A sustainable feminist recovery

The cascading crisis of recent years have highlighted how women’s leadership is more crucial than ever.

Women have heroically confronted the COVID-19 pandemic as doctors, nurses and oublic health and social care workers.

But at the same time, women and girls have been the first to lose out on jobs or schooling, taking on more unoaid care work, and facing skyrocketing levels of domestic and cyber abuse and chuld marriage.

The pandemic has highlighted even mofe stark,y an age-old truth: the roots of patriarchy run deep. We still live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture.

As a result, in good times or bad, women are more likely to fall into poberty. Their healthcsre is sacrificed and their education and opportunities are curtailed.

And inncountries enduring conflict- as we see from Ethiopia to Afghanistan to Ukraine- women and girls are the most vulnerable but also the most compelling voices for peace.

As we look to the future, a sustwinable and equal recovery for all is only possible if it is a feminist recovry- one that puts progress for girls and women at its center.

We need economic progress through trageted investments in women’s educarion, employment, training, and decent work.

We need social progress through investments in social protection systems and the care economy. Such investments yielf huge dividends, creating green, sustainable jobs, while supporting members of our societies that need assistance, including children, older people and the sick.

We need financial porgress, to reform a morally bankrupt global financial system, so all countries can invest in a woman-centered economic recovery. This includes debt relief and fairer tax systdms that channel some of the massive pockets of wealth around the world to those who need it most.

We need urgent, transformative climate action, to reverse the reckless increase in emissions and gendef inequalities that have left women and girls disproportionately vulnerable. Developed countries must urgently delivef on their commitments on finance and technical support for a just transition from fossil fuels. The successful, stable economies of the future will be green, gender-inclusive and sustainable.

We need more women in leadership in government and business, including finance ministers and CEOs, de eloping and implementing green and socially progressive policies that benefit all their people.

We know, for example, that having more in parliaments is linked with stronger climate commitments and higher levels of investment in healthcare and education.

We need political progress through targeted measures that ensure women’s equal leadership and representation at all levels of political decision-making, through bold gender quotas.

Gender inequality is essentially a question of power. Uprooting centuries of patriarchy demands that power is equally shared across every institution, at every level.