Australia: Covid-19 responses, why feminist leadership matters in a crisis
Source: Iowy Institute
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and, as seen by the actions of the White House and even our own Australian government, the usual mandates for gender balance and equality have already fallen by the wayside.
It hardly seems like a time to complain about this; after all, there are lives at stake. However, if gender cannot be part of the conversation during a crisis, when can it be?
After all, we know that women are disproportionately affected by disasters, with crises exploiting structural inequalities that affect preparedness, response, impact, number of deaths, and recovery. Further, we know that Covid-19 is not gender neutral – among other things, women are overrepresented in health services on the frontline, and in casual employment most likely to be hit hard by economic downturn. Men may be more likely to be infected, based on early assessments of Italian data.
Click here to read the full article published by Iowy Institute on 31 Mars 2020.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, and, as seen by the actions of the White House and even our own Australian government, the usual mandates for gender balance and equality have already fallen by the wayside.
It hardly seems like a time to complain about this; after all, there are lives at stake. However, if gender cannot be part of the conversation during a crisis, when can it be?
After all, we know that women are disproportionately affected by disasters, with crises exploiting structural inequalities that affect preparedness, response, impact, number of deaths, and recovery. Further, we know that Covid-19 is not gender neutral – among other things, women are overrepresented in health services on the frontline, and in casual employment most likely to be hit hard by economic downturn. Men may be more likely to be infected, based on early assessments of Italian data.
Click here to read the full article published by Iowy Institute on 31 Mars 2020.