gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow essay pdf

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Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow: Why Women Are Key in the Race Against Climate Change

Date: Tuesday, 8 March 2022

Joint International Women’s Day 2022 OP-ED by UN Women, UNDP, IFAD, UNFPA and UNEP China Offices

English |  中文

For millennia, ‘Mother Nature’ has personified our planet. Rooted in ancient philosophy from around the world, she reflects Earth’s ability to give — and nurture — life.

Globally though, women are yet to gain equal opportunities and rights to men, while the world they share is in immediate danger. Climate change is already here. As UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, warned recently, many ecosystems have reached the point of no return and nearly half of humanity now lives in peril. [1]

The frequency of climate disasters varies across communities, as do vulnerabilities arising from them. Yet one thing is constant: while women are at the forefront of climate action, they face greater risks. Women are responsible for more than 70 per cent of water management and collection worldwide, [2] and constitute, on average, 43 per cent of agricultural labour in developing countries. [3] However, they lack the same tools as men to manage changes in their climate: while women are more likely to report a climate shock, [4] they are less likely to receive information about it.

In climate action, the green transition, and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), the rights and needs of women and girls must be met, to protect and empower them, and thus strengthen resilience across society. Only by mobilizing everyone’s potential can we fight climate change together.

Themed “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow” this International Women’s Day, we recognize the leadership and contribution of women and girls around the world to climate mitigation and adaptation. We also call for their rights, along with their crucial role in climate action to be fully reflected in climate policies, programmes, and investments.

To ensure this, five areas must be tackled:

First, women’s environmental leadership and rights must be better supported . Currently, their participation is too low to influence decisions and policies: in 2020, just 15 per cent of environmental ministers globally were women, up from 12 per cent in 2015. [5] This is exacerbated by structural inequalities, including their high burden of unpaid care and household work, gender-based violence, as well as limited access to resources, like land. These gaps are of critical concern, as existing evidence shows that women’s participation leads to better resource management and climate interventions, along with stricter climate policies, resulting in lower emissions. [6] It is therefore vital that everyone — including governments, the private sector, and society — empowers women and girls, by giving them tools and training to lead on environmental issues. For example, between 2015 and 2020, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in partnership with UN Women, worked with Qinghai’s provincial government to train rural women on climate-smart agriculture and maintaining crop diversity. Reaching close to 70,000 rural women in Qinghai, the project saw many emerge as community leaders, lifting food production, incomes, and resilience, including to climate change and COVID-19.

Second, gender perspectives must be integrated into climate decision-making. Women are disproportionally exposed to natural hazards and pollutants, due to their high participation in agriculture, textiles, and manufacturing, while lacking information and resources to protect themselves. Currently, just 24 per cent of 120 countries identify gender equality institutions as part of climate governance, with only 27 per cent emphasizing women’s participation. [7] Going forward, gender-responsive environmental policies and programmes can be expanded by boosting decision-maker capacities through training, while enhancing coordination between sectors. Governments should apply gender-disaggregated statistics, ensure women are equally consulted and those gender considerations are included throughout the policy-making process.

Third, gender-responsive, just transitions require ending labour market discrimination, so more women can enter and lead in the green and blue economies . In 2019, women made up only 27.1 per cent of China’s power sector workforce. [8] Yet, globally, an estimated 80 per cent of new jobs created by dismantling fossil fuel dependency will be in areas currently dominated by men. [9] As such, eliminating occupational segregation and gender-based discrimination in labour markets, while promoting women’s equal access to decent work in green and blue economies, is key to a just green transition. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China has supported thousands of young women in gaining vocational training and accessing jobs in the traditionally male-dominated hydrogen-powered vehicle sector. Empowering women presents a win-win opportunity for developing clean energy, as it contributes to a more inclusive workforce, as well as a larger human capital base to sustain growth.

Fourth, within the much-needed boost to public and private climate financing, greater attention must be given to gender-responsive climate adaptation and mitigation . This requires more funding for climate projects explicitly tackling climate effects on women while empowering women to take climate action. It also calls for more funding for women’s rights organizations and institutions. For example, from 2022, the International Fund for Agricultural Development set a global target for at least 35 per cent of all new projects to transform women’s lives. [10] The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) supports women across the Asia-Pacific in accessing finance and technology to build renewable energy businesses, enabling climate-resilient livelihoods.

