Women in Mexico sow seeds of hope through the ‘Second Chance’ programme

Date: Wednesday, January 27, 2021

UN Women’s Second Chance Education and Vocational Learning Programme in Mexico, in partnership with the south-central state of Puebla’s ministries of Substantive Equality and Welfare and SEPICJ AC, has trained 80 women to manage and maintain a greenhouse, to economically empower them and foster leadership skills.

Press release: Emerging and innovative private sector responses to the pandemic that support gender equality – a UN Women and IFC Report

Date: Friday, December 11, 2020

A new report by UN Women and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) highlights how companies are responding to the pandemic with practices that support gender equality. The emerging practices that are shared in the report aim to curb inequalities women are facing as the pandemic radically transforms the world of work.

Press release: Equal Pay International Coalition calls to prioritize pay equity in COVID-19 recovery with support from Megan Rapinoe

Date: Friday, September 18, 2020

To mark the first International Equal Pay Day, the Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) called all leaders to take necessary steps to ensure pay equity is at the heart of COVID-19 recovery efforts worldwide. 

COVID-19 and its economic toll on women: The story behind the numbers

Date: Wednesday, September 16, 2020

While everyone is facing unprecedented challenges, women are bearing the brunt of the economic and social fallout of COVID-19. Here’s how COVID-19 is rolling back on women’s economic gains of past decades, unless we act now, and act deliberately.

Explainer: Everything you need to know about pushing for equal pay

Date: Monday, September 14, 2020

Workers around the world look forward to payday. A paycheck may bring a sense of relief, satisfaction, or joy, but it can also represent an injustice—an expression of persistent inequalities between men and women in the workplace. Take a closer look at the gender pay gap and what can be done to close it.

Value the work that sustains families, demand domestic workers across Latin America

Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020

As Latin America enters a critical phase of the COVID-19 emergency, recently surpassing 5 million cases and 200,000 deaths , women domestic workers are raising alarm about the lack of economic relief, healthcare and other social protection, and organizing in solidarity to help other workers.

Press release: COVID-19 will widen poverty gap between women and men, new UN Women and UNDP data shows

Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020

The pandemic will push 47 million more women and girls below the poverty line, reversing decades of progress to eradicate extreme poverty.

Op-ed: How COVID-19 can bring gender justice

Date: Thursday, July 23, 2020

In the midst of another pandemic, we are still fighting hard for gender equality, with the coronavirus crisis amplifying existing inequalities and power imbalances and disproportionately affecting women – including in the devastatingly sharp increases in domestic violence. Yet the pandemic is also an opportunity to ‘build back better’ and transform structural gender inequalities.

Small business owners in South Sudan bear the brunt of COVID-19 as livelihoods shrink

Date: Thursday, July 23, 2020

As of early July, South Sudan confirmed more than 2,000 coronavirus cases. The implementation of social distancing rules, curfews and the closure of non-essential business has had a drastic impact on small businesses, especially in the informal sector where women constitute the majority of the work force. Now that businesses have been allowed to re-open with social distancing measures in place, women are working to adapt their businesses and get back on their feet.

In Guatemala, investing in indigenous women’s economic empowerment is key to building back better after COVID-19

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020

Since March 2020, Guatemala has recorded more than 600 COVID-19 deaths and over 11,000 infections. Amidst this crisis, indigenous women have continued to use their voices, knowledge and capacities to assist their communities and adapt their livelihoods. To build back better, their needs and concerns, but also their leadership must be placed at the centre of COVID-19 recovery plans.

From where I stand: “It has become impossible to meet daily needs”

Date: Friday, May 22, 2020

Esther Macharia, 37, is a single mother and the only breadwinner for herself and her daughter. When the COVID-19 crisis came to Kenya, she lost nearly her entire income as a rideshare driver in Nairobi, as people are no longer requesting rides. Her story reflects the hardship that millions of women now face, as workers with low wages and without safety nets.

From where I stand: “Domestic workers should also be entitled to a salary during times of crisis”

Date: Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Ana Paula Soares, 27, has been her family’s breadwinner since 2017. When the COVID-19 crisis came to Timor-Leste, she lost her income as a domestic worker with no way to support her family. Her story reflects the hardship that millions of women now face, as workers in the informal economy.

From where I stand: “I am fearful for smaller countries that have limited resources during COVID-19”

Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Ryancia Henry is originally from Antigua and Barbuda, she moved four months ago to Montecito, California, to take up the position of Director of Housekeeping, managing a team of 60 people, at a hotel that has now closed because of the COVID-19 outbreak. With international travel disrupted, and movement restrictions within the United States of America, Ryancia is among millions of workers in the hospitality industry considering what the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic will be on her, her staff, her family and her friends.

Rickshaw drivers break stereotypes in Nepal

Date: Thursday, December 12, 2019

After returning to Nepal from working abroad in Dubai, Hira Kumari Sewa took part in UN Women’s Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment Programme and learned to drive an e-rickshaw in order to support herself and her family.

From where I stand: “My dream is to own my own garage”

Date: Monday, October 14, 2019

Christine Wambulwa, 40, is the only woman mechanic in Kakuma Town, Turkana County, Kenya. As the sole breadwinner of her family, she works to send her children to school, so they can have the education she couldn’t afford for herself.

Growing women’s entrepreneurship in Bangladesh

Date: Thursday, October 3, 2019

The “Inclusive and Equitable Local Development Programme (IELD)”, a joint initiative of UNCDF, UNDP and UN Women, facilitates women’s access to the labour market and entrepreneurial ventures by fostering local public and private investments in women-led enterprises and small businesses that benefit women as well as their communities.

From where I stand: “Now I have bigger dreams”

Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Sufia Khatun from Pirganj, Rongpur, found herself without any source of income after her husband passed away. Through a joint UN programme, she was able to learn tailoring and get access to finance to invest in her own business. Today she employs 20 women in her community.

From where I stand: “I think of my grandfather when I make Jikos”

Date: Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Refika Cornoleus, escaped the war in Sudan with her her six children, but had to leave behind her home, her husband and her grandparents. She lives in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where she makes eco-friendly stoves, which are high in demand.

In Rwanda, weaving baskets and brighter futures

Date: Monday, August 19, 2019

To support livelihoods of women in Kigeme Refugee Camp, UN Women funded the Women Opportunity Centre, supported by the Government of Sweden. The Centre provides women a safe space, trainings and a showroom for their products to improve their livelihoods at the camp and beyond.

Not waiting for handouts: Five stories of resilience from one of the world’s largest refugee camps

Date: Friday, August 16, 2019

In some of the world’s largest camps, refugees and the native communities power their own economies. Students compete for admission into a better school, journalists report on daily news, entrepreneurs learn new skills and health workers deliver babies. And women are often a forgotten part of this workforce. Meet five women and girls who are doing the usual and unusual jobs that keep life going, and aspiring for more.