 Good afternoon and hopefully not too late. Good evening to everyone. It's such a pleasure to be here and thank you so much for taking your time to join us here today for the launch of the new IOM research publication titled The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration and Migrants from a Gender Perspective, funded by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. As the UN Agency on Migration, IOM is committed to the ongoing examination of the gendered impacts of migration and is really proud to publish this report that seeks to practically deliver evidence-based research to support gender responsive policymaking and programming in the field of migration. Gender equality is among our organization's priorities to support states implementing the objectives of the global compact for safe orderly and regular migration and participating in the realization of the sustainable development goals. And just for me personally, gender equality is something I've been working on for my whole career. So from my personal perspective, it's such a pleasure for me to have the opportunity to do this. Now the commitment to understand the gender dynamics in the field of migration and implement a gender responsive approach to migration management was emphasized at the recent International Migration Review Forum. The progress declaration adopted at the forum underscored the commitment to develop gender responsive migration policies, while also stressing the importance of ensuring full, equal, and meaningful participation of women in the formulation and implementation of migration policies, while also recognizing their independence, their agency, and their leadership. As we know too often, women, children, and families are categorized together with migration policies lacking consideration for the unique and diverse experiences of women and failing to attend to the vulnerabilities of all migrants, including men in migration management. The global community is missing the chance to make better decisions by having gender responsive migration policies, understanding gender dynamics, and its intersection with other forms of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, identity, disability, and class can help in preventing negative and unintended effects in migration management. We can and we must do better. So let's start by recognizing the essential part of women and girls in migration. Globally, of the almost 170 million international migrant workers, 70 million are women of whom almost 80% are employed in the service sector. Many of these women are engaged in health and care work, tending to children, the elderly, the infirm in institutional and private settings as personal support, home care attendants, nursing aides, or assistants. And during the pandemic, we saw the work of women migrants was relentless. This reveals the extent to which care provision, including health care, is dependent on women migrants. Globally, 70% of health care workers are women. And across 80 member states of the World Health Organization, WHO, over a quarter of doctors and a third of dentists and pharmacists are foreign trained or foreign born. And yet, many do all of this work under precarious or undocumented migration status, and therefore face increased risks linked to their living conditions, as well as COVID-19 infections. This research report also reveals the impact of COVID on women. So for example, we see the increased burden of care work, which has negative health implications, increased gender discrimination, and gender based violence. The report details gender specific challenges among different groups of migrants, including women migrant health care workers and those displaced. For example, the really unfortunate reality for many was the increase in gender based violence, mental health issues, and work induced physical exhaustion and care settings for displaced populations, female headed households reported experiencing increased gender based violence, mental health issues, as well as heightened food insecurity. However, there are signs for progress. For instance, the disruption of migration during the pandemic has had clear implications for regulatory responses in sending and receiving countries in the sector, prompting the need for gender responses bilateral labor agreements. And many of the bilateral discussions that I had on the margins of the IMRF member states really spoke to how they have prioritized bilateral labor agreements coming out of COVID as really pivotal to their socioeconomic recovery plans. The research report also reveals innovative and positive policy and practices that can emerge when applying a gender perspective, including temporary regularization programs that consider the gender dynamics and labor migration pathways, employing digital technology solutions to address migrant needs, and relying on local and community based initiatives to ensure the inclusion of migrants voices and gain both the trust and buy in from migrant communities and programmatic responses. So to ensure that the gender dimensions of migration and mobility are fully understood, continuous research and knowledge production on the topic are critical. Overall, we know there is a lack of gender disaggregated data in the field of migration, especially when it comes to connecting the dots on impacts to special demographic groups. At the aggregate level, however, current data shows that while females account for almost half of all international migrants worldwide, the share of female international migrants has declined from 49.4% in 2000 to 47.9% this year, calling into question the so-called feminization of migration. We need to better understand this growing gender gap. The creation of new and up-to-date knowledge on gender and migration, as we know, has direct consequences for migration governance, sustainable development, and of course, the migrants themselves. So we as IOM are committed to rigorous research and analysis to inform evidence-based migration policy and programming that takes a rights-based and gender-sensitive approach to migration management. And in doing so, we value partnership and engagement with expert stakeholders on the topic of gender. The important conversations, like the one we are convening today, highlights the significance of gender-responsive migration governance and helps to advance gender equality. We really hope that evidence-based research, such as the report we're launching today, will continue to lay the groundwork for inclusive and gender-sensitive responses to COVID-19 and future crises, as well as increase and improve mainstreaming of gender into migration policies. I now have the pleasure of introducing Stephanie Lung, Director of International Migration Policy Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Stephanie Lung is Director for International Migration Policy in the International and Intergovernmental Relations Branch of Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. That's a bit of a tongue twister. She leads on Canada's multilateral engagement on migration, key international migration policies, and Canada-US engagement on migration. Thank you all once again for the opportunity to participate in today's event. Stephanie, you're most welcome, and now the floor is yours. Thank you so very much, Deputy Director General, for those welcoming remarks, and good morning, good afternoon, good evening to everyone on the line here. It is such an honor to join you all virtually and to deliver some opening remarks on behalf of Canada. Canada's approach to migration management really does rest on the belief that women, marginalized groups, and girls experience migration differently from men and boys, and that recognizing this fact can really lead to smarter policymaking, just like DDG had mentioned, and of course, ultimately better outcomes. And in this context, it is my sincere pleasure to mark the launch of this important research publication. We recognize that, of course, the examination of gender impacts of COVID-19 on a level that is at once granular and global. I'm certain that these reports will help inform policymaking and programming in ways to help reduce situations of vulnerability by tackling root causes of gendered inequalities, while also recognizing, of course, inherent agency of women, LGBTI persons, and girls. So I would love to extend my congratulations to the IOM research team, as well as to the individual authors. And for Canada, we continue to champion gender-responsive migration governance at home and abroad. We know there's so much more to do, but we are glad and pleased that we have at least come to these points across our federal government, be it in defense policy or, of