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.
How going hungry can affect children for the rest of their lives
New research shows that malnourishment can put children at risk of developing some kind of health problem within ten years of going hungry.
How gender and racial biases are hurting economics
Wharton's Olivia S. Mitchell, MSU's Lisa D. Cook and Judith Chevalier from Yale University discuss the effects of gender and racial biases in the field of economics.
The UK has just introduced a new law to protect women
The two new laws criminalise taking 'upskirt' images where the purpose is to obtain sexual gratification, or to cause humiliation, distress or alarm
What stops us cooperating?
It's not so much the temptation to follow our self-interest or free ride. Instead, it's our fear of being exploited by others, writes Friederike Mengel, an economics professor.
What does AI mean for gender equality?
Female workers are more exposed to risks of computerisation than male workers, and that this tendency is more pronounced in larger cities.
Hemingway centre opens in Cuba to preserve writer's work
The United States and Cuba have collaborated to open Hemingway's old house near Havana, where he wrote some of his most famous books.
5 facts about Buddhists around the world
The Buddha is believed to have been born roughly 2,500 years ago in what is today Nepal. Here are 5 facts about the religion itself.
Beer seems better if we think a guy made it
A new study has found that customers don’t value and are less inclined to buy traditionally male products if they think they’ve been manufactured by women.
This theory is inspiring a new way to think about language
A new theory suggests we have a lot more control over the future use of language than we thought.
Why sleeping at work could actually make you better at your job
The lines between work and home are blurring, and research suggests Americans are getting less sleep than previous generations. Is encouraging napping at work the answer?
Across the world, women outlive men. This is why
A look at how attitudes to well-being play in to life expectancy, and how gender and wealth can make a difference.
Why this company wants to make reading an ebook more like a video game
Books too boring? Maybe they need badges and achievements for kids who finish their reading homework.