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A New York Times report claimed that in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis, efforts need to be doubled to avoid losing a further 10 years to achieve gender equality

United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Bangladesh and Brac, both pioneers in the field of women empowerment, have joined hands to achieve genuine gender parity in the workplace.

The initiative, launched on International Women’s Day (IWD) on Monday, aims to create innovative learning pathways to this end.

“Whenever the issue of gender parity in the workplace comes up, people point to the prime minister, parliament speaker and other women leaders. But the fact is that none of their journeys was easy,” pointed out UNDP Resident Representative Sudipto Mukerjee.

“The massive barriers that these women had to face and still have to face is unbelievable. What we want to do, is work jointly and explore both structured and innovative approaches coupled with better knowledge management and adopt bold initiatives for greater gender parity in the workplace,” he added.

World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020 says that it will take another 100 years to achieve gender equality based on the current rate of progress.

A New York Times report claimed that in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and economic crisis, efforts will have to be doubled if we are to avoid losing a further 10 years to achieve gender equality.

“Brac is committed to build a more equitable world where woman have equal right to thrive in both their professional and private lives. To achieve gender parity at workplace, we must first understand the underlying causes of workforce gender gap. We are delighted to partner with UNDP as we navigate a way forward to achieve a gender balanced workforce,” pointed out Brac’s Executive Director Asif Saleh.

Under the cooperation, UNDP and Brac will form a Joint Advisory Group and develop an action plan focusing on four pillars. They are strategic collaboration on the advancement of women’s leadership and empowerment; outreach and advocacy programs to ensure gender parity in the workplace; establish regular technical and strategic exchange; and leveraging expertise, stimulating the use of standard tools and launching joint initiatives.

UNDP and Brac firmly believe that this will further strengthen existing capacities and build on key streams of work with the greatest potential to demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the enhanced collaboration for women's advancement in the development leadership.