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.
Making history, UK's new feminist party leader aims to popularise 'f-word' politics
"None of the other parties are nearly ambitious enough when it comes to gender equality."
Is toxic masculinity driving climate change? These artists think so
Women and girls account for 80% of those displaced and their vulnerabilities are exposed during climate disasters, the UN says.
What role will technology play in the creation of high-paying jobs?
Many regard the falloff in the creation of high-wage jobs as the inevitable result of advances in artificial intelligence and robotics. It isn’t. Technology can be used either to displace...
'Our call is to lift women up' - an excerpt from Melinda Gates' new book
The Moment of Lift – Gates' powerful call for gender equality – is this month's pick for the World Economic Forum Book Club.
The business case for diversity in the workplace is now overwhelming
Research shows that diversity in business fosters innovation, improves the bottom line, and even helps with recruitment.
These test formats favour different genders
When taking standardized tests, girls perform better with open-ended questions, but boys score higher on multiple choice, research shows.
You use less information to make decisions than you might think
Researchers have revealed the surprising truth about how we make decisions - most of the time we use a lot less information than we think.
Free sanitary products now available for female prisoners in the UK
Free sanitary products will also be given to transgender male prisoners to help ensure menstruating detainees are "treated with dignity"
This is how the way the world measures success in education is changing
The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment is set to change its assessment guidelines to include more measures of creative thinking.
How gender diversity at the top can boost the bottom line - and improve the world
Closing the gender pay gap is a necessary goal in itself - but research shows that companies with a greater number of women in leadership outperform their peers
These vending machines are giving out free short stories to London commuters
The UK’s first short story vending machines have popped up in London, to help people stop scrolling through social media and lose themselves in bite-sized works of fiction.
Quiz: How much sleep, play and screen time does your child need?
New guidelines from the World Health Organization warn against too much screen time for babies and toddlers. How does your parenting measure up?