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Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly

3 June 2022

Excellencies,

I wish to begin by thanking all of you for attending today¡¯s Special Event. It is truly an honor to partner with the Government of Sweden and the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Foundation.

Dear Friends,

Pandemics throughout history, from the Black Death in the 14th century to the 1918 influenza pandemic, have caused serious demographic shifts, morality shocks, and increased social tensions, discrimination and political disturbance.

COVID-19 is no exception. And as with previous historical instances, women are bearing a disproportionate share of the burden, including in the labor market.

From available data, women are more likely than men to work in professions that put them on the frontlines of the pandemic, such as childcare and healthcare. They were thus more likely than men to have faced direct exposure to COVID-19.

Compounding this, they are more likely than men to have lost their employment in the past two years ¨C even as they continue to shoulder the burden of caregiving demands wrought by COVID-19. This has confronted millions of women with a stark choice of either maintaining their jobs or caring for their families.

According to the ILO, fewer women than men will regain work during the COVID-19 recovery. Their projections estimate that only 43.2 per cent of the world¡¯s working-age women will be employed in 2021, compared to 68.6 per cent of working-age men.

This is a clearly unfair discrepancy. We have an obligation, moving forward, to re-shape our work-culture, work-models and economies in a manner that works for women.

Excellencies,

COVID-19 has in many ways changed our outlook on what we had previously taken for granted. It has also given us an opportunity to do things better. To reshape economies and societies that are more sustainable, more resilient, that takes care of all our citizens.

The policies we implement today will shape the world we live in tomorrow. And we have an opportunity to rethink the policies that have hindered women¡¯s full participation in the workforce, their full integration into economies.

Governments and the private sector have an important role to play in that regard. They must work together to shape impactful policies that targets structural barriers; barriers that have hitherto hindered women¡¯s participation in labor forces.

Success requires new and innovative work models; tailored policies that addresses specific gender requirements in workplaces; and the creation of more empathetic work cultures.

The workplace of the future must be rooted in equity and free of discrimination and harmful stereotypes about women¡¯s skills, work ethic, leadership abilities or intellect.

Workplaces must be free of the barriers and biases that have been historically used to limit the opportunities for women, undermine their advancement and depress their wages.

Furthermore, instilling gender equity practices would require interventions in the form of strong legal protections, robust enforcement mechanisms, and deep structural and cultural change.

It also requires recognizing women¡¯s special circumstances and the importance of implementing a care economy. One that includes women¡¯s voices in the planning of response and recovery plans.

Today¡¯s dialogue offers an important opportunity to identify strategies and policies that will ensure greater participation of women in the future of sustainable economies, especially in high impact sectors, such as food, energy and manufacturing. This could include greater financing, or upskilling, or greater capacity building, including in the digital space.

Let us make full use of this opportunity and have a constructive dialogue on how we can secure not only a more gender equal recovery ¨C but a gender equal world.

Thank you