Coronavirus, capitalism and global inequality series
When: April 9, 2020
A series of online public meetings hosted by Global Justice Now
6.30pm, Thursday 9 April & every other Thursday for two months thereafter
The coronavirus pandemic has not only shown us how unprepared our healthcare and food systems are in emergency situations but also how, in moments of real crisis, we can marshal extraordinary resources to solve problems facing society. It’s also shown us that while the wealthy get bailouts, the costs of fighting a crisis may fall on the most vulnerable and least responsible.
When this crisis subsides, we will still face the continued crises of inequality, corporate greed and climate change which present an existential threat to global society. Now more than ever fighting these injustices must be a priority. Only very large-scale intervention in the markets, unprecedented debt cancellation, financial reform and massive bolstering of the public sector globally can both deal with these issues and restore employment in a post crisis financial downturn.
Join us for a series of debates and webinars about these issues and more. On Thursday 9 April we’ll be starting with…
April 9, 6.30pm (BST): Business as usual isn’t good enough
Why neoliberalism won’t help the global south out of this crisis
With
Myriam Vander Stichele, The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations / SOMO (live from the Netherlands)
Gyekye Tanoh, Third World Network (live from Ghana)
Tim Jones, head of policy, Jubilee Debt Campaign
We’ll be using Zoom for the event. If you want to join, follow the link below just before 6.30pm on the day of the event. This will involve downloading the Zoom app if you don’t already have it.
April 23, 1pm (BST): Women on the front line of the crisis
Please note this webinar is at a different time of day to the rest of the series, as our speakers are in different time zones
With
Jean Enriquez, Executive Director, World March of Women, Philippines
Mercia Andrews, Rural Women’s Assembly South Africa
Although the coronavirus affects the health of both men and women, it is women who are feeling the heaviest burden of its many impacts on work, childcare and the economic situation around the world. This is true in the UK where, for example, a recent study found that 98% of workers in high risk jobs that are being paid poverty wages are women. This is equally true, if not more so, for women living in lockdown in the global south. For example, in the Philippines, the capital city Manila and the entire island of Luzon are under lockdown. This is a totally unplanned situation, that is creating chaos and misery especially for low-paid women vendors, households, nurses and hospital workers, many of whom now have to walk for hours just to get to work.
In this webinar, we’ll be talking to two women from the global south who have been campaigning for many years to challenge the power structures that result in inequality for women and marginalized people. Jean Enriquez and Mercia Andrews will compare their experiences of the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in urban Philippines and in rural South Africa.
To what extent has their own government’s heavy handed response particularly impacted on women?
Has the neoliberal agenda preceding this emergency that gutted public infrastructure, made tackling the virus even more challenging?
How are women organizing to protect each other and vulnerable groups during this time?
And how can we support a global response that shows solidarity with women in the global south at this time?
We’ll be using Zoom for the event. If you want to join, follow the link below just before 6.30pm on the day of the event. This will involve downloading the Zoom app if you don’t already have it.
