We live in a time of multiple crisis — the climate and environmental crisis, rising cost of living crisis, conflicts, growing inequities, social instability, and the continued presence of pandemics. Concerns are growing over civic unrest and the erosion of democracy, as well as decreasing trust in institutions. COVID-19 has deepened inequalities, led to a decline in life expectancy, and together with general cut-downs, in places brought health systems to the brink of collapse. And we have an economic system, which is in the current shape and form, is fueling a lot of this.

This is the backdrop for the ministers, government officials, civil society experts and practitioners participating in the first ever High Level Regional Forum on Health in the Wellbeing Economy, which right now — 1 and 2 March — is taking place in Copenhagen.

The high-level event is showcasing, how some countries are already shifting investment, spending and resources to promote healthy, fairer, prosperous and sustainable societies and economies through a well-being economy approach — and how many more need to be doing so.

As the Prime Minister of Iceland, Katrin Jakobsdottir, said in the opening of the Forum: “A shift to a wellbeing economy should be high on the agenda in ALL governments in the world.” This was reiterated by Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, who also underscored how important a healthy population is to well-being economy, and imperative if we want to remedy many of the current challenges.

Wellbeing focused economic approaches have over the last years gained traction as viable alternatives to today’s predominant economic models, which champions fast growth and profit for the few, over the wellbeing of the many. The thinking around a Wellbeing Economy is championed by an increasing number of entities including governments, the EU, the OCED, multiple CSOs in the Wellbeing Economy Alliance, WeAll, as well as the World Health Organization and its European Region.

But what is a Wellbeing Economy? A wellbeing economy approach promotes investments and practices that improve economic AND planetary, human, and social wellbeing in a way that is fair, inclusive and equitable. It measures the progress and prosperity of a society in how well these wellbeing indicators are reached. It recognizing that investing in well-being delivers co-benefits across sectors. It goes beyond the usual focus on short term-profit and away from narrowly defined indicators as GDP, which e.g. does not measure, nor tell us how many people feel happy, are healthy, educated, or have a stable home and environment to live in. It has a strong equity lens.

The good news: While there is still work to be done on the indicator and measurements tools, the shift to a wellbeing economy is already happening in mindset and practices as is shown at the High Level Forum. In various countries and regions, including with the support of WHO/EURO, initiatives are picking up speed and changing the old ways of working: Wales is for example moving towards wellbeing budgeting and applying social and economic values in contracts and new investments. Scotland is implementing a wellbeing economy framework and wellbeing economy monitor. Gender budgeting and auditing is gaining traction throughout the world. Norway, Finland and Iceland are advancing national strategies based on wellbeing indicators, underpinned by legal agreements, wellbeing accountability tools and good monitoring. The Flemish Government is scaling up their Caring Neighborhoods initiative, aimed at placing quality of life as the sole indicator used for deciding which public and private investments are implemented in a neighborhood. And Montenegro and 10 other countries are working to transform one of the biggest industries — tourism — to deliver wellbeing through the Healthy and Sustainable Tourism Initiative.

It is innovative, it works, it can inspire and be scaled.

Core to a shift towards a wellbeing economy is that governments, the business community, financial institutions, civil society and communities work together in new strategic partnerships, and alliances — across sectors, issues, generations and geographies. We also need to implement new policies that can drive how funds are allocated, resources prioritized, progress measured and monitored, and people held accountable.

These are important elements of the High Level Forum, of the work of the Well-being Economy Initiative led by the WHO/Europe Venice Office for Investment for Health and Development, and its New Economic Expert Group, which I have the pleasure of being part of.

The shift towards a wellbeing economy is important and urgent, as is placing health centrally in this work. It is clear that the world will not be able to move forward properly, peacefully and sustainably, if we continue to overexploit the planets resources, or when a growing number of people in our societies are being left behind.

We need to create a system where the economy works for all people, not the other way around; a system that builds healthy, caring, just and sustainable societies, and delivers a win-win-win for people, planet and prosperity.

Davos, 23 May 2022. This week some 2,000+ of the world’s richest and most powerful people are meeting at the World Economic Forum in the quaint, Swiss ski resort Davos. They meet to do business - and to discuss some of the world’s most urgent challenges.

