The 2022 SDG Gender Index shows progress towards gender equality is lacking; Hundreds of Roma refugees from Ukraine face discrimination
Today’s global news summary brings news affecting the world, Moldova, and the UK, and discusses issues as diverse as gender inequality, discrimination, and inflation.
- Global news: The 2022 SDG Gender Index shows progress towards gender equality is lacking
- Moldova: Hundreds of Roma refugees from Ukraine face discrimination
- UK: Inflation to peak at 8.3% in April
The 2022 SDG Gender Index shows progress towards gender equality is lacking
Transition and emerging economies | Development | Demography, family, and gender
The newly released 2022 SDG Gender Index finds that, globally, there has been very little progress on gender equality between 2015 and 2020 and, that, if left at its current pace, gender equality will not be met by 2030. In fact, “less than a quarter of countries are making ‘fast’ progress towards gender equality, and one in every three countries is either making no progress at all or is moving in the wrong direction.” The findings, however, are based on figures before Covid-19, and the authors of the report note that the pandemic has since had an even worse impact on girls and women worldwide.
The report has found that “countries that make good use of laws to facilitate women’s economic inclusion, for example, have been found to have […] more resilient employment for women and more women in their parliaments.” Similarly, IZA World of Labor author Sher Verick has found that it is “more important to understand the quality of women’s employment.” Read his article.
Related content
IZA World of Labor articles
Female labor force participation and development
Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap
Gender differences in corporate hierarchies
Wage compression and the gender pay gap
Key topics
What is the gender divide?
Opinions
How to play it safe? The gender gap in aversion to Covid-19 exposure
Gender quotas for the board room?
Can we use trade policy to achieve gender equality?
Gender diversity in teams
Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap
Videos
Nina Smith on the gender pay gap: An interview with with Daniel S. Hamermesh
Interview with Antti Kauhanen on gender differences in corporate hierarchies
Gender discrimination and sexual harassment: A discussion with Joni Hersch
The gender pay gap: Solomon W. Polachek in conversation with Daniel S. Hamermesh
IZA Discussion Papers
The COVID-19 Pandemic in Latin American and Caribbean Countries: The Labor Supply Impact by Gender
Social Attitudes on Gender Equality and Firms' Discriminatory Pay-Setting
Hundreds of Roma refugees from Ukraine face discrimination
Migration and ethnicity | Demography, family, and gender
As reported by Aljazeera, Chisinau, Moldova has now accepted hundreds of people of Roma origin from Ukraine. Under the pressure of the bombs which destroyed their houses, many Roma people found themselves grabbing their closest family members and running to safety, without taking their documents with them. It is estimated that there are approximately 400,000 Ukraine Roma people, some undocumented, others having lost their documents in the process of fleeing war, who are facing discrimination as they are fleeing their home country. Some people “spent four days in the cold waiting to enter Moldova, without any food or water […] and other Roma, [once they found shelter], were chased out of their tents by the Ukrainian border authorities.”
In his article IZA World of Labor author Martin Kahanec has highlighted the many issues surrounding Roma integration. “The pathology of social and economic separation and mistrust affects both Roma and non-Roma populations,” he points out in his article.
Related content
IZA World of Labor articles
Roma integration in European labor markets
UK: Inflation to peak at 8.3% in April
The BBC has reported that according to The Resolution Foundation “a typical household's income will fall by about £1,000 this year once the effect of inflation is accounted for.” The think tank has also warned that energy prices will rise and UK families will face the biggest income squeeze in since the 1970s. Many families have been preparing for their monthly outgoings to go up once the energy price cap jumps next month, and as National Insurance contributions rise. However, the new report by The Resolution Foundation has also highlighted that the conflict in Ukraine would push living costs even more as the price of fuel and other goods surge.
“The UK's post-Covid economic recovery is well under way, but a deep living standards downturn is just getting going,” the report said. Back in the midst of the pandemic, IZA World of Labor contributors Erwin Diewert and Kevin J. Fox wrote about how difficult it was to measure inflation accurately in the midst of lockdowns. Read their analysis and find more about how labor markets around the world are recovering from the lasting economic impacts of Covid-19.
Key topics
National responses to Covid-19
Opinions
Can inflation be accurately measured during a lockdown?
IZA Discussion Papers
Firms' Inflation Expectations: New Evidence from France
The Expected, Perceived, and Realized Inflation of U.S. Households before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Cross-Country Connectedness in Inflation and Unemployment: Measurement and Macroeconomic Consequences