UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday asked countries to put women front and center in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Women need to be front and center of the recovery from the pandemic -- not as a matter of charity, not even as a matter of justice and basic human rights -- although this is true -- but as a matter of economics, of efficiency and effectiveness, of social and community resilience," he said.
"Women's full representation and leadership are a prerequisite for making the best use of all our resources. Women have proven this once again during the pandemic," he told a town hall meeting with civil society during the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the largest gathering for gender equality at the United Nations.
Essential and front-line women workers, including health workers, have kept institutions, communities and societies afloat. Women leaders have won widespread praise for making decisions based on science, demonstrating their sound judgment and foresight leading their countries, he noted.
