March Newsletter: MHI Celebrates Women's history month
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Happy Women’s History Month! The 2022 Women’s History Month theme, “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” is a tribute to the work of caregivers and frontline workers during the ongoing pandemic, and the ways in which women have provided healing and hope throughout history. Globally, women and girls contribute more than 70 percent of the world’s caregiving hours. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, school closures, and overrun elder care facilities, many women were forced to choose between staying at their paid work and caring for their families at home. Caregiving should not singularly be an individual family’s burden – research shows that policy solutions at a governmental and systemic level can help alleviate the burden of caregiving from women and provide them with greater resources to care for their families, contribute to their economies, and confront persistent and harmful gender norms. Addressing the gendered burden of caregiving is critical to ensure gender equity worldwide.
Below, you can find our recent white paper, The Lasting Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Women’s Work, Health, and Safety. Stay tuned for our next quarterly policy brief, which is focused on The Global Care Economy and coming soon.
In light of the ongoing crisis in Ukraine, we also draw attention to the role of women in wartime. In Ukraine, women are leading humanitarian efforts and many have taken up arms against Russia. Before the war, fifteen percent of Ukrainian soldiers were women, and as women are faced with the excruciating choice of leaving their country to protect their children or stay and fight, that number continues to rise. Conflict puts women and girls at an increased risk of experiencing gender-based violence, exploitation, and trafficking. They also have limited access to essential health care services, clean water, and food supplies. This year, during Women’s History Month, we recognize the bravery of women in Ukraine, and women in conflict settings globally.
We had the honor of speaking with Ukrainian Member of Parliament, Kira Rudik about what she is living through in Kyiv, the role of women as leaders, and the outsized impact this war is having on Ukrainian children. Through the combined efforts of several Wilson Center programs, we hope to amplify her voice and efforts and those of other women and girls facing conflict.
Below, you can find this important conversation with MP Kira Rudik and other work from MHI published in recognition of Women's History Month. We are also taking this opportunity to highlight the incredible work of our colleagues from around the Wilson Center on women’s leadership, history, and gender equity.
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Sarah B. Barnes, Project Director, Maternal Health Initiative
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