We are at a historic turning point, and with multiple crises confronting our world — climate change, war, pandemics, rising prices, and growing inequality — world leaders in business and government need to act fast and with integrity. We have a recipe for them: Put purpose front and center — of your business, of your government, of your life.

The facts are clear and the gains are substantial! Companies that lead with purpose grow 3 times faster, report 30% higher levels of innovation and 40% higher levels of workforce retention than their competitors.

And people who live with purpose have healthier, happier and longer lives, are more psychologically resilient, have fewer symptoms of cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. Research even indicates that they have better intimacy and sex.

In my daily work with world leaders and big businesses on purpose driven prosperity and leadership, and sustainability, I repeatedly hear leaders at the highest level say: “I want to change the world. We need our business to be a force for good”, statements that previously were mainly associated with the not-for-profit sector.

While there of course still are too many companies only focused on short term profit, more and more business leaders are focusing on making change, doing good, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals — while also doing good business.

Examples of businesses leading with purpose: IKEA, KIVA, Unilever, 4LifeSolutions

According to an EY and Harvard Business Review survey, 90% of executives today recognize the importance of having “an aspirational reason for being which inspires and provides a call to action for an organization…and provides benefit to society”.

This is important! To change the state of the world and to regain trust, we need leaders to lead with conviction, purpose, humility and humanity to drive forward change. The world needs it — and consumers and employees are demanding it.

We are seeing a fast-growing demand for more diversity, equity and inclusion in leadership and in the workforce in terms of gender, race, age, ability and religion.

We are seeing a demand for companies and brands to use their voice, to take a public stand against injustice and inequality, and to speak out for democracy and human rights — even if it results in some consumers turning away.

We are seeing a demand for companies to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly, a demand that to a large extend is driven by children and young people worried about their future.

Survive, thrive — or wither and die?!

So yes, companies with purpose at the center, and with new ways of connection people, planet and prosperity together, will survive and thrive. And all the others will wither and die — or?? Well, of course it is not for certain, but some consumer data certainly points in that direction.

58% of all consumers report that they are likely to buy from brands that back a good cause. Nearly 80% report that sustainability is important to them. 57% say they are willing to change their purchasing habits to help reduce negative environmental impact. And, another potent fact: Gen Z’s direct and indirect spending power is estimated at $143 billion annually.

More and more people — and not least young people — are challenging the status quo, and no longer buy into consumerism in the old-fashioned way. They are questioning our short-term profit oriented economic system and are pushing for a more holistic and wellbeing focused economy with sustainability and inclusion. They take to social media, they take to activism, they take to the streets, they are using their voices. They demand to see change.

In order regain trust, leaders — public and private — have to listen, learn and to act accordingly or else they will lose both elections and businesses. The recipe is clear: find your purpose, focus on purpose and lead with integrity and purpose. It is the only way forward if we want to set the world back on track.

Katja Iversen is an executive adviser, author, board member, and advocate for global health, diversity & inclusion, and purpose driven prosperity and leadership. She is a sought speaker and moderator, as well as an adviser to the WEF, the UN, Fortune 500 companies, and to world and corporate leaders. Read more here: https://katjaiversen.com/

As the COVID-19 pandemic intensifies around the world, it is clear that if we want to deliver health, wellbeing, and dignity for all, we need a strong gender lens on response and recovery. That’s why Women Deliver, together with our partners, has been working with leaders and mobilizers across the globe — from the Secretary General of the United Nations and the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council, to Young Leaders, women’s organizations, and the boards of international corporations— to outline key actions that civil society, governments, the private sector, and multilateral organizations should take to address the gendered dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis.

I am pleased to share Women Deliver’s recommendations with the hope that they will inspire building the world we want post-pandemic. And what we want is a more gender-equal world, because we know that a gender-equal world is healthier, wealthier, more prosperous, and more peaceful.

–Katja Iversen, President and CEO, Women Deliver

Women Deliver’s Ten Recommendations to Build Back a Stronger, More Gender-Equal World

Evidence shows that disease outbreak affects women and men differently, that pandemics exacerbate inequalities for girls and women, who are also often the hardest hit, and that women play an outsize role responding to crises, including as frontline healthcare and social workers, caregivers at home, and as mobilizers in their communities.

