ABSTRACT
Women make up the large majority of workers in global supply chains, especially factories in the apparel supply chain. These workers face significant inequalities in wages, workplace hazards, and a special burden of gender-based violence and harassment. These "normal" conditions have been compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated long-standing structural inequities. Decades of well-financed "corporate social responsibility" programs have failed because they do not address the underlying causes of illegal and abusive working conditions. New initiatives in the past half-decade offer promise in putting the needs and rights of workers front and center. Occupational health and safety professionals can assist in the global effort to improve working and social conditions, and respect for the rights and dignity of women workers, through advocacy and action on the job, in their professional associations, and in society at large.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Clothing , Manufacturing Industry/statistics & numerical data , Occupational Health/statistics & numerical data , Occupations/statistics & numerical data , Women , Workplace , COVID-19/epidemiology , Female , Humans , Pandemics , Poverty/statistics & numerical data , Salaries and Fringe Benefits/statistics & numerical data , Sexual Harassment/statistics & numerical data , Violence/statistics & numerical data , Women's Rights/statistics & numerical data , Women's Rights/trendsSubject(s)
Biomedical Research , Coronavirus Infections , Pandemics , Physicians, Women , Pneumonia, Viral , Psychosocial Support Systems , Socioeconomic Factors , Women's Rights , Academic Performance , Betacoronavirus , Biomedical Research/organization & administration , Biomedical Research/standards , COVID-19 , Coronavirus Infections/epidemiology , Coronavirus Infections/psychology , Efficiency , Humans , Mental Health , Needs Assessment , Patient Selection , Physicians, Primary Care/education , Physicians, Women/psychology , Physicians, Women/standards , Pneumonia, Viral/epidemiology , Pneumonia, Viral/psychology , SARS-CoV-2 , Sex Factors , Women's Rights/standards , Women's Rights/trendsABSTRACT
This article summarizes discussions at a Gender Equity Workshop run during the Molecular Approaches to Malaria Conference in February 2020. Barriers to career progression in science for women and minority groups, along with suggestions to overcome ongoing roadblocks, are discussed. The emerging challenges that coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is bringing to this sector are also considered.