Finally, ensuring women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in environmental disasters is crucial . The destruction of infrastructure, roads, and clinics by climate and environmental crises curtail those rights when goods and services become unavailable. Therefore, health systems and service delivery must be strengthened, increasing information and psychosocial support around disasters. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) works with China’s government and other partners to help people adapt to climate change, including providing necessary health services and preventing violence against women during crises.

As we all look to build back better from COVID-19, UN Women, UNDP, IFAD, UNFPA, and UNEP are uniting to advance gender equality across climate action, through enhanced cooperation with China’s government and other partners. However, all of society is needed — including the private sector and every community — to give women the tools, data, and training to be equally equipped in the task of protecting our planet – and equally protected in its increasingly unpredictable future.

性别平等共创可持续未来：为什么女性在跑赢气候变化上至关重要

2022 年国际妇女节联合评论文章: 安思齐（联合国妇女署）、白雅婷（联合国开发计划署）、马泰奥（联合国国际农业发展基金）、康嘉婷（联合国人口基金），涂瑞和（联合国环境规划署

几千年来，"自然母亲"一直是我们星球的化身。她植根于世界各地的古老哲学中，反映了我们的地球给予和孕育生命的能力。

在全球范围内，女性尚未获得与男性平等的机会和权利，但她们所共处的世界正处于直接危险之中：气候变化已经到来。 正如联合国秘书长安东尼奥·古特雷斯（António Guterres） 最近的警告，许多生态系统已经到了无法回头的地步，当下，近一半的人类生活在严重风险之中。

由于各社区受气候相关灾害影响程度不同，因此其脆弱性也因社区而异。但有一点是不变的：女性仍处于气候行动前线，但却面临着更大的风险。在世界范围内，70%以上的水管理和收集工作由女性承担，农业劳动力的女性占比在发展中国家的均值也有 43%。然而，她们缺乏与男性相同的资源来应对气候变化：由于缺乏相关预警信息和知识，前线女性比男性更易遭受气候冲击。

在气候和环境行动、绿色转型和防灾减灾（DRR）方面，必须充分满足妇女和女童的需求和权益，以保护并赋权她们，从而加强整个社会的韧性。只有充分调动每个人的潜能，我们才能共同应对气候变化。

因此，2022 年 3 月 8 日国际妇女节（IWD 2022）的主题是“性别平等共创可持续未来”。我们承认世界各地的妇女和女童在减缓和适应气候变化方面的领导作用和贡献。我们还呼吁： 妇女和女童的权利和需求，以及她们在气候行动中发挥的关键作用，应充分反映在当前的气候政策、方案和投资中。

为了确保这一点，全社会必须解决五个方面的问题：

首先，必须更好地支持妇女和女童在气候和环境方面的领导力提升和权益保障 。 妇女和女童目前的参与程度还没有达到影响决策和政策的地步。2020 年，在全球范围内，环境部门的部长中仅有 15 是女性，而 2015 年这一数据是 12。现有的结构性不平等进一步阻碍了她们的有效参与，包括无偿照料和家务劳动的沉重负担、基于性别的暴力，以及获得土地等其他资源的机会有限等。这些性别差距引起了广泛关切，因为女性的平等参与才能使资源管理和气候干预更加有效，加之更加严格的气候政策，最终才能实现减排。 因此，包括政府、私营部门和社会在内的每一个人都要赋权妇女和女童，为她们提供工具和培训，让她们更好地在环境解决问题中发挥领导作用。例如，在 2015 年至 2020 年期间，联合国国际农业发展基金（IFAD）与联合国妇女署（UN Women）一起，与青海省政府合作，为农村女性提供气候智慧型农业以及如何保持作物多样性的培训。该项目惠及青海省近 7 万名

农村女性，许多女性农民成为所在社区的领导者，推动了粮食生产，实现了增收，提高了抵御冲击的能力，包括气候变化和 2019 冠状病毒病（亦称“新冠”）带来的冲击。

第二，性别考量必须纳入气候决策中 。由于女性大量参与农业、纺织业和制造业，同时缺乏相关的信息、资源和支持来保护自己，她们也不成比例地暴露在自然灾害和污染物之下。目前的分析显示，在 120 个国家中，只有 24% 的国家将国家性别平等机构确定为气候变化治理的一部分，只有 27%的国家指出了女性参与气候行动决策的重要性。 通过培训提高决策者的能力，同时加强部门之间的协调，有助于制定和实施促进性别平等的环境政策和方案。各国政府应确保采用区分性别的统计数据，平等地征求女性意见，并将性别考量纳入气候和环境方案制定全过程。