course, migration. We apply something that the Canadian government has termed gender-based analysis plus, so GBA plus, to inform the design and implementation of policies, programs, and other initiative. And gender is at the heart of this analysis, and the plus refers to the multiple factors that shape health, social, economic outcomes for people, as well as how they access programs and services. And the list will sound familiar, because the Pew Director General just mentioned this, too. These intersectionalities include race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, education levels, income, language, age, and indigeneity, as well. And in factoring gender, combined with these intersectional factors, it really does allow for a richer understanding of the diversity of migrants and how they interact with government policy and programs, so that we can be more inclusive and responsive to the different needs of people. And ultimately, gender and intersectional analysis help us attain better outcomes, and then contribute to the progress towards eliminating those inequalities in Canada and around the world. At home here in Canada, we continuously introduce initiatives to improve outcomes for diverse migrants. One example is we've extended something called our racialized newcomer women pilots. This was launched as a pilot in 2018, but we've extended it until 2013 with additional funding. And it really aims to improve and understand employment outcomes of racialized newcomer women by addressing their unique barriers to accessing the Canadian labor market. This could mean talking more and understanding how employers employ and use their skills. It is also understanding the skill sets and language levels also of newcomer women and how we can help sort of level the playing field and that's also in the early days of the pandemic. My department also undertook analysis of the impacts of the pandemic as it unfolded on immigrants in Canada, but particularly from a gender and intersectional consideration. So we looked at how migrants were put in positions of vulnerability, especially during those early days of pandemic. And that analysis was very natural to us. We just had to figure out what was happening on the ground, not just with immigrants sort of as a sort of aggregate sense, but really going into this aggregate and really understanding a bit more of what's going on and the sectors they were working in and the communities that they're living in. So very much in line with the work that you've been doing too. Canada also advocates for this position at the global level, including our support for the global compacts for migration. And during the international migration review forum two weeks ago, we made gender a priority as I'm not recognizing that it's an important cross cutting principle of the compacts. And Canada was really honored to have today's discussion. Dr. Jenner-Henbury as part of our multi stakeholder delegation and it really brought that gender perspective to life. And I think really made it more apparent as to how member states can really look at gender in very practical ways. So Canada really promotes open evidence based discourse on migration and refugee issues. And we recognize that it's a key foundation to what we call well managed migration systems that support safe orderly and regular migration. The wealth of information contained in this research reports is certain to help us all to just do that. And by covering such a wide range of groups of migrants and situations, including healthcare workers, agricultural workers, domestic migrant workers, the findings offer a nuanced understanding of how the pandemic has interacted with existing situations of vulnerability, as well as provide insights as to what as opportunities have meant for migrants in all their diversity. And Canada really recognizes that better data is important to identify those areas where we need to take action. Canada is significantly investing in bridging the gender data gap. For example, our key statistics department, Statistics Canada, has developed new standards on sex and gender variables and classifications, including offering a non-binary gender option when it comes to their studies and their analysis. And my department, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada, we rely on this extensive data that is disaggregated by gender, as well as other intersectional factors to better support evidence based analysis. My own department has extensive holdings of data on immigrants. And when you combine that with what Statistics Canada has collected for Canadians overall, we can really conduct that further analysis in a very disaggregated way, but never sort of forgetting the aggregate view as well. And all for better outcomes for migrants and better policies, of course. So the findings of this IOM research publication really brings that sharp review for the need of that intersectional approach as this work really highlights those considerations. And I'm excited to hear the discussion today and to sort of dive deeper into those, what the research has found on the impacts of COVID that were experienced. I just want to say one last point is that we also recognize that gender and intersectionality is also in the context of other key priorities of the governments, Canadian governments such as diversity, inclusion and accessibility. And we are looking at ways to how to consider all of these different factors together. So along other sort of actions, we're strengthening our engagements between the gender-based analysis plus team in my departments, as well as my department's anti-racism focal points. And to ensure those intersectionalities and those realities guide our actions. There's also different work going on on accessibility as well. So it's really that how does everything get factored in? And that's a really exciting newer area of work in combining those intersectional considerations. So thank you again for the opportunity to introduce the launch of this research reports. Canada remains deeply committed to applying a gender-responsive approach. And at the International Migration Review Forum, our minister committed Canada to taking further actions to advance implementation of the global compact, including promoting, exchanging gender responsive migration policies and programs. And as part of this pledge, we will promote this publication across the government of Canada and in our international engagement as well. And we're going to stress its value as that bridge between evidence-based research and gender-responsive policymaking and programming in the area of migration. So again, I look forward to the discussion today. Thank you and congratulations again for this launch. Back to you. Thank you so much, Stephanie, for your introductory remarks. And my name is Mari McAuliffe. I will be having the pleasure and the privilege of moderating the panel session. I head up the Migration Research and Publications Division and delighted, of course, to be marking the launch of this publication with two very important people, DDG Daniels, who is a genuine gender champion through her actions and also through her very important words. Thank you so much for doing the opening for us, DDG, as well as Stephanie outlining once again, so many reasons why the government of Canada and IRCC is leading in this space. So special thanks to IRCC for your support to Stephanie and her team in support of this particular research project, but also to the Government of Canada for so clearly taking a leadership role on gender-responsiveness and as well as research to inform evidence-based policy much more broadly. An enormous thanks to all of the researchers who contributed to the report as well as our expert peer reviewers. We have one of course with us today and of course to the many thousands of migrants who engaged with researchers to enable this rich and insightful volume to be realised. Our collective aim in delivering this collaborative research is to inform the development of effective and I'll underscore effective policy and programmatic responses. It's important to recall that while gender responsive migration policies have always been important, although often not always realised, the COVID-19 pandemic brought several home truths into sharp focus in a pretty intense way. Far from being the great equaliser that some were claiming at the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 has tended to exacerbate the precarious situations in which some migrants were living while creating new risks, new vulnerabilities and increasing inequalities. Despite the lower mortality rate of females than males, the pandemic seriously impacted migrant women workers, for