Nature published an op-ed by senior scientist Elizabeth Bryan, deputy director of the Environment and Production Technology division Claudia Ringler, and Nicole Lefore, director at the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture in College Station on how the global effects of the Ukraine war hit girls and women the hardest, exacerbating inequalities. Aid programs must adapt. The authors write that crises hit women and girls especially hard, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. It is estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic pushed an additional 47 million girls and women into extreme poverty, reversing decades of progress. Data from 40 countries show that 36 percent of women stopped working during the pandemic compared with 28 percent of men, as shutdowns of schools, childcare centers, and local markets kept women at home rather than earning income. Getting enough to eat has become more difficult, too. In 2021, at least 150 million more women than men were experiencing food insecurity, and the gap is growing. Now is the time to transform the food system to create more opportunities for women and girls, leading to greater gender equality.
