Women on the frontline are being left out of COVID-19 response plans, poll finds

Women on the frontline are being left out of COVID-19 response plans, poll finds

A global study by Women's Deliver and Focus 2030 has found that women are being excluded from COVID-19 response and recovery plans.

Women account for 70% of frontline workers, but only 20% of the World Health Organization's emergency committee are women.

Research by the World Bank and UN shows women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.

An additional 47 million women worldwide will fall into extreme poverty in 2021 because they are over-represented in hard-hit sectors.



Seven in 10 workers on the frontline of the pandemic are female yet women are left out of many COVID-19 response and recovery plans, according to a global survey published on Thursday.

The survey, by New York-based women's rights advocacy group Women Deliver and Paris-based research organization Focus 2030, gathered the views of 17,000 men and women in 17 countries.



Most wanted women to have a greater say and worried the pandemic had set back progress on equal rights.

"People around the world recognize that gender equality is an issue of our time. And that it is an issue that has been (made) more urgent by COVID-19," said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, head of U.N. Women, at a virtual launch.

Eight in every 10 respondents said