Webinar: "COVID19 and the care economy. What do we see, what do we call for?"

In the context of the WIDE+ series: “COVID19 and care: feminist reflections on a new normal”, this online webinar reflects on the unequal recognition and undervaluation of care that has aggravated multi-layered gender inequalities and contributed to the massive gender impact of the pandemic.

Almost one year after the first lockdown measures were put in place in Europe, the similarities and differences among government responses to the crisis have been assessed and conclusions can be drawn from its impact on the care economy. Feminists have formulated alternative recovery responses based on the assertion that the care economy must be a key element in economic and social policies for recovery. The post-pandemic “new normal”, from a feminist point of view, thus cannot mean any return to austerity and the financialization and privatization of care.

The COVID19 pandemic has highlighted one of the main tenets of feminist economics, namely the central place of care for societal and economic wellbeing. This webinar series addresses the gendered impact of COVID and recovery measures on the unpaid & paid care, global care chains and women’s rights including sexual and reproductive rights.

The first webinar is moderated by Silke Steinhilber, a research and evaluation consultant and trainer capacity development for gender equality, globally and across Eastern Europe.