The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call to review and change all that did not work before the pandemic. If we really want to get a real change, let's address gender inequalities and get to the core of the problem.
Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO
ADG Ramos opened the event on behalf of UNESCO, alongside Marlène Schiappa, French Minister Delegate in charge of Citizenship, Valérie Hoffenberg, founder and President of the Connecting Leaders Club, and Gwenaelle Thebault, Deputy Director-General of the Maire Claire Group, both co-founders of the Marie Claire Think Tank.
© UNESCO / Fabrice Gentile - From left to right: H.E. Mr David Martinon, Ambassador of France to Afghanistan; Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO; Ms Gwenaelle Thebault, Director General of the Marie Claire Group.
Acting in favor of equality is the great struggle of my life. I would like women to no longer be confined to roles of victims but rather of leaders. (…) [Gender-related] progress is played out in the minds of women and men through education, culture, and science; this is where UNESCO draws its uniqueness from in the domain of international institutions and this is what makes UNESCO ever more needed in the times to come.
Marlène Schiappa, French Minister Delegate in charge of Citizenship
Focusing on challenges, efforts and optimal methods for improving the situation, this event called for a truly ethical and inclusive transformation of our societies in the achievement of gender equality. Over half a dozen panels discussed equal pay, work, health, men's violence against women and girls, technology, environment, transportation, and diversity and inclusion, highlighting the impact of COVID-19 on women's lives, both professional and personal.
Women are too often the first victims of crises. The pandemic and its economic consequences have had a major impact on their health, their work and their family relationships.
Gwenaëlle Thebault, Katell Pouliquen and Valérie Hoffenberg
Key speaker of a panel on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's health, Gabriela Ramos emphasized the need to understand and address the issues related to women's mental, physical, sexual, and reproductive health in an intersectional and comprehensive manner. She stressed that the health status of women was being affected not only by the pandemic, but it was also worsened by lower socioeconomic status, structural inequalities and discrimination that women face. The burden of increased unpaid care, home-schooling and domestic work was also impacting negatively their well being, and erasing progress made in the gender equality agenda.
We need to deliver gender-sensitive social protection systems. We need to ensure equal pay for equal jobs. We need to ensure a fair distribution of unpaid work and family responsibilities, and adopt family friendly policies with dual parental leaves, and affordable care facilities, so that men also step in.
Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO
The high-level event showcased, among others, testimonies on domestic violence, explored the issues of harassment against women and girls, the role of women in the climate movement with journalists, engaged experts and professionals from EDF, Engie, L'Oréal, RATP and other leading institutions from Argentina, France, Poland and Spain.
A dialogue with the French Ambassador to Afghanistan, H.E. David Martinon, was the opportunity to take stock of the unfolding situation in Afghanistan and discuss how to support Afghan women and girls whose human rights and lives are currently at risk.
The event was closed by Agnès Pannier-Runacher, French Minister attached to the Minister for the Economy, Finance and Recovery, responsible for Industry, who reminded us that parity is the first step to gender equality and that "we cannot do without the talent of women".
Following this significant high-level event, UNESCO remains resolved in its commitment to combat men's violence against women, and to promote women's rights and gender-transformative policies alongside such innovative and engaged change-makers.
As part of the "Transforming MENtalities" Initiative, UNESCO's Social and Human Sciences Programme - in partnership with Global MenEngage Alliance, Promundo US, the Sexual Violence Research Initiative and White Ribbon - will champion a world free of gender biases, stereotypes, violence and discrimination to help build a post-COVID-19 world where people of all genders can thrive.