That’s why the world must put a gender lens on the response to COVID-19, to ensure the unique needs of girls and women are addressed, and their unique expertise is leveraged. This includes positioning girls, women, and young people — in all their diversity and in all settings — front and center in the emergency responses, in social and economic recovery efforts, and in how we strengthen our health systems for the long term. And we must safeguard the progress we’ve made towards gender equality, including hard won gains for maternal, sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Women Deliver recommends the following actions be included as part of COVID-19 response and recovery efforts to build a stronger, more gender-equal world:

1. Apply best practices and a gender lens to all COVID related efforts.
All policies, programs, and investments, including stimulus and recovery packages, must be designed with a gender lens, so they don’t overlook or have unintended consequences for girls, women, and gender equality. This approach should include proven best practices such as gender-responsive analysis, budgeting, and auditing processes and a gender marker for tracking.

2. Leverage sex- and age-disaggregated data to inform and shape policies and investments.
Initial data indicates that more men than women may be dying from COVID-19, and decision-makers and stakeholders need sex- and age-disaggregated data to further understand how this crisis is impacting women and men differently. This data must be collected, analyzed, and used to inform all policies and investments, and must be available quickly and widely to analyze the impact of interventions and drive informed, timely decisions. This information must include those who may often be excluded from national data collection efforts, such as refugees, internally displaced people, migrant workers, and people with non-binary gender identities.

3. Meaningfully engage women and young people through partnerships, funding, and leadership positions.
Women and young people — in all their diversity and in all settings — must be meaningfully and authentically engaged in decision-making about their own lives and the communities where they live and work. For an inclusive and representative response and recovery, women-focused and youth-led organizations must be funded and included in partnerships, and all COVID-19 decision-making bodies must embrace diverse and inclusive leadership.

4. Protect and support those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 response — the overwhelming majority of whom are women.
Women are 70% of the health workforce and are leading on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Front line responders such as health workers and social service providers must be guaranteed protection, support, and fair compensation. This includes safe working conditions, appropriate equipment, equal and emergency/hazard pay, safe housing, and access to services that reflect their needs as individuals, such as mental health services and childcare.

5. Safeguard maternal, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), the bedrock of gender equality.
In past pandemics and crises, emergency response has resulted in de-prioritizing and de-funding essential health and social services for girls and women — directly threatening their health and rights. As the world responds to the COVID-19 crisis, funding and access to SRHR, including modern contraception, safe abortion, maternal health services and safe childbirth, as well as telemedicine, must be prioritized. In settings impacted by both COVID-19 and humanitarian crisis, this includes implementing lifesaving activities that uphold SRHR at the outset of all emergencies.

6. Prioritize gender equality in health systems strengthening.
We must rebuild our health systems to ensure they meet the needs and realities of all, including in times of crisis. This includes prioritizing and funding Primary Health Care and Universal Health Coverage grounded in gender equality and human rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights. Decision makers must examine gender-based differences in health expenditures, disease detection and response, emergency preparedness, research and development, and the health workforce. And health systems must be strengthened to extend to girls and women living in humanitarian settings and to meet the needs of young people.

7. Uphold and fully fund services to reduce gender-based violence.
Data show that gender-based violence like domestic violence is increasing dramatically during the COVID-19 crisis, likely worsened by quarantines and limited mobility that isolate women with their abusers. Legal and support systems to prevent and respond to gender-based violence, including women’s centers, shelters, domestic violence helplines, and legal aid, must continue to operate and expand where needed, and perpetrators must be held accountable. This includes services for those in living in displacement settings, such as refugee camps, and preventing and ending sexual violence and exploitation.

8. Maintain equitable access to education.
Equal access to education is foundational to girls’ and adolescents’ livelihoods and wellbeing, and this pandemic risks reversing years of progress in education equity. School closures can exacerbate gender inequalities, especially for the poorest girls and adolescents who face a greater risk of early and forced marriage and unintended pregnancy during emergencies. Closed schools likely means girls and adolescents are taking on additional responsibilities at home like looking after siblings or caring for sick relatives, which can lead to them falling behind in school work or dropping out. All young people must have resources, tools, and social support to remain engaged in learning during school closures and re-enter the formal education system once the crisis has waned.

