And happy International Women’s Day! This week, our content will celebrate the extraordinary acts of courage and contribution made by ordinary women across the globe and consider the state of women’s rights globally.

Back in November, I wrote about the hidden costs of the rapid reversal in economic gender equality, as a growing number of women reported taking pay cuts and going into debt since the start of the pandemic. A few days ago, new analysis by PwC confirmed the bleak news, concluding that to undo the pandemic’s damage to the position of women in the workplace by 2030, we will need to redouble our efforts towards gender equality.

As is often the case in times of crisis, some innovative solutions have also emerged, and the shift towards remote working is one such example of a positive development for working mothers. While in 2015, one-in-five working mothers reported that they were forced to leave their job because a request for flexible working arrangements had been turned down by an employer, the pandemic has granted many working mothers the workplace latitude that they have long been campaigning for.

Clearly there is still a long way to go. It is not exactly a revelation that domestic and care work have placed disproportionate burdens on women. Add the often-overlooked aspect of emotional labour that comes along with childcare and you get a clear sense of why advocates for women’s rights are calling for  workplaces that work better for people with caregiving responsibilities.

In many ways, women – and especially working mothers – have been the invisible frontline workers of Covid-19. This calls for widespread recognition and positive action today, tomorrow and every other day of the year.

In celebrating International Women’s Day, this week all our content at Charlotte Street Partners will have a female focus and we will explore this year’s theme #ChooseToChallenge in our View from the Street blog. If you would like to receive this, please email info@charlottestreetpartners.co.uk.