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.
Life in Chernobyl, blockchain saves lunch and other top stories of the week
Also in this week's edition, read about the universities with the most impact and Bill Gates’ 3 solutions for climate change.
These are the books Bill Gates thinks you should read this summer
Here's 5 book that entrepreneur Bill Gates has recommended for a summer read.
The Taj Mahal has opened a breastfeeding room, the first Indian monument to do so
Public breastfeeding still carries a social stigma in India where mothers are expected to be covered head-to-toe.
Down and out in Paris: homeless women find refuge in grandeur
Paris' palatial city hall is providing 120 homeless women with shelter, hot meals, healthcare guidance and arts therapy.
Is U.S. fertility at an all-time low? Two of three measures point to yes
Fertility hit a record low in 2018 according to the general fertility rate and the total fertility rate.
A record number of women are set to enter India's parliament
India was one of the first countries to have a female leader, but more than five decades after Indira Gandhi became prime minister, women's participation in politics remains stubbornly low.
Men in Game of Thrones speak three times as much as women
'Game of Thrones' has been praised for showing tough female characters but also faced criticism for scenes of sexual violence and brutality against women
Spain has Europe’s largest share of women in parliament
At 47%, Spain has a bigger proportion of female lawmakers than even Sweden, which has a far longer history of promoting gender equality.
The number of female CEOs in the Fortune 500 has hit a new record
As of June 1, 33 of the companies on the ranking of highest-grossing firms will be led by female CEOs for the first time ever.
Women in Cairo are using martial arts to combat harassment
Experts surveyed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in 2017 ranked Cairo as the world's most dangerous megacity for women.
These are the jobs robots can't do
When we consider the threat posed by automation at most levels of the value chain, we should remember that robots cannot do what humans cannot tell them to do.
How Finland is fighting fake news - in the classroom
The Media Literacy Index, compiled by the Open Society Institute in Sofia, has found that Finland is the most resilient to disinformation.