Ruzvidzo Addresses Gender Roles in Covid-19 Fight

The Director of the Gender, Poverty and Social Policy Division at the Economic Commission for Africa, Thokozile Ruzvidzo, says unless a gender perspective is embraced in Covid-19 recovery initiatives, the pandemic will amplify existing gender disparities.

Ruzvidzo stated this during an online campaign tagged, ‘Gender is My Campaign’, on the gendered effects of the pandemic.

The ‘Gender is My Campaign’ network and its partners started an online campaign to showcase efforts by the African Union Commission and its member states as work towards Covid-19 recovery gathers momentum.

Ruzvidzo said Covid-19 recovery policy initiatives needed to embrace a gender perspective to lessen the deepening vulnerabilities of women, especially cross border traders.

She added that women in the informal economy were more often found in the most vulnerable situations.

‘Women in African countries are in general concentrated in necessity-driven entrepreneurship in the services sector, market activities and cross-border trade in the informal economy’, Ruzvidzo said.

‘It is expected that the knock-on effects of border closures and market restrictions to deal with Covid-19 will be significant…

‘Female predominance in informal cross-border trade is often attributed to women’s time and mobility constraints, as well as to their limited access to productive resources and support systems, making such activities one of the few options available to them to earn a living’.

Ruzvidzo added that the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) presents new opportunities for women in Africa which can help in accelerating their economic empowerment.

Women’s groups, according to her, have an important role to play in ensuring that women and men benefit equally from ACFTA agreement through their advocacy role and as watchdogs.

Source: Ethiopian Press Agency

Photo source: Dmitry Pozhidaev

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