In 2020, the global workforce lost an equivalent of 255 million full-time jobs, an estimated $3.7 trillion in wages and 4.4% of global GDP, a staggering toll on lives and livelihoods. While vaccine rollout has begun and the growth outlook is predicted to improve, an even socio-economic recovery is far from certain.
The choices made by policymakers, business leaders, workers and learners today will shape societies for years to come. At this critical crossroads, leaders must consciously, proactively and urgently lay the foundations of a new social contract, rebuilding our economies so they provide opportunity for all.
In this context, the Forum remains committed to working with the public- and private sectors to provide better skills, jobs and education to 1 billion people by 2030 through initiatives to close the skills gap and prepare for the ongoing technological transformation of the future of work.
These are the best countries for female workers
Improving female participation in work across the OECD could boost member countries' combined GDP by $6 trillion.
5 innovations that have advanced women’s rights
Many of these 5 innovations we take for granted in everyday life, but in fact have shaped the lives of women and girls worldwide.
Could gendered language be responsible for excluding women from power?
Is it time to address some of the inherent gender inequalities within the English language and seek fairer alternatives?
This is the strange paradox that stops women from applying for jobs
A LinkedIn study found that men and women view roughly the same number of jobs as each other, but women were 16% less likely to apply for a job they had viewed.
Why we're living in the 'Asian Century'
Of the estimated $30 trillion in middle-class consumption growth estimated between 2015 and 2030, only $1 trillion is expected to come from today’s Western economies. Most of the rest wil...
7 surprising and outrageous stats about gender inequality
On International Women's Day, here are seven statistics worth taking a stand against - from child brides to domestic burdens to unequal pay.
An economist explains why women are paid less
For every dollar a man earns, on average a woman is paid 54 cents. There's a simple reason for this and a complicated one, says economist Laura Tyson.
Protecting women in public life is a global political issue that affects us all. Here’s why
Women’s participation in politics is vital for society, and world leaders need to do much more to ensure they can take part free from threats of violence and repression
How do we decide if an animal is extinct?
Sightings of thought-to-be-extinct animals like the Fernandina giant tortoise call into question how we define extinction and what the future might hold for some of our rarest animals.
How to beat gender stereotypes: learn, speak up and react
A recent survey found that women who negotiated for promotions were 30% more likely of being labelled bossy or aggressive.
Global economic growth forecasts cut again by OECD
The OECD has cut forecasts again for the global economy in 2019 and 2020, following on from previous downgrades in November.
This heroic doctor is waging war on rape and the stigma around it
Dr Denis Mukwege, a gynaecologist who helps rape victims, says the shame surrounding sexual violence must be broken.