More gender equity means more development. Improving gender equity is not only a goal with an intrinsic value. A substantial body of research highlights the linkages between gender equity and the achievement of other development goals, such as health, education, social and economic rights fulfillment, and even growth.

The Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183), was established by the ILO to promote “equality of all women in the workforce and the health and safety of the mother and child”. The Convention sets minimum standards that need to be implemented in order for pregnant women and working mothers to be adequately protected in the labour market.

As waste accumulation keeps expanding, it increasingly poses a serious threat to human health and the environment. Waste can be the source of many diseases, it emits large amounts of methane (a potent greenhouse gas), and exacerbates global warming. According to World Bank estimates, without urgent intervention, the current levels of global waste will increase by 70% by 2050.

World economies hampered by the pandemic; countries facing public healthcare crises, with millions killed by COVID-19; thousands of cities under lockdown; social distancing and transformed social practices; countless institutions functioning online; the youth spending endless days and nights in front of computer screens; and, globally, over a year of online education. This is the reality in many countries around the world, including Georgia, in the spring of 2021.

The pandemic has taken an enormous toll on human lives and health globally. It has severely impacted the socio-economic state of millions of households, bringing immeasurable human tragedy, paralysis of social connectivity, economic crisis, and, to a certain extent, culture shock.