54. Gender Equality, Pandemics, And Accelerating Digitalization
Anne-Sophie Godfroy, République des savoirs (CNRS, École Normale Supérieure, Collège de France)
Posted: February 28, 2022 Accepted Languages: English/Inglés/Inglês, Spanish/Español/Espanhol, Portuguese/Portugués
Since March 2020, the world has been hit by a pandemic that has profoundly changed lifestyles by imposing lockdowns, distancing, an accelerated transformation of lifestyles and social relationships, and increasing digitalization. In this panel, we want to explore the impacts of accelerated digitalization on gender equality. We encourage an intersectional approach and reflections on the permanence (or not) of those changes.
Here are some possible topics:
The risks and opportunities of teleworking and its widespread use for gender equality. It creates more flexibility but it also makes possible the return of patriarchal norms and the confinement of women to the home, when working outside had been an opportunity for emancipation.
The impact of the replacement of people by robots or e-commerce platforms. The development of robots to replace cashiers, of platforms for delivery and services, including health (meal delivery, appointment scheduling, reservations, online services, etc.) put thousands of female jobs at risk, and create many precarious male jobs in delivery and security. It also excludes underprivileged groups with poor access to digital tools. What are the impacts of those changes on intersecting inequalities?
The massive investment of stimulus packages in the digital sector and start-ups tends to reinforce gender inequality by valuing a sector where women are very few, raise less money and adhere less to the social Darwinism and cut-throat competition that are the values in this sector. What gender equality policies could counter this trend?
