[News] Coronavirus live news: Italy reports 630 Covid-linked deaths in a day; Gaza infections spiralling out of control

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Cities must move to the frontline of efforts to fight gender inequality that has grown worse in the coronavirus pandemic, said six mayors from three continents as they joined forces in a new network to advance women’s rights.

Around the world, women’s jobs, unpaid labour, health and safety have been upended by the impacts of Covid-19 and need critical attention, said the leaders of City Hub and Network for Gender Equity (CHANGE).

The network aims to promote and share innovative projects focused on combating gender inequality with city mayors around the world .

“Local governments can and should lead,” said Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti, the network’s first chair, who joined the mayors of Barcelona, Freetown, Mexico City, London and Tokyo in an online webinar with the media.

Data from the World Economic Forum shows that at the current pace, the gender pay gap will not close for 257 years, he said. “We must act with urgency,” Garcetti said. “We can’t allow this pandemic to set us back further.”

Women’s jobs have been 1.8 times more vulnerable to being lost in the pandemic than men’s, said a study by consultants McKinsey & Co., while government data showed of the 1.1 million US workers who dropped out of the workforce in September, 80% were women.

In Los Angeles, every city department must have a gender action plan and show progress on tackling gender inequality, such as appointing women to boards and top positions, closing the gender pay gap and ensuring more girls use public spaces like sports fields, Garcetti said.

Ada Colau, the first female mayor of Barcelona who called her administration a “feminist government,” singled out unpaid care work of children and ageing relatives.

“We must fight against the inequality and injustice that women still suffer and end the invisibility of care work - a burden which is mostly borne by women,” Colau said.Styles

 

London mayor Sadiq Khan, who called himself as a “proud feminist,” said a report found in England, mothers were 47% more likely than fathers to have lost or left their jobs in the pandemic.

With women accounting for eight out of 10 people in low-paid jobs, London’s city government has invested £3m pounds to “re-skill” and “up-skill” women for better-paying jobs, he said.

“I want gender equity hardwired into everything we do, not simply child care, though important it is, but from housing to a hiring policy to recruitment retention from policing to the environment,” Khan said.

Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said a key priority is combatting domestic violence that has worsened during lockdown.

The city government has launched a network of 100 female lawyers who help women file reports of domestic abuse and provide free legal advice, she said.

Two-thirds of the city’s 50,000 small businesses loans provided since the pandemic started have gone to help women become economically independent, Sheinbaum said.

In Sierra Leone’s capital, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, the first female mayor of Freetown, said she was focused on stemming the world’s highest maternal mortality rates and supporting working mothers with child care.

Last month, Freetown’s government launched a digital mobile phone literacy program aimed at women and opened the city’s first free day care for young children of market traders, most of whom are women, she said.

Premier League clubs can welcome back spectators in highly limited numbers next month for the first time since March, following an announcement by the British government.

Up to 4,000 people can return to outdoor sports stadiums in parts of England classified as at low risk from coronavirus from 2 December, permitting the resumption of attendance at football, rugby and racecourses among other sports.

The crowd ceiling will be set at 4,000 or half the stadium capacity, whichever is lower, in the lowest-risk tier one parts of the country once a stricter lockdown due to the pandemic ends.

In tier two areas, the limit will be 2,000 outdoors, or half the capacity, it said.

In the highest tier three regions where Covid-19 remains acute, no spectators will be allowed.

A few pilot events have been held with spectators, such as a cricket match at The Oval, while Brighton hosted Chelsea before this season’s Premier League got underway.

However, England’s football and rugby leagues, and horse racing venues, have not allowed spectators since the first lockdown began in March.

Rugby and racing were among the sports to receive financial aid from the government last week. Sports facing financial losses as a result of the absence of fans from stadiums can access a £300m Winter Survival Package of loans and grants.

The government said it would spell out which regions of England will sit in which tier on Thursday, based on the latest weekly Covid data. Prior to the current lockdown, most of the country including London was in tier two.

But three of the biggest Premier League clubs - Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City - are located in what were previously the highest tier three areas, so it remains to be seen whether they will be allowed to admit fans after 2 December.

The government said that where spectators are allowed, only home fans will be permitted, to prevent unnecessary travel on public transport by opposing fans.