The COVID-19 pandemic transcends traditional boundaries between society and the economy, private and public businesses, and individual countries. Markets, policymakers and communities—all of us—must rapidly adapt to mitigate the impact of this shock.
What society expects from business is evolving rapidly. Beyond providing returns to shareholders, businesses play a critical systemic role in the development of society and guardianship of the global environment. For many, this is unchartered territory. Success will come only if we continue to discuss and debate some of the most pressing questions, such as what is the purpose of business? Do investors hold the key to a sustainable future? And what does it mean to have purpose that goes beyond the boardroom?
To mark International Women’s Day 2020, we asked women economists from across the globe for their stories.
In recent months we have seen a sea change in the way we live and how we do business. The global pandemic has meant that we—businesses, governments, regulators and banks—have had to adapt rapidly to guidance on protecting lives, livelihoods and the economy. People and firms have found new ways of doing things, and although the pandemic is still with us, we are starting to look to the future and think about how we can take forward what we have learned.
