The unprecedented coronavirus crisis has already had a significant impact on employment and earnings worldwide. Forecasts suggest that the pandemic will push 71m people into extreme poverty this year and that the global unemployment rate will experience its biggest increase since World War II.
The pandemic and lockdown restrictions worldwide have had a devastating impact on much of the progress towards the attainment of the SDGs – particularly, SDG 8: economic growth and decent work for all.
In this episode of Fundamentals, Aoifinn Devitt, Head of Investment – Ireland, explores how companies are tackling the challenge to provide decent work to their employees against the backdrop of the coronavirus. She speaks to Will Pomroy, Lead Engager of SDG Engagement and Small & Mid Cap Equities, about engaging on the issue of decent work since the inception of the Federated Hermes SDG Engagement Equity capability.
“Work and our relationship with our employer and our colleagues are critical to our economic, physical and mental wellbeing – and ultimately, it is also good for the sustainable success of our businesses. We have been engaging for some time on the issue of decent work, including who companies employ and how they employ.”
In our US team, Diana Glassman, Director – Engagement in EOS at Federated Hermes, provides Devitt with further insights on decent work, and how it ties to the goal of lifelong learning. Employers and companies “teach us a whole range of skills to survive, thrive and contribute to the world at large”, she says.
Devitt also speaks with Nicole Trimble, Managing Director at FSG – a mission-driven consulting firm that helps organisations find new ways to achieve real results against society’s toughest challenges.
To find out more about how the coronavirus has put the issue of decent work under the spotlight, tune in to Fundamentals.
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