example, who are often overrepresented in precarious employment and informal sectors. And we know from ILO data globally that women represent over three quarters of all migrant domestic workers. Women migrants also experienced obstacles to access healthcare and increased a caregiving burden of course, as well as heightened risk of gender-based violence and exploitation, as the DDG mentioned. But somehow, paradoxically, many women migrant workers also became essential workers in pandemic-affected economies. They have often been the frontline workers during the pandemic, be it as domestic workers or by working in the care sector or harvesting crops, among many other essential roles. And addressing the longer-term implications of the pandemic cannot be made without an inclusive and gender-based approach that fully addresses the inequalities and the vulnerabilities created and exacerbated by the pandemic, which duly pays tribute to the agency exercised by all in times of such adversity. Evidence-based research is in this respect essential to more comprehensively understand both the short term and the long-term impacts of the pandemic, so as we can adopt gender-sensitive responses to crises like COVID-19. We will probably have COVID-20 in the not too distant future and to reassess and adapt migration policies accordingly. The research papers on which today's presentations will be based constitute one step forward in this direction. But we also know that this is a never-ending journey as the context in which migrants live and migration takes place is evolving in an increasingly uncertain way. In this respect, today's research builds upon ongoing work on gender and migration that we've undertaken with the support of key partners and donors from all around the world, including research on labour migration of young women and girls supported by the Australian government, as well as a series of COVID-19 related papers, including on gender with Iowans migration research and publishing high-level advisers. As underscored by this new research publication, the gender gap and the associated inequalities tend to be exacerbated in times of crisis. In this respect, the key takeaway relates to the importance of better understanding the demographics and the gender dynamics at play throughout the entire migration cycle so that we can better address structural inequalities. While this research was finalised before the start of the conflict in Ukraine, let me just emphasise, for instance, how the demography of displaced populations are critical for the design of humanitarian responses, programmes and policy frameworks. The very high prevalence of children and adult females in the Ukrainian displaced population highlights very starkly the need for specific humanitarian response for suitable education, health and housing services, as well as the prevention of potential exploitation and abuse including to reduce the risks of human trafficking. Please now let me open the floor to our speakers today who will be presenting on various aspects of the research report. Today's launch will not do justice to all of the experts who have drafted these 12 papers, as only some of them will be presenting their findings today, so we would encourage you, and the link is in the chat there, to dive into this new publication. But we would also like to thank all of the authors who have been involved and give them the opportunity for remarks during the Q&A session. We've got several who are online with us today. So please let me introduce our first speaker, Celine Ballos, to share the main findings of the report. Celine is Senior Research Officer and Head of the Research Unit at the Migration Research and Publications Division in IOM, and she managed this project in collaboration with IRCC and the expert researchers. Celine, the floor is yours. Thank you. Thank you very much Marie, and I have a short PowerPoint. I know the time is counted for me as for the other panelists, so I try to be on time of course. Let me just bring up the PowerPoint here, and it's a pleasure to be with all of you today. Sorry, here it is. All of you today, and thank you very much to our DDG and to Stephanie for the afternoon remarks. And thank you, Marie, for your comments as well on the research publication, and more broadly, Hyde situates within our work. I'm very happy today to present the overall findings of this research project and this research publication. It has been a real pleasure for me to work with all the experts, be it as authors or as experts reviewers that were involved in the project, and as well with immigration refugees and citizenship chemists for very smooth, I would say, enjoyable collaboration. And I would just like to make a special thanks as well to our colleague within the Migration Research and Publications Division, Dr. Jenna Blower, who has worked with me throughout this research project. So I would not have the time to go into detail into the different aspects underpinning the interleakages between COVID-19, migration and migrants, and gender. But let me invite you all to read the introduction of the research publication, which provides a novel view. And you have here, it's really some snips that we have taken from the introduction, and that I like those interleakages that have also been touched upon or distinguished speakers beforehand, before me. Their comments indeed highlight the extent to which both a pandemic, such as that of COVID-19, and gender influence migration and migrants throughout the migration cycle. And you have a snip on the left-hand side that comes actually from work that Maria's done, and that showcase to you the different impacts that COVID-19 has had throughout the migration cycle. And on the other hand, we have gender, which is considered actually as a kind of underpinning of migration. And even, and I saw some of the experts while lying today, have termed it as migration as a gender phenomenon. So you see here, some of the graph that I've taken from the introduction, I won't go into detail again, just highlighting what DGJ has said in terms of this broadening gender gap, but also, as Maria's rightly said beforehand as well, the geographic distribution of migrant workers when we see that there are some rather substantial imbalance in certain regions, such as the Arab states, but also South and Asia. That this interleakage is underpin the rationale of this research publication, which aims to explore and critically examine the short-term and longer-term gender implication of the impacts of COVID-19 on migration and migrants. And it consists of 12 papers that you have here, which were selected after a call for proposals, which was quite successful. So that was quite difficult to select the best papers, but those were selected on devices of the quality. And they all been reviewed by experts of the topics who come from the ICANN and BIA, but also from IOM, other intergovernmental organization and non-governmental organization. So those 12 papers do arguably not cover the breadth of issues at the intersections of COVID-19 migration and gender. They do, however, provide a window for us to better understand some of the challenges and opportunities that arose during the pandemic based on the latest evidence and analysis. And as you can see here, the 12 papers cover a range of different issues and in different geographical locations. Also, as Stephanie mentioned before, cover different groups of migrants, such as migrant workers, refugees and internally displaced persons, international students, and more generally, migrant mothers. They also explore the national vulnerability as well as increased risk in terms of migrants' mental health and human trafficking during the pandemic. And some also focus on digital technology, a really important topic during the COVID-19 pandemic, including artificial intelligence, exploring both opportunities and risk for migrants. So overall, the findings made in these different papers converge onto some useful or key useful insights for policy. And that student lessons learned from the pandemic are important. And I'd just like to recall here what noted the UN Secretary-General in his reports on the global compact for migration ahead of the International Migration Review Forum last May. And I quote, it said, the lessons from the pandemic provide a timely opportunity to recalibrate gender responsive and child sensitive migration governance at the local, national, regional and global levels. Let me just quickly go through some of those key findings have been already emphasized by the speakers before me. The first one perhaps less. The first one is that gender assumptions, even though it has been touched by you, my reassurance, the