Welcome to the United Nations
Gender-based discrimination is a
lifelong and intergenerational problem. From an early age, women face
multidimensional challenges in their homes, communities and society at large.
According to the UN Women’s 2018
Flagship Report on Gender Equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
although over 100 countries are committed to track budget allocations for
gender equality, more than half of urban women and girls in developing
countries still live in conditions where they lack at least one of their basic
human right, such as access to clean water, improved sanitation facilities,
durable housing and sufficient living area.
Unequal access to essential
resources and discriminatory social institutions push women to the fringes of
society, with far-reaching ramifications. In the OECD
Social Institutions and Gender Index 2019 Global Report, current
levels of gender-based discrimination were estimated to reduce women’s average
years of schooling and human capital by 16 per cent each, amounting to an
overall reduction in the global income by 7.5 per cent, equivalent to USD 6
trillion.
In the same report, it is found that
nearly half of all countries prohibit women from entering certain professions, potentially
causing them to occupy on average 26 per cent of parliamentary seats in
countries that have special measures. In contrast, women globally undertake 75
per cent of unpaid care and domestic work and are not recognized as a head of
the household in 41 countries. As a result, women generated 37 per cent of
global GDP in 2018, despite accounting for 41 per cent of the global labor
force. The list goes on.
The status of women around the world
calls for effective measures to mainstream a gender perspective to social
protection and shift exclusionary public services and gender-blind
infrastructure. “Investment in gender-responsive social protection, public
services and sustainable infrastructure is critical to free up women’s time,
support their mobility, enhance their access to economic opportunities and
strengthen their resilience to shocks,” remarked UN Under-Secretary-General and
UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, in her opening speech at
the Commission.
“By addressing issues that impact
the day-to-day lives of millions of women across the world, we seek to bridge
political gaps, shine a light on inequalities where they exist, ensure that
vulnerable women and girls are supported,” noted Geraldine Byrne Nason, Chair
of the Bureau for the CSW63 and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of
Ireland to the UN.
The 63rd Session of the Commission for the Status of
Women (CSW63) at the UN Headquarters is coming to a
close after ten days of deliberation, from 11 to 22 March 2019. Addressing this
year’s priority theme ‘Social Protection Systems, Access to Public Services and
Sustainable Infrastructure for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and
Girls’, the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality has set a new
record, attracting and registering more than 9,000 representatives from civil
society organizations and 193 Member States.
Leaders and activists are collaborating
in 17 official meetings, including expert panels, high-level interactive
dialogues, interactive and panel discussions, pivoting on the agreed
conclusions from the 60th session on ‘women’s empowerment and the
link to sustainable development’ and ‘women and girls of African descent’.
Four ministerial round tables took
place in the first week of the CSW63 on ‘Good Practices in the Provision of
Social Protection, Public Services and Sustainable Infrastructure, Including
for Recognizing and Valuing Unpaid Care and Domestic Work’ and ‘Good Practices
and Policies for the Design, and the Provision and Implementation of Social
Protection, Public Services and Sustainable Infrastructure, Including for the
Promotion of Women’s Representation in Various Sectors and All Levels’.
Alongside official meetings, over 280
side events
and 400 parallel
events are full to capacity with attendees discussing issues ranging
from designing culturally appropriate social protection for indigenous women
and building inclusive public services for refugee and migrant women.
The message is clear. From the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development to national policies and municipal projects,
all initiatives should address gender- and context-specific, intersectional
vulnerabilities faced by women. The price of excluding women goes beyond an
economic loss as it creates a dangerous cycle of human rights violations. No
one gains from stripping women of fundamental rights and confining them to the
margins.
Source: UNSDN