As the Greens, we have our roots in the women’s rights movement. We believe that our common struggles such as the climate crisis, but also the huge challenge lying ahead of us – recovering from the pandemic – require an intersectional approach. 

In just the last year, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased already existing gender disparities. Crises have a disproportionate impact on women and girls, and today hard-fought gains are under threat.

COVID-19 has shed light on the extent to which we rely on women on the frontline and at home. Women, whose competences are undervalued and therefore underpaid, are most often the workers in essential professions. Women make up the vast majority of the healthcare and social care sectors, but only 30% of its leaders are women. More than 75% of European care workers exposed to the virus are women. Furthermore, women-dominated professions have suffered from severe job losses, with 2.2 million women losing their jobs across the EU in just the first wave. The economic impact of COVID-19 will also likely be more long lasting for women. During a rise of employment in the summer, men gained twice as many jobs as women did.

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