Power Hegemonies in Times of Crises

Crises processes and narratives appear as a new feature and challenge in the present and future of global society. We now live in a state of ‘perpetual crisis’ as the combined effect of past, present, and ongoing crises. Crisis management and solutions are gendered and have a great impact on women’s equality and empowerment, affecting society as a whole.

Work Package 6 will explore and assess challenges and opportunities for women’s empowerment in situations of crisis from a comparative perspective. The goal is to identify the lessons learned, the challenges to women’s equality created by crises processes, and the opportunities for transformation of hegemonic power structures and discourse.

This Work Package will assess different types of crises in the domain of finance, health, and climate through the lens of the representation of women in three dimensions at the EU and the national level: crisis management and leadership, policy responses, and discourse. Moreover, it will assess the impacts of crises on the future of work, especially the digitalization of work, in relation to the empowerment of women and girls. There are five deliverables within Work Package 6:

D6.1 – Case study template for assessing the gendered impacts of various crises

Building on the results of WP1, existing literature, and exchanges with relevant stakeholders, this deliverable will consist of a template to assess the case studies. The template will provide elements and indicators for the identification of gendered impacts in the different dimensions of management/leadership, policy solutions, and discourse. Moreover, it will serve as a framework for future research on the gendered dimensions of crises.

D6.2 – Three mapping reports about the gendered impacts of the health, financial and climate crises

Three case studies will be carried out, following the template designed in the previous phase. The case studies will be identified in consultation with stakeholders and experts, to ensure relevance and comparability of the results. The research will result in three mapping reports analyzing the gendered impacts of different crises (health, financial, and climate crises) on the dimensions of crisis management/leadership, policy solutions, and discourse. The information provided in the case studies will feed into the policy brief on gender-sensitive crisis pathways (D6.5).

D6.3 – Report on the gendered impacts of crises on ‘decent work’

This report is connected to work package 4. It focuses on the (re) conceptualization of work and dignity at/in work as established by the ILO in the post-pandemic labour market and other crisis contexts. It will thus address issues like digitalization, remote work, and the concept of essential work, among others.

D6.4 – Policy Brief: ‘decent work’ in times of crisis

This policy brief is connected to work package 4. Drawing on the insights of the previous report (D6.3), it will provide a concise overview of the gendered impacts of crises and recommendations as to the policy options that would ensure a gender-transformative approach to decent work in times of crises.

D6.5 – Policy Brief: on gender-sensitive crisis pathways

This policy brief builds on the analysis of the case studies (D6.2) and presents a concise overview of the gendered impacts of crises, followed by recommendations as to the policy options that would ensure gender-transformative solutions in crisis contexts.