第三，要想实现促进性别平等的公正过渡，就必须消除劳动力市场歧视，使更多女性在蓝色经济和绿色经济中发挥领导作用 。2019 年，在中国能源行业，女性占比员工总数的 27.1 。绿色经济领域也不例外。放眼全球，在为减轻对化石燃料的依赖而创造的新兴经济领域， 约 80 的岗位仍由男性占主导。因此，消除劳动力市场的职业藩篱和性别偏见，推动女性平等获得体面工作，对公正、绿色转型至关重要。比如，在以男性为主导的氢能汽车行业中，联合国开发计划署（UNDP）为数千名中国女性提供职业教育和就业机会。我们认为， 对于清洁能源行业来说，赋能女性是个一举两得的机会，因为这不仅能推动劳动力包容发展，同时也能扩大劳动力市场以支持行业的持续增长。

第四，作为提升公共和私人气候融资的必要一环，我们要更加重视促进性别平等的气候适应和减缓举措 。这要求我们明晰气候变化与女性的关系以及其中存在的问题，并为切实解决这些问题的项目提供更多资金，同时赋予女性采取有效气候行动的能力。增加对女性权利组织和机构的直接资助也至关重要。例如，从 2022 年开始，国际农发基金设定全球范围内至少 35 的新项目需要具有系统性性别视角。联合国环境规划署（UNEP）支持亚太地区的女性获得资金和技术，以建立可再生能源业务，从而实现气候适应性的生计。

最后，确保妇女和女童在气候和环境危机及灾害中的性与生殖健康和权利至关重要 。气候和环境危机对基础设施、道路和诊所的破坏，使得货物和服务获取存在困难，进一步破坏了妇女和女童的性与生殖健康及权利。因此，我们必须完善卫生系统，提高服务能力，增强灾害期间和灾后信息及社会心理支持的获取。联合国人口基金（UNFPA）正在与中国政府和其他合作伙伴合作，帮助人们应对气候变化，包括在环境危机期间提供性健康和生殖健康服务，预防在环境危机期间对女性的暴力行为。

为更好地从 2019 冠状病毒病中恢复过来，联合国妇女署、联合国开发计划署、联合国国际农业发展基金、联合国人口基金和联合国环境规划署将通过加强联合国与中国政府和其他合作伙伴的合作，来推进气候行动中的性别平等。然而，整个社会，包括私营部门和每个社区都需要共同努力，才能确保女性能够平等地获得工具、数据和培训，平等地为保护地球发挥作用，并在地球日益不可预测的未来得到平等的保护。

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• International Fund for Agricultural Development. (2019) Mainstreaming Gender-transformative Approaches at IFAD – Action Plan 2019-2025 .
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Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow….

8 March 2022

Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow - UN Observance of International Women's Day 2022

The year 2022 is pivotal for achieving gender equality in the context of climate change, and environmental and disaster risk reduction, which are some of the greatest global challenges of the twenty-first century. Without gender equality today, a sustainable future, and an equal future, remains beyond our reach.

This year's IWD Observance is in recognition and celebration of the women and girls who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation and response, and to honor their leadership and contribution towards a sustainable future.

Special guests include climate icon Dr. Jane Goodall, and two women that Time magazine has named among the 15 women who will save the world, Dr. Katharine Wilkinson and Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim.

Speakers include:

• H.E. Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
• H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th General Assembly of the United Nations
• H.E. Ms. Aminath Shauna, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, Republic of Maldives
• H.E. Ms. Amina J. Mohammad, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Ms. Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women
• Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, Founder of Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace
• Ms. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad
• Ms. Katharine Wilkinson, Author and Environmentalist; Leader of The All We Can Save Project
• Ms. Mahlatse Lesiba Ramoroka, Coordination Analyst at UN Women and more 

Musical Performances by: Angelica Hale and Broadway Singers 

Ms. Mahlatse Lesiba Ramoroka, UN Women Host

The colour for International Women's Day is GREEN

UN Women webpage

Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow

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"Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow" presented virtually by Professor Asha Kanwar, COL President & CEO at the National Institute of Open Schooling International Women’s Day and Inauguration of e-Library “Digital Education and E-Resources Platform” (DEEP), India on 8 March 2022.

