was a century away, but the impact of the pandemic has now added nearly 36 years to its calculations - the extent of another generation.

    Saadia Zahidi: Men and women in America will get equal wages after 6 decades, according to current trends (French)

    Post-pandemic recovery management

    The writer stated that Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, wrote in the introduction to the report, “The Covid-19 pandemic has created new barriers to building inclusive and prosperous economies and societies. The pre-existing gender gap has exacerbated the crisis disproportionately between men and women. Even when women were on the front lines of managing the crisis as essential workers. "

    Zahidi added that she hopes "this report will serve as a call for leaders to make gender parity a central goal of our policies and practices for managing post-pandemic recovery, for the benefit of our economies and societies."

    Some solutions in developed countries are commonplace, and they include significant government and private sector investment in care, as well as efforts to equalize parental leave for both men and women in the workforce.

    The data indicated that some of the sectors most affected by the closures as a result of the epidemic were the areas in which women were most likely to work, including tourism and retail, as well as jobs in the informal sectors in developing countries.

    "Coupled with additional pressure to provide care at home, the crisis has halted progress toward gender parity in many economies and industries," Zahidi wrote.

    And in the United States alone, more than two million women have left work over the past year.

    According to research conducted by the professional and social networking site "Linked in", the employment rates of women, especially in leadership positions, have declined, after the gains made in recent years.

    And persistent manifestations of inequality on a large scale, as the World Economic Forum report predicts that men and women in the United States will receive equal pay 6 decades from now, according to current trends.

    Surveys by the World Bank: 21% of women who worked before the outbreak became unemployed (pixels)

    The writer noted that women remain significantly underrepresented in sectors that include future pioneering industries in the developed world.

    According to the World Economic Forum, women make up 32% of the workforce in data and artificial intelligence, 20% in engineering, and 14% in cloud computing.

    The writer acknowledged that the situation appears to be worrying in other parts of the world.

    According to the report, South Asia is nearly two centuries away from achieving gender parity, compared to more than 165 years in East Asian countries.

    According to separate surveys conducted by the World Bank, women in Latin America were 44% more likely to lose their jobs at the start of the crisis.

    It appears that 21% of women who worked before the epidemic are now unemployed.

    The World Bank concluded that the persistent gender gap in the workforce could cost Latin America and the Caribbean countries about 14% of the region's collective GDP per capita over the next three decades.

    The largest gender gap, according to the World Economic Forum's Index, is political empowerment (Pixabay).

    What's further than economic concerns?

    The writer says that the impact of the epidemic extends beyond economic concerns.

    In fact, new research by the British magazine "The Lancet" found that maternal health declined worldwide over the course of the epidemic, including "increased maternal mortality, stillbirth, ectopic pregnancy and maternal depression."

    The "New York Times" newspaper pointed out that "data from 12 studies showed that the chances of stillbirth increased by 28%. The risk of dying of women during pregnancy or during childbirth increased by more than a third in two countries, Mexico and India."

    While health concerns are increasing, the largest gender gap, according to the World Economic Forum’s index, is in the field of “political empowerment,” as women account for only about 26% of about 35,500 parliamentary seats, and only 22.6% of more than 3,400 parliamentary seats. A minister recognized in the organization's statements.

    Women deal with the epidemic more effectively

    A recent opinion piece signed by dozens of UN designated ambassadors showed that “women-led countries are dealing with the pandemic more effectively than many other countries. Peace processes and peace agreements brokered with the active participation of women are much more common. "Durable and inclusive. When women enjoy equal opportunities in the workforce, economies can free trillions of dollars."