Documents Manca, Anna Rita 3 results

"The current COVID-19 emergency seems to be warning governments worldwide that new crises of unforeseeable nature are likely to emerge, as the combination of environmental degradation, societies with increasing inequalities and deep economic interconnections have made the world more vulnerable. In these circumstances, ensuring the resilience of our society is crucial. We need to be able to face shocks and persistent structural changes in such a way that societal well-being is preserved, leaving no one behind and without compromising the heritage for future generations. Since 2015, the JRC has been working to put resilience thinking into policymaking. This note summarizes some key strategic lessons from this scientific work, and put them in the context of the COVID-19 emergency. Societal resilience needs to be tackled with a 360-degrees system approach, which helps to look at complexities and interconnections. The COVID-19 pandemic impacts our society at different levels and with different intensity, affecting the human and social capitals, the socio-system services, institutions, communities, the production process, consumption, and investment. To respond in a resilient way, different resilience capacities need to be evoked. The COVID-19 shock is so extreme in its duration and intensity that it is simply impossible to address it through absorptive capacities or a simple adaptation of the system. Therefore, it should become an opportunity to progress and “bounce forward” through adaptation and transformation. As this would not happen automatically, policies need to provide the necessary positive impulses for it, with a mix of prevention, preparation, protection, promotion and transformation measures. These efforts can reinforce the political ambitions to put the EU on a more sustainable economic, social, environmental and institutional path. Such a transformative resilience can also strengthen people, and mobilise their creativity and devotion needed for dealing with the crisis. The JRC approach to tackle societal resilience has led us to suggest a few actions that could be implemented to face the current COVID-19 emergency. First, policy measures need to rebuild all capitals eroded by COVID-19: built, human and social capitals. This requires better and stronger coordination of sectoral interventions, an improvement in the measurement and monitoring of human and social capitals, and the adoption of innovative classifications of public and private expenditures, according to the “capital-based” policy framework. Second, policies measures have to focus on the short-run, but keep in mind the medium-term and the opportunity to bounce forward. The opportunity of getting out of the crisis greener and fairer cannot be wasted in the name of urgency. Third, many factors highlighted by such a resilience perspective are useful for designing policies to face the current crisis, and eventually facilitate a bounce forward: the role and participation of citizens; trust in institutions; identifying opportunities that would allow the EU to improve its wellbeing and sustainability without using expensive policies; reconsidering the health systems; re-addressing the trade-offs between security and privacy; promoting a shift towards more sustainable tourism; making a jump in using digital tools in administration and education practices. Forth, the societal mood and people's perceptions will play a key role in driving the behaviours, once lockdowns are terminated. Therefore, it is fundamental that governments and the EU are perceived as institutions able to manage the recovery process. This calls for clear and effective communication."

"The present report is a first attempt to assess potential consequences of the covid-19 outbreak on women and on gender equality in Europe. The report was produced in April 2020, with the aim of informing policy making about the possible impacts of the crisis. Timing does not allow for reporting about actual impacts, as there is hardly any data available on the topic yet. Instead, this work
provides an overview of the status quo in some relevant aspects of gender inequalities before the crisis and makes informed predictions on what is likely to happen during the crisis and also after. The outbreak has increased the need for care work both outside and inside homes in an unprecedented manner. As “normally” women do a disproportionally large share of the unpaid work in most of the EU countries, there is a great risk that they will take up the major part of the increased responsibilities as well. If forced to reduce work hours or unable to deliver properly while teleworking – not only their wellbeing but also their longer-term labour market prospects will suffer. Moreover, the current crisis is not only – and not even mainly – threatening men-dominated employment sectors, but is likely to hit women (at least) as much as men. Coping with the increased burden at home and making ends meet at the same time can be particularly difficult for already vulnerable groups such as single mothers. However, the crisis did not induce risks only, it also created some new opportunities to move towards a more gender-neutral distribution of work. Teleworking men are in a very good position to observe the unpaid labour usually carried out by female household members and to start sharing these duties. A shift in the distribution of work in these households may last after the crisis – especially if newly evolving teleworking opportunities will be maintained and used both by men and by women once the crisis will be over. At the time being it is hard to predict if the negative or the positive effects will dominate in the longer term. The report argues that variations by social groups as well as across countries can be expected and a lot can depend on how policy making responds to these challenges. In times of crisis and social isolation, the risk of domestic abuse increases. During the COVID-19 pandemic, each country is asking its citizens to stay at home, which implies sharing the same space with one's abuser if one is experiencing domestic violence. Several Member States have acknowledged the risk and introduced various measures to better support potential victims – but more needs to be done. Importantly, the role of women's shelters should be reinforced as it is a valid means of reaching out to women out and making citizens more aware of gender-based violence. An important crosscutting theme in gender-equality that affects all the aspects discussed in this report is the unequal representation of males and females in decision-making processes. The lack of gender balance and gender lens in global COVID-19 decision-making drives away from making gender equality a reality. The COVID-19 crisis should be seen as an opportunity to challenge the social dynamics in a way that benefits both women and men. The report concludes with a set of policy recommendations that can help mitigating the damages and realising the potential benefits that the COVID-19 outbreak has brought about on the equality between men and women in Europe."