gender assumptions on employment sectors and occupation remain prevalent with the perception that women are primarily caregivers, both within and outside their home. And we've seen that during the pandemic and that stereotypes heavily influence migration decisions, flows and experiences right through the migration cycle. It's important to take them into account. There are important aspects for designing policies and programs. The second insight goes back to the intersection lens that was presented by Stephanie before. And that this so much at the core of Canada's approach was such a gender responsiveness. The fact that we have multiple factors that are influencing migration and migrants and experiences and include those include migration status and gender. And we've seen during the COVID pandemic how migration status especially has also created because of precarious migration status or irregular migration status created or exacerbated vulnerabilities of migrants. I must highlight that papers in this research for parts primarily focus on the experience of female migrants and migrants of diverse gender identities and sexual orientation. But we must not understood these as excluding or minimizing the experiences and situation of migrant men and boys, including single men who travel alone, who may also find themselves in situation of vulnerability and in need of supports. Finally, beyond all the challenges that were brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic has also offered a window of opportunities that was highlighted beforehand for the adoption of innovative practices, policies and programs. Some of them were mentioned before, but those are some here that are highlighted in the papers and that I invite you to have a look to. Of course, the papers are not limiting to those, but we had to make here a selection, especially in terms of temporary regularization programs that were adopted by certain countries as was underlined by our deputy director, Janelle, and that showcased the importance of increasing regular pathways for migration with due consideration for the gender dynamic at play in different geographical locations. And I have a think here about the figure that I showed you, especially when you think about the geographical distribution, for instance, of migrant workers. Indeed, we know that migration flows and corridors are highly gendered and the implementation of such new pathways required due consideration for gender dynamics at play into different geographical locations. We also talked beforehand, and that's something that is showcased throughout the research, the papers in this research publication. It is the importance of active participation of migrants of diverse gender in policies and programs that affect them to increase them empowerment and also have a bottom up approach that gives them actually a trust in the responses and programs that are taken and that concern them and the buying from migrant communities. Finally, we've seen, and I mentioned that before, that digital technology solution had been increasingly developed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but the solution need to address migrant needs and challenges in terms of technological appropriation if they want to be effective, including from a gender perspective. There's also a need to give due consideration to their unintended impacts on migrants, especially when we think in terms of confidentiality and data protection that are particularly important in terms of risk that may create for migrants and refugees of diverse gender identities and sexual orientation. So I will terminate here some of some of those aspects would be covered by your speakers today. And of course, I invite you to have a look at the publication that was the link was already shared in the chat. And thank you very much for your attention and back to you, Marie. Many thanks. Thanks, Eileen, very much. Thanks for taking us through the key findings, providing background to the actual research publication and so forth. And while we can't cover all of the papers that are included in the publication, I again encourage you to have a look at the publication itself, look at the particular papers that are of interest. And right now we will hear from our first author and that is I'd like to introduce Denise Spitzer. Denise is a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Alberta and an adjunct professor at the Institute of Feminist and Gender Studies at the University of Ottawa. Denise will now share her insights from her paper that focuses on COVID-19 gender and migration studies in Ontario and Hong Kong. So over to you and thank you so much for joining us, Denise. Thank you very much for this kind of introduction and for this opportunity to not only contribute, so if you can go back to the title page please, contribute to the publication, but also to participate in this panel. As mentioned, my chapter highlights the interaction amongst gender temporary worker migration status work in place. And I illustrated these issues amongst two case studies, one of Indonesian and Filipino women migrant domestic workers in the special administration's region of China and Hong Kong who live and work in private households. And the other of migrant agricultural workers in Ontario, Canada, predominantly men from Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America who reside in employer provided congregate residences. Next slide please. Intersectionality plays a vital role in migrant workers pandemic experiences to begin the lives of migrant domestic workers and migrant agricultural workers are shaped by gender ideologies that inform the type of generally precarious labor into which workers are apt to be recruited, and by their national origins in the global south that enhance their likelihood of enrollment and temporary as opposed to permanent migration schemes. Precarious labor accompanied by precarious immigration status can mean people live precarious lives, the conditions of which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This precarity in the pandemic has transnational repercussions. Many countries responded to the pandemic lockdowns, international travel bans and restrictions on the internal movement of people. Economic slowdowns, disruptions in global supply chains and the decline in tourism have all contributed to the loss of migrant livelihoods, unable to migrate, to earn an income in their host country, and unable to return home and estimated three million migrants who have been restrained globally. Consequently, the economic distress experienced by migrant workers has increased the precarity of households dependent on migrant remittances, further evidence of the complex transnational effects of the pandemic and ungovernment's policy responses. Notably, police matters. It has implications for workers workplace and living condition exposures to COVID-19 and helps to structure their access to determinants of health. Existing migration policies and labor practices and newly instituted public health measures have further entrenched structural issues facing temporary migrant workers. The enclosures produced by borders and reinforced by migration policies, confinement to employer provided accommodation, the blurring of work in home environments, and exposures to pandemic racism in host communities where some temporary foreign workers have been labeled as carriers of contagion have further highlighted the significance of place when we think about intersectionality. Both settings where migrant domestic workers and migrant agricultural workers reside and work, entrenched dependency on their employers to whom they are tied through their visas, and due to precarious migration status, often stifle possible complaints or resistance, as they are of course committed to sustaining and supporting family at home most often. Working conditions and housing arrangements specifically the inability to socially distance as is common with the food industry and in frontline care work and of course issues around social distancing and lack thereof in respect of accommodations, importantly impact migrant health and are particularly salient under pandemic conditions. Long working hours, lack of control over work, close proximity to others, poor housing and nutrition, limits to social interaction and communication with family and friends, increases worry and reduces social support. Temporary migrant workers have often been excluded from healthcare and from benefits such as sick leave and pandemic related financial supports offered by some host countries. Resultantly temporary migrant workers report high levels of stress, depression and anxiety which compounded by concerns