Women have never been short of challenges in the workplace. They are still today subject to decades-old — even centuries-old — biases. Sexism and harassment are commonplace and the wage gap shrinks but persists. Women also draw the short straw when it comes to hiring and firing and are regularly passed over for promotions. Giving birth to new humans remains a liability. And across the world they disproportionately hold low-wage jobs with few or non-existent social protections.
Women of colour suffer a double-whammy — gender and race discrimination. Then came Covid-19 and the slowing down of the global economy. Within months, the World Economic Forum (WEF) pronounced the pandemic as “the biggest setback to gender equality in a decade”. If before the crisis full economic parity was still 257 years away, said the WEF, 2020 extended that timeline...
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