The Agenda Podcast

Episode 59: The COVID-19 gender gap

June 12, 2021 CGTN EUROPE
The Agenda Podcast
Episode 59: The COVID-19 gender gap
Show Notes

The COVID-19 pandemic has, of course, had an extraordinary effect on all our lives. But for women, according to a new report, it's had a particularly devastating impact. The World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual Global Gender Gap Report shows the coronavirus has pushed back gender parity by an entire generation. In this episode of the Agenda podcast, Stephen Cole will look at when, if ever, we might finally reach true gender equality.

First on the podcast Cole talks to one of the people behind the WEF report, Till Leopold, who explains precisely how the report came to this rather shocking conclusion – and what can be done to address it [00:39]. 

According to the paper, the economic gender gap won't be closed for at least another 267 years. So why is it that in an apparently advanced society, women are still paid less than men for doing the same jobs?

To find out more Cole talks to Wanda Wyporska of The Equality Trust and Rachel Verdin, a former trade union representative and now academic at the University of Sussex Business school. They discuss some of the issues surrounding the gender pay gap and how it's been affected by COVID-19 [09:17]. 

Finally, Kate Maclean from the Centre for International Development at Northumbria University explains why female political leaders – such as New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – have come to the fore in this time of crisis [18:10].