Addressing the economic fallout of COVID-19: Pathways and policy options for a gender-responsive recovery

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020

This brief presents emerging evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on women’s economic empowerment. It considers the immediate gendered economic impacts, including widening socioeconomic divides and shifting national and international priorities for the allocation of resources, as well as the long-term implications for women’s employment and livelihoods.

Economic value of the unpaid care work in the Republic of Serbia

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Across the world, the care of children continues to be primarily provided by women and girls, and such a burden constrains their ability to participate equally in employment and social and political life, and to earn an income commensurate with that of men. The goal of this research is to measure and value women’s contribution to the economy through their unpaid care and domestic work responsibilities in the Republic of Serbia.

Meeting basic needs of women and girls with disabilities during COVID-19

Date: Thursday, June 25, 2020

The present brief discusses the adverse impact of COVID-19 in the ability of women, girls, transgender and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities in meeting basic needs and provides recommendation to stakeholders on how to mitigate adverse effects of pre-existing inequalities they face, including on how to engage with networks and organizations as active agents in the process of “building back”.

Migrant women and remittances: Exploring the data from selected countries

Date: Friday, June 12, 2020

Analysing data from 11 national household surveys, this research found that, while women typically earn less than men and pay more in transfer fees, the average remittance amounts they send are the same as or even greater than those of men, implying that they tend to remit a larger portion of their earnings than do men. The research also showed that migrant women are more dependent on in-person cash transfer services to send remittances.

Spotlight on SDG 8: The impact of marriage and children on labour market participation

Date: Friday, May 8, 2020

How are women’s employment outcomes shaped by domestic and caregiving responsibilities? Drawing on a global dataset and new indicators developed by UN Women and the International Labour Organization, this paper provides insights into the distribution of domestic and caregiving responsibilities within various types of households—insights that are critical at this juncture when policies and programmes are being designed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic fallout.

Guidance note: Addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on women migrant workers

Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2020

This guidance note highlights the emerging impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on women migrant workers, focusing on the key challenges and risks they face. It makes recommendations in the context of the economic and social response and recovery packages that governments are putting forward, supported by examples of existing good practices from around the world.

Family-friendly policies and other good workplace practices in the context of COVID-19: Key steps employers can take

Date: Friday, March 27, 2020

With many businesses struggling to survive as a consequence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, loss of jobs and income and rising working poverty are a reality for many workers. This document offers (interim) recommendations for employers to mitigate the negative consequences stemming from COVID-19.

Transnational families, care arrangements and the state in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

Date: Thursday, December 5, 2019

This paper concerns the implications of migration within Central America for family life. Focusing on the case of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, it shows how Nicaraguan families develop strategies based on a history of informal and flexible caregiving. While these informal strategies allow families to navigate the challenges migration and family separation entail, they also contribute to continued vulnerability and reinforce the gendered burdens of caregiving within transnational families.

Family-oriented cash transfers from a gender perspective: Are conditionalities justified?

Date: Thursday, November 21, 2019

This brief reviews a decade of feminist research on conditional cash transfers that has raised serious questions about the assumptions that underpin the use of conditionalities and their impact on poor women’s lives. It highlights concerns about the detrimental effects that conditionalities may have in contexts where quality public services are lacking and where multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination mean that well-intended programme requirements easily slip into coercive and disempowering implementation practices.

Fiscal space for social protection: A handbook for assessing financing options

Date: Thursday, October 31, 2019

This handbook provides practical guidance, elaborated with case studies, on how additional fiscal space can be created for a universal social protection system. The analyses should help governments on how they can increase spending on priority sectors for women, children, and vulnerable groups.