9. Protect women’s economic opportunity and livelihood.
Millions have lost their jobs and livelihood during the COVID-19 crisis, many of them women who are already hard hit by existing inequalities like unequal pay and less access to financial services. Emergency and stimulus packages as well as long term recovery investments must support and protect women and marginalized people, including forcibly displaced and migrant girls and women who might not be able to access these resources due to their citizenship status. These investments must include robust investment in social policies and safety nets for those in the formal and informal economies, such as paid sick leave, unemployment benefits, paid family and parental leave, cash transfers, food voucher and food distribution programs, and access to emergency healthcare for everyone.

10. Challenge gender norms to encourage a better balance of household duties and care-taking.
Women traditionally carry the majority of care and labor responsibilities within families, placing them on the frontlines of COVID-19 response at home. Women’s traditional role as caregivers makes them more susceptible to infection from sick family members, and increased childcare demands make it difficult to balance work and home responsibilities. To challenge traditional gender norms and redistribute unpaid care and household labor, leaders should implement social policies such as paternity leave, social programs to encourage male engagement, educational programs in school to promote gender equality, and should model equal roles in their own lives.

We urge civil society, governments, the private sector, and multilateral organizations to use these recommendations and apply a gender lens to all COVID-19 preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. By putting girls and women front and center of these efforts, the world can truly deliver health, wellbeing, and dignity for all.

Following are my full comments on Dr. Tedros’ first 100 days.

On Starting Strong and Finishing Stronger

Based on his first 100 days, I’d say in Dr. Tedros we have an action man and a strong advocate for girls and women. He has lived up to many of his campaign promises to date, and we’ve seen him apply a gender lens to his leadership team, his programmatic priorities and the issues he’s chosen to amplify as the new head and voice of the WHO. But the hard work delivering tangible results for girls and women everywhere has just begun.

I was very pleased to see that Dr. Tedros attended and spoke up at the London Family Planning Summit as one of his first public appearances as Director General of WHO. He and the WHO must continue to fiercely advocate for sexual and reproductive health and rights, including girls’ and women’s ability to decide on their own fertility and bodies. It’s a human right, the bedrock of gender equality and a prerequisite for strong economies and healthy societies.

The work doesn’t stop at meetings explicitly about girls, women or reproductive health. Dr. Tedros should leverage his political capital to promote an integrated approach to health, gender equality, and development. By addressing girls’ and women’s health together with issues like economic inequality, education, and women’s status in society, we can expedite progress on all fronts.

Dr. Tedros should also strongly assert the need to prioritize girls and women across the health field and beyond. To prevent pandemics, make headway on heart disease and diabetes, or reach every child with life-saving vaccines, girls and women — who represent a majority of frontline health workers and caregivers worldwide — must be central to our actions and solutions.

On Making Gender Equality a Mainstream Focus

Before the election, Women Deliver called for the next Director-General to realize WHO’s goal of 45% female staff by September 2017. With a senior leadership team comprising more than 60% women and hailing from all regions, Dr. Tedros has set a high bar for gender parity and diversity — a bar that we hope will reach all levels of the WHO and inspire many other organizations to follow suit.

A focus on gender equality and girls’ and women’s health, rights and wellbeing should be mainstreamed at the WHO and beyond, and we will count on Dr. Tedros to lead the way.

For example, it is good to see Dr. Tedros put his full weight behind the goal of universal health coverage and emphasize girls’ and women’s health needs in this process. No health coverage can be universal without meeting the major needs of girls and women, who represent 51% of the population. Without an intentional, relentless commitment to gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights, well-meaning plans to achieve universal health coverage will fail.

On Prioritizing the Needs and Voices of Young People

Youth must not be forgotten from WHO’s priorities. Dr. Tedros will soon face the challenge of meeting the needs and aspirations of a rapidly growing youth population, not least their reproductive health needs. This will make or break countries’ stability and prosperity for generations to come.

