International Women's Day, which has been marked for the past 110 years, is an occasion to celebrate the progress that has been made around the world towards narrowing the gender gap, particularly here in the UAE. But as the dust thrown up by the pandemic starts to settle, a new world is taking shape, formed by the huge upheaval of Covid-19. We must also reflect on how the tumult of the past year affected women around the globe.
Women appear to have been disproportionately affected by the virus. Last week, The National reported on PwC's Women in Work Index and the company's fears of an emerging "she-cession" in the UK jobs market. The firm predicted that levels of gender parity in the OECD – an organisation representing 37 leading free-market economies – which have otherwise been increasing year on year, will fall back to 2017 levels in 2021.
Addressing gender imbalances is not forgetting the many men also left behind by the virus
Pandemics have always been particularly damaging to women's interests. Last April, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, called for an end to the horrifying rise in domestic violence against women during lockdowns. In the Middle East, the research network Arab Barometer recorded huge rises in perceived violence against women, as high as 63 per cent in Tunisia and 27 per cent in Jordan.
Surveys in the US and UK have also suggested that care burdens at home have been primarily borne by women, leading to a disproportionately high number of female carers reducing their work hours, or leaving jobs altogether, compared to men.
Editorials from The National
Societies cannot tolerate a scenario in which women, already chasing parity with men in the workplace before the pandemic, start carrying yet heavier burdens after Covid-19. If this moral argument fails to convince all fully, there are also huge financial incentives to addressing this historic imbalance. PwC's report estimates a $6 trillion boost to the GDP of the OECD if future levels of female employment match ones currently found in Sweden, a consistent leader in the field.
One country that is building foundations towards this end is the UAE. Whether guaranteeing equal pay for men and women in 2018, or introducing three months' paid maternity leave for government employees the following year, the government has taken the lead in trying to create a fair system, wherein both men and women can succeed. The results are for all to see: in 2019, it was reported that 53 per cent of the UAE's total workforce consisted of women and today 66 per cent of government jobs are held by them.
Acknowledging emerging divisions in today's new reality is imperative. More optimistic, and not measured by statistics, has been the major collaboration between men and women that allowed us all to pull through the worst of the past year. Addressing specifically gender imbalances is not, as some believe, forgetting the many men also left behind by the virus. It is instead an endeavour that will strengthen us all, men and women, as we emerge dazed but determined into recovery.
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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More on Quran memorisation:
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Pox that threatens the Middle East's native species
Camelpox
Caused by a virus related to the one that causes human smallpox, camelpox typically causes fever, swelling of lymph nodes and skin lesions in camels aged over three, but the animal usually recovers after a month or so. Younger animals may develop a more acute form that causes internal lesions and diarrhoea, and is often fatal, especially when secondary infections result. It is found across the Middle East as well as in parts of Asia, Africa, Russia and India.
Falconpox
Falconpox can cause a variety of types of lesions, which can affect, for example, the eyelids, feet and the areas above and below the beak. It is a problem among captive falcons and is one of many types of avian pox or avipox diseases that together affect dozens of bird species across the world. Among the other forms are pigeonpox, turkeypox, starlingpox and canarypox. Avipox viruses are spread by mosquitoes and direct bird-to-bird contact.
Houbarapox
Houbarapox is, like falconpox, one of the many forms of avipox diseases. It exists in various forms, with a type that causes skin lesions being least likely to result in death. Other forms cause more severe lesions, including internal lesions, and are more likely to kill the bird, often because secondary infections develop. This summer the CVRL reported an outbreak of pox in houbaras after rains in spring led to an increase in mosquito numbers.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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