This week, GSL Research Fellow Roojin Habibi was recognized as a Woman Expert in Global Health Security by Women in Global Health and the Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security (WCAPS).
This honour comes in conjunction with the organizations’ Operation 50-50 which aims to bring gender equality to global health. Especially in times like these, we are reminded that women make up for 70% of the health care workers fighting diseases such as COVID-19 on the frontlines. In the policy response teams set up in the US or the WHO they are, however, astoundingly underrepresented (10% in the US and 20% in the WHO team).
Failing to give women a seat at the table in crises such as COVID-19, governments and organizations:
-
Miss out on public health experts, because they are not looking at the entire talent pool
-
Miss out on the gender dimension of public health emergencies
-
Fail to address reproductive, maternal and child health consequences stemming from these emergencies
-
Miss out on leveraging the vast networks of women in affected countries who are part of the solution to containing the virus.
We all at the Global Strategy Lab want to congratulate Roojin for this honour!
Read the full statement by Women in Global Health and the Women of Color Advancing Peace & Security here.
Previous