Dr. Tedros’ inclusive, consultative approach to leading the WHO is most encouraging. However, he can and must do more to prioritize and meaningfully engage with young people and civil society, such as by creating a youth advisory board.

It’s long overdue for the global health community to engage girls, women and young people as active co-creators of policies and programs and powerful drivers of development. If given seats at the table, we know that youth and civil society groups will push the WHO to be more ambitious, innovative and effective at meeting the real needs of underserved populations.

On Mobilizing Resources to Get the Job Done

Instead of asking leaders to “walk the talk” on gender equality, we need to call for talk, walk and wallet. Without more money earmarked for girls, women and young people everywhere, including their sexual and reproductive health and rights, we will not achieve health for all or any other Global Goals. It’s that simple.

The prevailing global health narrative describing girls and women as mainly “vulnerable” or “victims” is not only inaccurate, but failing to inspire countries to invest at the level and pace we need. Girls and women are powerful drivers of development, and when we invest in their health and rights, everybody wins. As a Director-General, Dr. Tedros has a huge role to play in convincing leaders across sectors that investment in the health and wellbeing of girls, women and young people is right, smart and urgently needed.

Good data gives the world the information it needs to act upon pressing issues, and visualizations can help bring the data to life. Covering the gender pay gap to the unmet need for family planning, below are seven excellent examples of data visualizations that have increased awareness, demystified research, and illustrated the gravity of gender inequality across the globe.

1. What’s Your Pay Gap?
Source: The Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal explores the pay gap between men and women in 422 U.S. occupations.

Despite the fact that fully closing the gender gaps could add up to 26% to world GDP by 2025, women across the world are still vastly underpaid compared to their male counterparts. In the United States, the average woman will earn 78 cents for every dollar a man earns. Globally, that discrepancy is even worse at only 50 cents to the dollar.

Did you know? At the current rate, closing the pay gap will take another 170 years

2. Abortion Rights Around the World
Source: The Guardian

This interactive bar chart from The Guardian shows country-by-country breakdowns of abortion rights, including where the procedure is permitted and under which specific circumstances.

Almost all abortion-related deaths occur in developing countries, with the highest number concentrated in Africa. Recent studies estimate that 8–18% of maternal deaths worldwide are due to unsafe abortion, and the number of abortion-related deaths in 2014 ranged from 22,500 to 44,000.

Did you know? There are still six countries in the world that do not permit abortion under any circumstances.

3. Gender Equality in Schools Decreases Child Marriage
Source: Gapminder

Gapminder’s totally customizable display allows users to compare many data sets of their choosing — everything from life expectancy, to trends in childbearing, to average age of marriage and beyond — over time and broken down geographically.

The year-over-year display shows both the growth of gender parity in primary and secondary education as well as the increasing age of marriage over time. However, 121 million children and adolescents are currently out of primary and lower secondary school worldwide — a number that has remained essentially constant since 2007.

Did you know? Each year of secondary education reduces the likelihood of marrying as a child before the age of 18 by five percentage points or more.

4. How Nations Stack Up on Gender Equality
Source: The World Economic Forum

This stunning interactive website from World Economic Forum visually lays out the gaps between women and men across four key areas — health, education, economics, and politics — to determine which are the best and worst countries for gender parity.

Of all the data displayed, political representation — which includes female members of parliament, females at the ministerial level, and female heads of state — has seen the least progress over time, with a median gender gap of only 16.5%. Perhaps surprising to some, Rwanda tops the list with the most women in parliament.

Did you know? There is no nation in the world that has a gender parity score of 100%.

5. Millions of Women Need Family Planning
Source: No Ceilings

The bedrock of gender equality is a woman’s ability to control her own body and fertility. This data visualization from No Ceilings shows the change in modern contraception usage around the world from 1970 to 2015.

The trend towards contraceptive uptake over the years is encouraging, but this tool also illustrates gaps in family planning that still exist in many parts of the world. Satisfying the current unmet need for contraception in developing countries alone could help avert 67 million unintended pregnancies per year. It could also prevent the deaths of 76,000 women from pregnancy-related causes.

Did you know? 214 million women still have an unmet need for modern contraception, meaning they want to avoid pregnancy, but are not using modern methods to do so.