about and sometimes mistrust of publics and policies has resulted in reduced willingness of some to present themselves for COVID screening. Next slide please. Ensuring access to determinants of health is the most promising pathway to improving the health of migrant workers and indeed many countries have affected policies that work towards this way. Policies that reduce and eliminate precarious status and labor statuses that are linked to worsening health status, for instance by offering permanent residency are critical as is a family reunification which may enhance well being through the provision of social support and greater financial wherewithal. Additionally migrant workers deserve labor rights equivalent to local citizenry including access to complete mechanisms and to benefits such as sick leave. Removing employer-type visas and accommodation requirements to enable workers to potentially leave abusive situations and dangerous working conditions is again essential to workers health and safety as is the right to unionize and to have access to communication technologies to exchange information and obtain social support. Inclusion and social protection programs and health benefits such as sick leave have been widely beneficial in mitigating the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and in promoting health and well-being over the long term. Workplace inspections that are fully in compliance with local legal regulations and with ILO's call for decent work are needed to ensure safe and healthy environments for all workers. Numerous countries again invoke these measures in the context of the pandemic but they need to be entrenched to continue to enhance the well-being of migrant workers who support local national and global economies. Next slide please. Moreover various countries have implemented programs including free vaccination and COVID-19 screening regardless of migration status some of which have been offered at work sites or via mobile clinics. In addition there are examples of countries where employers have paid for full salary of migrant workers while in quarantine or when undergoing treatment. The inclusion of multilingual staff and attention to migrant sensitive care have facilitated vaccination campaigns and enhanced trust in health programs and in health professionals. Migrant advocacy organizations have helped to fill in some of the gaps and services and deserve both recognition and support. The call of nothing about us without us includes demand for intersectional migrant inclusive and multi-sectoral policymaking that meaningfully engages temporary foreign workers throughout policymaking implementation and evaluation processes and that addresses transnational contexts and social determinants of health. Importantly ongoing vigilance to unintended intersectional impacts of these policies and programs is required to move countries towards greater health equity for all. Next slide. Thank you. Merci beaucoup. Thank you very much indeed Denise that was very insightful and thanks so much for trying to distill in a very short presentation but a very impactful presentation a very very detailed analysis in your paper. I'll now hand over to the next speaker. Please allow me to introduce you to Roberto Arell Abdeldano. He's the professor at the University of Cesar in Mexico and Aria will share insights from his paper co-authored with colleagues on the gendered impacts of COVID-19 on internally displaced persons in Latin America and the Caribbean. I'll hand over to you now Aria. Thank you so much for joining us. Thank you Marine. Thank you Celine and also we want to thank to our viewers for their support and their insightful inputs in the writing of our paper. Our paper was entitled Gender and Impacts of COVID-19 on people internally displaced due to disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean and our chapter aim to analyze the differential gender impacts on persons displaced internally in these countries due to three hurricanes that made landfall during the COVID-19 pandemic. These were Hurricane Laura that made landfall in August, Hurricane Ita that made landfall at the end of October and right after Hurricane Ita there was another hurricane it was Iota or Iota that made landfall in November. The next please. Thank you. In 2020 the health authorities strongly recommended us to stay at home but the disasters did not take a quarantine and continued to hit several Latin American countries causing internal displacements. Here we have a cartoon that illustrates the situation of an earthquake for example, an earthquake shaking the house and everyone leaves the house but on the other hand when everybody is outside someone sneezes and everyone has to go again back to the house but that was the situation that was that is a good illustration of the situation with COVID-19 and disasters. In the picture also we can see a girl being rescued from the flu caused by Hurricane Ita in Mexico. The next please. There were over 2.1 million of new internally displaced persons in 13 Latin American countries and territories because of those hurricanes Laura Ita and Iota in 2020. In that context the COVID-19 pandemic increased the risk of exposure of women falsely displaced by disasters and showed their vulnerability in these situations but on the other hand the COVID-19 pandemic can also be seen as a window of opportunity to improve the effective implementation of the guiding principles D and E of the Sandy framework in the Latin American region. These two guiding principles promote gender equality and governance in disaster risk reduction. Also in line with the with the sustainable development goals there is a need to ensure that women play a little role in emergency response committees at local regional and national levels. It is also essential for humanitarian coordination, disaster situations and epidemiological coordination in response to the pandemic and to ensure the continuity of social and reproductive health services and to meet the basic needs of women from their participation. The next one please. Thank you. Through illustrations of some good practices and lessons learned this chapter highlights the good governance of disaster risk calls for collaboration and alliances between mechanisms and institutions and integration between countries in the same regions to reduce disaster risk and consolidate the path towards sustainable development. The concurrence of the global health, economic and humanitarian crisis have shed light on the urgent need to seriously address the plight of those displaced by climate related disasters at the global level. For example, she's a woman from Nicaragua who has lost her home during Hurricane Iota. Finally, we would like to say that climate justice and economic justice is also an issue of gender justice. Gender inequalities, root cause of poverty and climate change related events are making poverty even worse in Latin American countries. This means that for many women and girls living in poverty, the chances of achieving a better life are free to live by a double injustice, injustice, sorry, climate change and gender inequality. Thank you. Thank you so much Ariel for your presentation and insightful paper. It's an area that is not going to be receding unfortunately in terms of disaster related internal displacement. It's a key issue and a key issue that IOM works on all around the world and certainly the paper will be able to provide and highlight the importance of taking a gender responsive approach to IDP responses and disaster risk reduction most definitely. Thank you again for joining us and thank you for your contribution. I will now hand over to our next speaker. Thank you so much for joining us Andrea. Andrea Quitoque Dounas, I'm sorry if I mispronounced your name, is a consultant at the Inter-American Development Banks Migration Unit and she previously consulted to the University of the Pacific Research Center in Peru where she focused on the research on Venezuelan displacement in Latin America. Her paper, another one co-authored with colleagues, focuses on the experiences of Venezuelan women during COVID-19 in countries including Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Thank you again Andrea for joining us and I'll hand over the floor to you. Thanks. Thank you Marie for the introduction and IOM IRCC for the opportunity to participate in this project. Next slide please. I wanted to start first by briefly outlining some of the pre-COVID inequalities that made the Venezuelan population specifically vulnerable when the pandemic hit the region and also giving a sense of scale of the Venezuelan displacement phenomenon in the region. So first we're talking about the