International Women’s Day: How can COVID-19 help us celebrate women?

COVID-19 – The implications for women

This Monday we celebrate International Women’s Day, this year’s theme is: Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world. COVID- 19 has brought to light and worsened the deep-rooted struggles women face across the world. For example, around 33% of women face violence from their partners, 15 million more women are likely to be facing violence as a result of the Pandemic. According to a report from UN Women on Gender Equality in the wake of COVID-19 47 million more women could  experience extreme poverty. International Women’s Day is important everyday however this year it is more important than ever, click here to get involved and learn more. 

Let’s look at the positives!

However, COVID-19 has also highlighted the strength and effectiveness of female leadership, shining a spotlight on women in positions of power and their achievements in dealing with the crisis. For example, most of the countries praised for their approach to dealing with the Pandemic are female led, these include Germany, Finland, New Zealand , Taiwan, Denmark, Iceland and Norway.  Research has shown that this could be because female leaders have shown to be more “risk averse” weighing up the risks between saving lives and saving the economy. As well as this they have  been found to be more “transparent and compassionate”  in making decisions for the collective good. One of the most recognised female leaders during the spread of the virus is Jacinda Ardern – Prime Minister of New Zealand. She showed decisive, responsible leadership and locked the country down early, as a result they have one of the lowest mortality rates globally. 

 Has COVID-19 shown that women are   better leaders in times of crisis?

It’s difficult to make solid conclusions  however research from Harvard Business  Review has shown that women are seen as   more effective leaders than men, scoring   higher on leadership qualities. Not only this   but they scored higher on qualities such as   “inspires and motivates” and “communicates   powerfully” which are some of the most important values we now look for in leaders. 

It’s clear that COVID-19 will help boost the credibility of female leadership and hopefully open new doors whilst we continue the journey towards gender equality and representation.

What Can We Do? 

For International Women’s Day (and for every other day of the year!) we want women to inspire and support other women to reach their goals and aspirations. Check out our Journal Post: “5 Empowering Quotes From Inspiring Women That We Can Learn From” to feel inspired.

At Wo we want to build a community of likeminded people, inclusive of all and a platform to share and care for each other. We aim to nurture self- confidence through skincare and holistic wellbeing, with a deeper understanding of your skin you can glow from within. Head over to our Skin Diagnostic to find out more.

Author – Sara Poidevin-Hill