6. Work-Life Balance Not a Reality for Women
Source: OECD

Although the quality leisure time is important for people’s overall health and wellbeing, women face huge hurdles in carving out restorative time for themselves. As illustrated through this OECD display, the concept of work-life balance not only varies across cultures, there are gender components to this data that cannot be ignored.

Women do not stop working when they leave their offices. At home, they bear the brunt of unpaid work, such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for children, the sick, and the elderly. An average Italian woman spends 22 hours (or almost 3 full-time workdays) more than her partner on unpaid work per week, while this gap averages 5 hours in the Nordic countries. Altogether, the estimated annual value of women’s unpaid work totals$10 trillion, or 13% of global GDP.

Did you know? If women and men were to share unpaid tasks equally, women would gain 5 hours of free time per week.

7. Maternity Leave Wildly Different Across Nations
Source: World Policy Analysis Center

Providing nutritional support for all women and babies is a small price to pay for healthy future generations. Yet this data map from the WORLD Policy Analysis Center shows a stark contrast in maternity leave policies across countries.

The World Health Organization recommends at least 6 months of breastfeeding, which is challenging for working mothers without generous paid leave policies. In family-friendly nations like Sweden, parents are given 480 paid days per child. Compare that to the U.S. — where paid maternal leave is optional — and it is no surprise that only 14% of employers chose to extend such a benefit.

Did you know? The only countries that do not mandate paid maternity leave are Papua New Guinea, Suriname, and the United States.

What gets measured gets done. For gender equality advocates, data visualizations like those above, motiongraphics like Nike’s popular Girl Effect, and infographics like the ones Women Deliver is known for help tell a richer story, thereby turning evidence into action for girls and women everywhere.

What all of these data visualizations demonstrate is that we still have far to go in the name of gender equality. But thanks to the combination of solid evidence and innovative design, the way forward is clearer than ever.

If the last year has taught us anything, it is that progress toward gender equality should not be taken for granted. From the reinstatement and dramatic expansion of the Global Gag Rule, to the defunding of the UN agency that supports reproductive health, to pandemic threats like Zika that disproportionately affect girls and women — the health and rights of half of the world’s population face an uphill battle.

But next week, there will be an election that could tip the scale back in the right direction. At the largest and most influential health policy meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) will elect its new director-general. More than ever, we need a fierce and proactive advocate for gender equality at the helm of the world’s most powerful health agency.

All three candidates for the world’s health chief — Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia, Dr. David Nabarro of the United Kingdom, and Dr. Sania Nishtar of Pakistan — have shown great intentions to be a champion for girls and women. But the new director-general’s actions during his or her first 100 days will signal whether they plan to follow through on campaign promises. Here’s how we’ll know if they do:

The director-general candidates each have pledged to reform WHO. Starting with their first statements, the new director-general should convey that promoting gender equality in health is foundational to this catalytic reform.

Next, the new director-general can build a robust transition team of experts and advocates with a track record of investing in girls and women. A key indicator of progress will be if WHO moves closer to their target of 45% female staff by September 2017, a goal set forth in the Geneva Gender Parity Pledge.

It’s not enough for women to have a seat at the table; they need to be heard at every level.

It’s not enough for women to have a seat at the table; they need to be heard at every level. The same goes for elevating the voices of youth, particularly girls, now that the world’s largest-ever generation of young people is poised to come of age.

The first 100 days of meetings also matter. For example, the new director-general should attend the family planning summit to be hosted by the UK government in July. Women’s ability to decide if and when to have children is not only the right thing to do, but a prerequisite for economic growth and progress for all.

The work doesn’t stop at meetings explicitly about girls, women or reproductive health. The next director-general must also speak up for girls and women in meetings on non-communicable diseases; on HIV/AIDS, because adolescent girls account for one-fifth of new HIV infections globally; on pandemics, because women are the frontline health workers who stop them; and in meetings on universal health coverage, because girls and women should have equal access to quality, affordable health services, including reproductive health services, yet are underrepresented in the political conversations that shape these outcomes.

Finally, we’ll know if the new director-general is prioritizing girls and women by looking at the information they choose to collect and make available. To ensure health progress is reaching everyone equally, this individual will close gaps in essential health data by counting every girl, woman and young person, and disaggregating these data by gender and age.