largest displacement phenomenon in Latin America's recent history with over 80% of Venezuelan migrants, refugees and asylum seekers settling in neighboring countries primarily in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Second, the region's inability to see the Venezuelan displacement phenomenon as a long-term phenomenon has resulted in some countries implementing a series of ad hoc policies that have resulted in many cases in volatile legal status and irregularity. And finally and also connected to this scenario of legal precarity. A large share of displaced Venezuelans live in a situation of socioeconomic vulnerability with women being amongst the most affected. So for example in comparison to their male counterparts, they are less likely to regularize their migratory status. They're more likely to be employed in highly feminized precarious employment and earn less. And also they experience higher rates of both nationality and gender-based discrimination but also hypersexualization. Next slide please. So our survey data revealed three main findings which I will briefly list. First of all women with diverse sexual orientations tend to experience higher levels of discrimination than heterosexual women both in the workplace and in their neighborhoods of residence. Second, women who self-identify as Afro-Venezuelans and mestizo experience more discrimination based on their socioeconomic status than those who do so as white. And third, women with a regular status tend to feel more often that they're being excluded or rejected from social activities than those with a regular migration status. So first site we see that the experiences of Venezuelan women in a receiving countries are conditioned not only by one but by multiple identity markers which begs the question to really consider discrimination through a multi-dimensional intersectional approach. And in order to address this cross-cutting discrimination we believe that states need to implement design and implement programs and policies that are rooted in evidence-based assessments. They use this aggregated data to identify the particular needs of different demographic groups but also because the a key barrier to Venezuelan migrants' socio-integration is their regular status. We also believe that the region needs to increase long-term regularization efforts and I think both Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to different extents are already embarking in these efforts. There's still key points left to consider such as for example waving fines for missed deadlines and also including migrants who are entering these countries irregularly or who are already in these countries in a regular migration status. Next slide please. So one of the main interview findings was that the main interview findings was that the hypersexualization of Venezuelan women's bodies was often cited as the root cause of their discrimination, putting this group at a higher risk of sexual harassment and sexual violence but also taking a higher toll on their mental health. And I think it's really important to specify here that trans migrant women of color are wearing a position of increased vulnerability. In terms of particular places where interviewees cited experiencing these types of discrimination, most said that the street was not a safe place for Venezuelan women given instances of sexual harassment and here I want to emphasize the high levels of normalization towards this type of discrimination. As many of the migrant women responded to these situations with phrases such as we learn to live with it or I've already passed through an experience like this. In the workplace not only were Venezuelan women's employment and income more negatively affected during the epidemic but also job offers and dynamics with co-workers often reproduced sexist and sexualized stereotypes of Venezuelan migrant women as prostitutes. And I think to begin to address these forms of violence we need stronger government and civil society collaborations to ensure access to justice for all, individuals irrespective of migration status and also trading with the people who oversee these justice mechanisms so as to avoid any form of revectimization. And while it is important to recognize the normalization of Venezuelan women towards these discriminatory episodes, I think it's equally important and critical to offer and create safe spaces for Venezuelan migrant women to talk and share these experiences, these traumatic experiences and increase their access to psychological therapy and assistance. Thank you. Thank you so much Andrea and we can just anticipate that your findings related to Venezuelan women and their experiences unfortunately are not uncommon for other migrant groups around the world in very similar situations so the findings are certainly very relevant for broader groups in those situations from around the world. Thank you so much again for joining us and for your presentation. Please allow me now to introduce you to our final author, our final panelist before we turn to our discussant, Jenna Henebre. I'd like to introduce Dr. John Bosco-Nezimana. John Bosco is a senior research policy fellow at the African Center for Strategy and Policy in the Leadership and Governance Lab. John Bosco will share insights from his paper which focuses on digital technology and refugees in sub-Saharan Africa during COVID-19. John Bosco, the floor is yours. Thank you for joining us. Thank you very much and thank you for the opportunity to be part of this great initiative. Can you see my screen? Yes, we can. Thank you. Yes, thank you. So as you can see the main topic of our paper was digital technology and refugees in sub-Saharan Africa during COVID-19. So the paper was quoted by Wesley and myself, as you can see on the screen. I'll go forward with the topic. The main objective of our paper was to examine the role of digital technology in refugees across sub-Saharan Africa during COVID-19 in order to inform gender responsive policies and programs. This paper is based on literature review, interviews, and communication exchanges undertaken with key stakeholders representing 10 organizations. We stakeholders who identified through literature review, online search, using key phrases, digital technology and refugees during COVID-19, semi-structured interview and communication exchanges were carried out between May and October 2021. So going to the background of our study, after the declaration of COVID as a pandemic on March 2020, it triggered a global response on COVID-19, leading to many states and institute policies limiting human mobility and internally displaced people. As a result, there was policies, there was an increase in the use of digital systems and networks. The number of individuals using internet increased by 80 million in 2021 and estimates of up to 4.9 billion worldwide, which is 63% of global population. Video conferences, services like Zoom reported a telephone increase in this use. This shows the extent to which digital technology became a crucial platform during COVID-19. Before COVID-19, the use of internet was widely used, but mobile technology was already central to the day-to-day lives of migrants and refugees. Mobile phones, smartphones, internet, play an important role throughout displacement as there are means of communication and tools that most refugees use for assistance and also to find other services. On the finding, I'll go to the findings. So key issues that we note, there was a language barriers among refugees and immigrants from accessing information, digital solution, as such as broadcasting, messaging, WhatsApp groups in native languages, helps to improve the understanding of COVID-19 policies and promote information sharing, access to service. Youth Voices Communities, refugee-read organization in Kenya, for example, provided support for hearing impaired people, people with disabilities who could not hear. This youth organization played a key role among migrants and refugees by developing posters and videos, signed languages about COVID-19, how to access services, including information on how to report and get help from gender-based violence. Other key issues that also emerged is that COVID-19 highlighted an important issues for states to adapt on asylum processes through online processing of refugee status. And you can see that around 100 countries across Africa started to engage into a remote processing of asylum processes. Foreign COVID-19 lockdown, for example, in South Africa. South Africa and the Angola implemented online processes of documentation and the renewal processes. Then, conclusion, our research can see that it plays a very big role in gender migrants across Africa