How diverse leadership shaped responses to COVID-19 within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The Humanitarian Advisory Group (HAG) in collaboration with the Global Network for Women Leaders in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement (GLOW Red), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has conducted a research on the impact of diverse and inclusive leadership within the Red Cross and Red Crescent responses to COVID-19.

This research contributes to capturing the importance of diversity and inclusion in leading an effective response to humanitarian crises, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It reveals the important differences in the way leaders with diverse backgrounds, profiles, and experiences approached and prioritized decisions and actions. It highlights the importance of having a diverse range of people around the leadership table, and that effective decision-making requires that everyone is able to speak and have their views heard.

It is part of the commitments made by the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement to improve diversity and inclusion and reflected by the adoption of two resolutions: one "Reinforcing gender equality and equal opportunities in the leadership" at the Council of Delegates in 2017 and the other "Women and leadership in the humanitarian action of the Movement" at the last International Conference in 2019.