We are living in an age where everyone wants a decent job. Unfortunately, a large section of the population across the world does not have access to even primary education. 

Read: Is Quality Education A Class Apart?

Even those who are educated and well-qualified, often do not get a job. At present 60 % of the employed population work in the informal sector. The informal sector often does not have a safety net for its workers in terms of health policies and employee benefits.  

Economic Growth in Face of Pandemics like Coronavirus (COVID-19) 

Pandemics like COVID–19 have raised questions on healthcare and economic strategies to deal with such tragic situations. While those employed in the formal sector are being provided with options like work from home and are assured to get their salary on time; workers in the informal sector lose out on these opportunities. Very often they end up losing their jobs and have no savings to fall back upon.  

Situations like coronavirus, Zika virus, Spanish influenza, yellow fever, etc. have highlighted the need for better economic frameworks throughout the globe. The goal of achieving SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth) cannot be attained if policymakers let more than half of the population struggle with the uncertainties in the informal sector. 

Gender Bias: A Roadblock in Attaining SDG 8 

Apart from the lack of a resilient growth framework, issues like gender bias have also emerged as a major bottleneck in attaining the goal of decent work and economic growth. Even today, three out of five in the labor force are men. In cases wherein women are part of the workforce, there is clear discrimination on aspects of salary and growth opportunities. 

Read: Gender Inequality – Is the Glass Ceiling Really Shattered? 

Act Now! 

Whether it is designing policies that are favorable for the informal sector or employment frameworks that are inclusive in nature – The fact is, now is the time to ACT. ILO has already predicted 25 million to lose the job in the face of COVID-19. A faulty system that discriminates based on gender will only make matters work. 

To reach goal 8 of SDG 2030, it is imperative that leaders, policymakers, and think tanks come up with practical solutions – Solutions that are flexible in nature and address specific problems of the different groups of workforce world over. 

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