and digital technology for sure sought to improve access to information and services, but also access was limited due to issues with connectivity and the digital gender divide. Thank you. Thank you very much, John. And that really your paper highlights, again, as you've pointed out in terms of the conclusions, that gender digital divide that is experienced by different communities all around the world and exacerbated during COVID-19 for particular groups, including those who've been displaced, such as refugees. Now, let me please hand over to Dr. Jenna Henebree, who is our discussant today. We are delighted, of course, Jenna, that you can join us and also delighted and very grateful that you have been a long-standing partner of IOM research and, again, have really offered and we're very grateful for your expertise in helping peer review this publication along with other colleagues from around the world. Although I don't really need to introduce you just a very, very quick reminder that Jenna is the director of the International Migration Research Centre at the Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. She's also the founder of the Gender and Migration Hub, a knowledge hub focused on supporting stakeholders in the development of monitoring of gender-responsive migration governance. And as we know, the hub was just launched at the IMRF, where Jenna was a member of Canada's delegation to the UN as highlighted by Stephanie. So thank you so much again, Jenna, for joining us. The floor is yours. Thanks so much, Marie, and the presenters and of course, Canada for their continued leadership on this important issue, just so that I don't run into hot water back here at home. I'm not the director, I'm the founder of the IMRC, I'm no longer the director. We're actually in a moment of seeking a new director, so that's where we're at. But just to flag that it's been great to work with so many colleagues on this call and people that are joining as participants over the last, I would say decade, but certainly in the lead up to the Global Compact for Migration and the International Migration Review Forum, which we just came out of a couple of weeks ago, which I sort of see as this taking stock and it was a really interesting moment to be able to see where we're at in terms of being able to realize the Global Compact for Migration in a way that is gender responsive or not through the litmus test of the pandemic. So I thought I would make a few comments about reflecting on sort of what I heard at the IMRF, how it connects up with some of these papers in this really important volume. So to start, I wanted to basically say that it was really heartening and we got a win at the IMRF, which was Member States adopted the Progress Declaration, which is particularly important in this time when so many states I think would have avoided even reaffirming the GCM. There were a number of unsuccessful efforts to roll back key tenants of the compact, including the centrality of human rights, which was noted by my colleagues at the Women and Migration Network. Indeed, I think the pandemic period has been a time when some states have wavered on their commitments made in Marrakesh, or at least discussed and heard in Marrakesh in 2018. And as noted by the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, Felipe Gonzalez, during the IMRF, you know, many migrant workers and their families who contribute to economies through their essential labor, as we know, were left stranded during the pandemic. Challenges that range from return and readmission to migrants, detention, access to identity documents, access to services and rights were challenges, to name a few. Carolina Gattardo from the International Detention Coalition pointed to some, yes, some promising practices during the pandemic, but still criminalization and scapegoating of migrants, seeing really the expansion of a detention state. And although we've seen some alternative detentions or alternatives to detention, including ending child detention among some states, this is certainly exception and not the rule. We heard the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons, especially in Women and Children, Ms. Saiban Malali. She spoke on May 17th, which also happened to be the International Day Against Homophobia and highlighted that the GCM is fully, if fully implemented, actually guarantees the protection of rights for all people, including gender diverse migrants by virtue of being persons. We heard from also from Craig Moniker, the Director of the New York Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, noting that during the pandemic, we saw abuse, pushbacks, denial of humanitarian violations and worse, we saw exclusion from education, decent work. All of these things compounded by the intersectional discrimination that Stephanie Leung has talked about in her opening remarks from Canada and that has particularly impacted racialized women. We've seen, I think we've really seen that policies matter and that we can, and they can really exacerbate situations of vulnerability as noted by Craig Moniker. And it's so important to move to a situation where inclusiveness is not the exception, but the norm. So I think in taking stock a little bit about the way in which we've kind of taken two steps forward and hopefully, or two steps back and hopefully we've taken a step forward, I think we saw at the IMRF that we took quite a number of steps back, certainly in the global compact for migration, gender appeared over 20 times. There was sort of a common thread and I think a general understanding that gender impacts all forms of migration at all stages of migration for all migrants that was sort of understood, I think in 2018, where we got to at the IMRF was gender was all but erased in the progress declaration and in early stages of the lead up to the IMRF. There wasn't even a standalone paragraph on migrant women. And quite often we were looking at women as children, the vulnerableization of women, the infantilization of women and nothing on LGBTQ plus migrants and really a kind of sense that really it was only in the context of violence that that it mattered to talk about this. So I think at the start of the IMRF, there's a lot of concern around that and things certainly shifted towards the end. And I think there was a recognition towards the end that there's been some backsliding and that it was vital to keep moving that forward. I think we saw some renewed commitment from champion countries such as Canada, who's shown in their leadership in moving the needle ahead on gender really tried to push back the creep back, sorry push against the creep back on language towards victimization and vulnerableization and a real calling out for gender responsive approach and recognition that that means actually addressing structural inequalities and all of those things that are coming through in the papers that that comprise this this important volume. And I do think we're still not fully grasping the long term reverberating impacts of COVID-19 particularly on things like the care economy on women migrant workers health and rights. I was struck that at IMRF how little we got into the weeds of that and that's why research collections like this one are so vital. Because you know the GCM has objective one all about sex and gender, design, grade to grade data which is really vital but it's useless if not analyzed through research that can translate this knowledge to policy. And this really I think came through in the work presented here today as well as in the other papers and the volume you know the paper by Margaret Walton Roberts and Hari Casey for example demonstrated the importance of immigrant health workers during the pandemic and the need to address the sort of structural devaluation of women's contribution to health and care. We saw Al-Mashri's paper on the sort of lack of a central legal framework for protecting migrant workers rights in Arab states often through that are often protected through or managed through bilateral agreements that tend to be very gender blind and that we see that if we don't have gender responsiveness in place in policy and in practice then we are not only heightening in acute ways inequalities, discrimination and other times of acute deleterious consequences particularly for women migrants and LGBTQ plus migrants but we're also really undermining our longer-term efforts towards realizing the sustainable development goals in a manner that actually is for all as it's tending to or aiming to be. I think there's a lot of what for me one of the things that resonated in the discussion today and in the chapters or the papers in the volume Andrea Kivtok-Dwenyes work on the