On Gender, Leadership, and COVID-19

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On Gender, Leadership, and COVID-19 is an upcoming webinar, co-hosted by Religions for Peace and the Centre of Theological Inquiry, which will take place virtually on Tuesday, 13 October 2020 between 8:00 am – 10:00 am ET. Use timeanddate.com to convert this New York time to your own time zone.

Religions for Peace and the Centre of Theological Inquiry convene once again to discuss the intricacies of leadership in and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. Panellists will explore a gendered dimension of leadership, looking toward examples of women of faith in formal and informal structures of leadership, who are often at the forefront of humanitarian responses.


Tuesday, 13 October 2020 | 8:00 am – 10:00 am New York | 1:00 pm – Scotland & Tunisia | 2:00 pm – Egypt & Norway | 7:00 pm – Cambodia | 9:00 pm – Japan |
Use timeanddate.com to convert this New York time to your own time zone.

The unprecedented global health crisis that is the COVID-19 pandemic has led to profound losses across all sectors of society, most notably in the lives lost throughout nearly every country in the world. Since the spring of 2020, when Religions for Peace and the Center of Theological Inquiry first partnered to examine the emerging meanings of leadership in a world transformed by coronavirus, the number of deaths caused by the virus has multiplied ten-fold, from just over 100,000 to a devastating 1,000,000 globally. While individuals, national governments, intergovernmental agencies, and non-governmental organizations all encounter this global challenge with a wide variety of approaches (ranging from proactive to lackluster), their actions and voices pave the way into the future, setting a precedent for how humanity responds in moments of great peril.

In the public limelight for their responses to the pandemic are the world’s prominent leaders, be they religious, political, or civil leaders. As central powers and popular figures, these leaders hold an immeasurable influence over national responses to COVID-19 and the extent to which the guidance of global and regional health agencies are implemented. What form their diplomacy takes has a great impact on the trajectory set for the nation at large, while ripples of its impact cascade far beyond national borders into the broader global context.

In this crucial moment in history, as global leadership defines the world’s trajectory, the urgency of ethical leadership is more abundant and more apparent than ever. Leaders of thought and of spiritual expression must continue to foster sustained dialogue in an effort to establish what “Leadership” means in the wake of the global pandemic. The outbreak of COVID-19 has a strong gender implication as well. Women constitute the vast majority of care and health workers globally1, which puts them at the forefront of pandemic responses and exposes them to a greater threat. Women also often work unpaid or in informal working structures supporting the overall functioning of societies. During times of crisis, with the rise of financial insecurity, women are disproportionately affected2. And, in the ongoing situation of physical and social isolation, domestic violence towards women becomes an imminent threat. Initial research has already shown that the numbers for domestic and intimate partner violence towards women has significantly increased due to the stay at home orders around the globe.3

On 13th October 2020, at 8:00-10:00 a.m. ET, join Religions for Peace and the Centre of Theological Inquiry as we convene once again to discuss the intricacies of leadership in and beyond the coronavirus pandemic. Panellists will explore a gendered dimension of leadership, looking toward examples of women of faith in formal and informal structures of leadership, who are often at the forefront of humanitarian responses. Our leaders will dialogue on the styles of leadership that offer promising responses to threats toward global health and which address the structural inequalities that cause poor communities to suffer disproportionately the effects of COVID-19. And these leaders will propose concrete, collaborative actions to uproot the causes of structural and gendered inequalities through an ethical commitment to care for the common good.

Please register here

1 Anderlini, Sanam Naraghi (2020): Women, Peace and Security in the time of Corona.

Women peace and security in the time of corona

2 See Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy: https://centreforfeministforeignpolicy.org/feminist-resources-on-the- pandemic

3 Sixth Tone (2020): Domestic Violence Cases Surge During COVID-19 Epidemic.
https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1005253/domestic-violence-cases-surge-during-covid-19-epidemic

 

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