Browse by Theme: Gender Equality

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to sweep the world, with widespread global impact at unprecedented scale. There are more than 5.7 million reported COVID-19 cases world-wide, and it has been attributed to over 357,000 deaths, as of May 28, 2020. It is widely recognised that these numbers are both underreported and the impact of COVID-19 on households and communities reaches far beyond these figures. As economies crumble and healthcare systems across many parts of the world face unprecedented strain, caregivers, food producers and providers, and health workers (the majority of whom are women) have emerged as the first responders sustaining life and building pathways toward recovery. CARE is working to understand the gender implications of the crisis as it evolves.

If you work in international development, you have probably experienced that pressing need for support. You need to conduct an assessment, your proposal design should have started yesterday, and the capacity building for your partners is right around the corner – the list could go on and on. You need short-term support, but you also need the best and brightest, the one who knows the context and subject matter, writes and analyzes thoroughly, and can meet the deadline. You aren’t just looking for someone who is available to do the work – you are looking for the ‘expert’.

On International Women’s Day, 8 March 2020, advocates for better labour rights, especially for women workers, have been celebrating a major achievement: there is now a new international labour standard that recognises everyone’s right to work free from violence and harassment. Yet nothing will change on the ground for working women and men until governments strengthen laws, and employers improve policies and practices.

I have been part of rapid response teams deploying to typhoons, cyclones and floods in Asia and droughts in East and Southern Africa and worked on emergency responses for 15 years. Each time, I’ve seen first-hand how around the world, women and girls are all too often on the frontlines of the climate emergency.

When this new government was elected, CARE International UK and our supporters called for four actions in their first 100 days that would demonstrate their commitment to gender equality, tackling climate change and spearheading international development.

We want the women employed in the supply chains of the companies which make your clothes to have access to decent jobs free from violence and harassment and to be able to voice their rights at work. 

By Reshma Aziz Khan and Sébastien Fornerod

CARE seeks to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and social injustice to bring lasting change to the lives of poor and vulnerable people (CARE 2020 Program Strategy). But how many of us can say that tackling these underlying causes is what we focus on every day?