Venezuelan migrants really highlighted this ad hoc approach that I think is happening in terms of responding to crises and I think that that way of thinking that instrumentalizing that sort of administrative approach that is always about trying to solve things through these one-off types of programs these ad hoc responses are not what we need to be doing in terms of thinking about gender responsiveness are not what we need to be doing in terms of thinking about actually ensuring a rights-based approach which is what's grounded in the GCM. It means building structural system-level mechanisms for change into the work of the network on migration and the work of governments and communities. It means developing gender indicators to measure progress in GCM implementation, having a gender rapport tour in all regional and global processes and mechanisms. We also need mechanisms for sharing guidance and knowledge like this volume and and having an actually informed policy and that that last link is really tough to do and that's in part why we've created the Gender Plus Migration Hub in partnership with Women Migration Network and funded by IRCC Government Canada and so really it's about adopting a gender responsive lens and recognizing I think we've learned from thinking and reading through this volume and listening to these impressive speakers today and the work that's been done is that a gender responsive lens and a rights-based approach to migration governance is not a luxury. It's not something you do when you have time to focus on other less pressing issues when it's sort of convenient. It's actually vital to be able to handle those pressing issues in a way that does not heighten inequalities and lead to both acute deleterious outcomes for some migrants and long-term setbacks for realizing the 2030 Agenda for All including women, girls and LGBTQ plus migrants. Thanks. I'll end there. Thank you so much indeed Jenner and so important in terms of the timing to be able to share those insights from IMRF also over the course of the last sort of four years of the implementation of their global compact for safe orderly and regular migration and the wealth of experience and knowledge that you bring so we're really we're very much appreciative of that particular expertise that you can bring to this collaboration like no other. I would now like to open the floor before offering the opportunity for other speakers and other authors. I know we've got several authors on the line with us just to see Margaret was with us early but I think she's had to leave but say Harry KC is on the line there are others who are here so if you please want to make some comments including in relation to your papers and some key findings please let us know. In the meantime I have a couple of questions unfortunately Ariel has dropped off with had serious internet connectivity issues with a hurricane that has recently passed through and he has we have lost him there were some questions for him in the chat but there's also a question for John Bosco if I can just highlight one that has come through for you John Bosco in the context of access to technology and technology sort of platforms for refugees which is not always the norm. What do you think can be done to assist these vulnerable populations who often don't have access to the technology? Yes thank you. So in our recommendation in our recommendation can you hear me? Yes thank you. Yes in our recommendation we recommend for for investments or funding into projects that response or that attempt to establish network and network especially the Wi-Fi access within the refugee camps and also enabling refugees to be able to access technology for example in Zimbabwe we noted that there is a huge project that is being funded by United Nation and other NGOs to have Wi-Fi network within the refugees so that refugees can be able to communicate can be able to receive messages so we encourage funding into technology especially within the refugee camp because most refugee camps are in remote areas and it's really very difficult for refugees to access the internet or the Wi-Fi. Most Wi-Fi are centralized in office buildings and this makes it difficult for refugees to gather at a certain place and this may not even be good for COVID-19 so we encourage funding into this area of technology within refugee camps. Thank you very much John and we also know too from existing research and analysis that there is as you highlighted earlier very significant gender divide in regards to access to digital technology which then has significant implications for things like accessing information services, mobile money, international remittances and so forth so it has long flow on effects in terms of livelihood strategies and in terms of education health and well-being. I can see that Celine I think has her hand up. Thank you there was just a follow-up and thank you for what you said as well Marine. It's just a follow-up on what John Bosco said because I think John in your paper what was really striking for me is like we always put emphasis on technology but you talk about radio and the place of radio and all like how migrants themselves actually communicated to get information in different languages and so on so that was like a kind of striking aspect as well because we all think that the solutions is in technology I'm not saying that it's not but like the importance as well in the meantime in like we can cope with like the gender digital divide and and try to to of course decrease it as much as possible that was really interesting for me at least to see to read that and how it was used by migrants themselves and NGOs and other actors so that was just a follow-up. Thank you Mary. Thanks Celine. I can see that we have no other hands raised or questions in the chat so we are right at time very good in terms of timing thank you so much to all the speakers. I will now hand over to Eva Ackerman-Baurier who is the director of the department of policy and research and provide the floor to Eva for closing remarks. Thank you over to you Eva. Thank you very much Mari for that and thank you very much to all the speakers and all the participants for being with us today and for sharing your insights on this very very important topic. As Mari said I'm heading IOMs department of policy and research here at headquarters in Geneva and let me just say that gender is really indeed a cross-cutting issue impacting all dimensions of the migration cycle and as we know gender roles strongly influence migration decisions and gender power dynamics influence the conditions of migration and as echoed by many stakeholders at the recent international migration review forum to improve migration management we need to prioritize intersectional perspectives and deeply consider a gender responsive approach to the implementation of of the global compact for migration. This report that we have presented, launched and discussed today has really revealed not only the unique vulnerabilities experienced by migrants due to the COVID-19 pandemic but also opportunities for innovation and gender sensitive responses in migration policy efforts and the report also highlighted the significance of including migrant voices in data collection and analysis as well as the importance of migrant contribution in recovery response initiatives. While there remains a large gap in knowledge especially as it pertains to gender and other demographic data it is really clear that without robust research and data analysis we can't attend to the diverse experience and needs of migrant. This report contributes to IOM's commitment to deliver policy-oriented migration research and analysis to inform evidence-based program delivery and policy development that is gender responsive. IOM is also committed to developing data and analysis that is underpinned by sustainable solutions and concrete action. The report achieves this by highlighting both institutional policy gaps and innovative practices in the migration management. The findings in the report also lends itself to knowledge creation that is relevant for a range of stakeholders in the field of migration including policymakers, researchers, sub-society actors etc. Emerging from the report and evident from today's discussion and presentations it's indeed the role of partnership and the benefits of systematic approaches to institutional policy coordination and development. So on behalf of IOM's department for policy and research I would like to thank our speakers very much for their presentations and their work with this report and also of course to our participants for being with us here today. So thank you very much and I think this concludes the launch event. Thank you.