The next director-general should do all of this, not just because girls and women are disproportionately affected by global challenges, but because girls and women are powerful agents of change who lift up everyone around them.

In doing so, they will continue the spirit of transparency fostered by this unique election process. (For the first time in the WHO’s history, its leader will be elected by a vote of all 194 member states, instead of an executive board behind closed doors.) They will also strengthen the WHO’s engagement with civil society, both to align on communities’ real needs and create more spaces to be held accountable.

The next director-general should do all of this, not just because girls and women are disproportionately affected by global challenges, but because girls and women are powerful agents of change who lift up everyone around them. Investment in their health, rights and wellbeing will pay back plentifully and power progress for all.

Make no mistake: this may not be easy, especially in the current political environment. But a strong director-general will have the courage and conviction to make the right choices and to stand strong. Because when the world invests in girls and women, all of us share the victory.

“Never underestimate the power of a woman.” This slogan, created by an advertising agency to promote Ladies’ Home Journal in 1941, helped sell magazines because it encapsulated what was then an emerging reality: women are economic powerhouses.

Seventy six years later and we are still undervaluing women as a powerful force in the global economy. Even worse, we are underestimating how much more they could achieve if society finally had their back.

Today, on International Women’s Day, women across the globe are coming together to show the depth of their power, and not just in the streets — they’re showing it with their pocket books.

Today, women across the world will go on strike. They are taking the day off, they are avoiding shopping, they are marching.

Following the origin of International Women’s Day, this year’s global undertaking is boldly billed as “A Day Without a Woman.” But what will a day without a woman mean for communities, societies, and economies? And why will a day without a woman pack a big global punch?

Because women are powerful.

Women are producers, consumers, and innovators. They are resourceful economic agents, proving every day that they can succeed, often in the face of persistent gender barriers. A “day without a woman” means fewer women working to keep the production and service industry up; fewer women taking care of children, the elderly and all of us; fewer women spending money on goods that drive our economy. Simply put, when women don’t work, the economy and society don’t either.

Consider the following:

· A reduction in the gap between women’s and men’s labor force participation — or an increase in female labor force participation — results in faster economic growth.

· Women control 70–80% of all consumer purchasing.

· Women perform two to ten times more daily unpaid work by cooking, cleaning, and caring for family members. This is why men in virtually every country have more time for leisure activities, while women have less time for jobs, political participation, and leisure of their own.

Women do all of this in spite of salaries, laws, and gender norms that continue to sell them short. In addition to unpaid work, no country has yet to achieve gender equality or equal pay for equal formal work. Ninety percent of countries still have at least one law restricting women’s economic opportunity. Gender stereotypes in the workplace mean that women are expected to be more helpful, to the point where men are significantly more likely to be recommended for promotions and raises than women who provide the same amount of help. If women closed their wallets, the consumer industry could grind to a halt.

Lucky for us, we already know the answer: invest in girls and women.

It is due time to mainstream women’s economic empowerment as a core component of thriving economies. If women and men participated equally in the formal economy, we would see $28 trillion added to annual GDP by 2024 — roughly the size of the U.S. and Chinese economies combined.

An investment in women’s economic empowerment is also an investment in the entire community. Women are more likely than men to reinvest whatever time and money they have into their families, and their children’s health and education in particular. The health, education, and social service industries would collapse without women’s participation. In office settings, it is women who consistently pick up the invisible but essential tasks that keep the gears turning — from mentoring staff to administration work. And teams with greater gender diversity arrive at quicker, more creative solutions.

Women Deliver was one of the first civil society organizations to make the investment case for girls and women. That’s because the data speaks for itself: when you invest in girls and women, it creates a powerful ripple effect that goes way beyond the individual — it powers progress for all.

The scope and impact of the “Day Without a Woman” strike is not yet known. But it is already clear that women wield significant economic power. Women are not, in fact, vulnerable victims, but committed change-makers, capable of powering economies and driving progress. We simply cannot afford to continue underestimating women’s economic power. As we like to say, women deliver, and so much more than babies. It is urgent that we, in turn, deliver for them.