Women’s empowerment: A global view 
It is March 8, International Women’s Day, and we have spent a whole year dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Looking back on the same day last year, when we were just learning about what would become the longest and biggest human experiment in virus control and health care, no one could imagine what would happen to women.
Last year, female leadership and economic empowerment were two of the most important themes being discussed for International Women’s Day.
This year, while Saudi Arabia was still improving its gender equality policies and increasing the participation of women in leadership positions — rising by leaps and bounds in the World Economic Forum and World Bank indices — a lot of global progress made in women’s empowerment was reversed. Before COVID-19, the World Economic Forum had calculated that it would take about 80 years for women to achieve full gender parity around the world. This figure today, after the outbreak of COVID-19, is at 100 years.
The stresses on working mothers with school-age children and on the mostly female caregiver force were challenging. Unfortunately, these were not the only challenges that women and girls faced worldwide. Studies have shown a sharp increase in school dropout rates for girls, domestic abuse, child marriages and job loss. Globally, women were 24 percent more likely to permanently lose their jobs compared to men.
Unpaid caregiving responsibilities, which disproportionately affect women, were amplified during the COVID-19 crisis and subsequent school closures, and they prevented women from assuming paid employment opportunities. Female academics were more likely to ask for a hold on their tenure process. They published 10 percent less research than normal and started fewer research projects. The ramifications of all this will be felt for long after the current crisis and will impact tenure.
Many of the philanthropic grants that went to female-related causes were diverted to deal with the health and poverty crises stemming from the pandemic and the public policies implemented to stop the spread of the virus.
Despite that, the world’s commitment to female empowerment did not waver, and the UN and UN Women will hold the Generation Equality Forum in a few days. The forum is a global gathering for gender equality that will kick off on March 29 in Mexico and will build on the progress already made to help women achieve equal status and treatment in the eyes of the law and in society. Its mission will be to establish more actionable, concrete commitments that will result in real change.
Muna AbuSulayman is a social impact investor and philanthropic leader.