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Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.

Achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls today constitute an opportunity to advance a sustainable tomorrow. Gender equality is a fundamental human right and a foundation for peaceful, prosperous and sustainable societies. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go to achieve equality between men and women. On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022, we at the United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) join the UN family in reflecting on gender equality under the "Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow" theme.  As highlighted in the recent Our Common Agenda report, it is important for us to strengthen awareness of gender equality and women’s empowerment within the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Gender Equality challenges and Climate Action

UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, recently noted that fulfilling gender equality is “ the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world” . Despite progress over the last decades, many of our challenges have been  exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, reinforcing stark   gender disparities   in economic, social, political, environmental realms . Among some of the key challenges is gender-based violence , discriminatory laws and social norms, women’s political and leadership underrepresentation,  and gender pay gaps which all continue to persist globally .

With the recent release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, another challenge that has come to the fore is gender equality in the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction .   Women are increasingly recognized as being more vulnerable to climate change impacts when compared to  men. They constitute the majority of the world’s poor, and are more dependent on the natural resources which are  threatened by climate change. This dynamic has implications for their livelihoods and well-being , and in turn our goal to build a more sustainable future for all.

At UNSSC we are contributing to this  effort  through learning programmes like the “The Paris Agreement on Climate Change as a Development Agenda”, “Climate Sensitive Programming for Sustaining Peace” and the “Sustainable  Development Leadership Reflection Series for Saudi Arabia”. Beyond advancing learning to demonstrate the interlinkages and interdependencies between sustainable development, peace and security and climate change, the programmes are designed to encourage participants to incorporate relevant human rights and gender dimensions into their work. I am also inspired by the work that other entities are doing to raise awareness about climate change as it relates to gender equality. In particular, I look forward to the upcoming 66th Commission on the Status of Women which   will explore gender equality in the context of climate change, environmental, and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes.

Gender-Sensitive Peace Approaches

Another challenge that requires further intervention is women's marginalization in peace processes. Landmark resolutions like the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 call for increased participation of women at all stages of a peace process. However, the number of women who participate in formal peace negotiations is limited. In addition, while it has been widely acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic has further amplified the gender gaps in existing peace and security structures, UNSSC initiatives like the 2020 “Virtual Torino Forum for Sustaining Peace” has sought to address this issue by creating a knowledge exchange forum to highlight they key role that youth and women play in the peace process. The Torino Forum provided a unique opportunity for different stakeholders to gain more insights into women’s security needs, and the issues that affect them as individuals, peacebuilders and members of marginalized communities. What became increasingly evident after the five-day event is the collective view that more work, and learning opportunities are required to ensure more inclusive peace processes and implement the Women Peace and Security Agenda effectively.

An Intersectional Approach to Gender Equality and the 2030 Agenda

Beyond the critical need to foster peace, the broad scope of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDG) means that a gender equality lens needs to be applied across the Sustainable Development Goals, including good health and well-being, decent work and economic growth, clean water and sanitation. SDG 5 on gender equality plays a central role as a stand-alone goal, and as a crucial driver to achieving all 17 SDGs. It Is mainstreamed across 14 out of 17 SDGs and 230 gender-responsive indicators, and covers gender dimensions related poverty, hunger, health, education, employment, safe cities, and peace and security.  However, more needs to be done. A resounding global call for action is necessary to foster greater structural changes to ensure that women’s rights are incorporated across all the goals to support the building of a more sustainable future for all.

Our Common Agenda: Gender Equality as a Key Priority

The UN Secretary General’s  Our Common Agenda report,   issued in September 2021 , proposes a path forward for the next 25 years.  It highlights how we can  build a better future centered around a renovated social contract, greater solidarity and a new global deal. This new global deal is expected to reinvigorate inclusive, networked, and effective multilateralism. To realize this  effectively and build a sustainable future for all, we need to renew the social contracts that exist between governments and their people. For societies it will be  crucial to rebuild trust and embrace a comprehensive vision for human rights.

Where the active and full participation of women is concerned, the report proposes — among the 12 areas of action identified to accelerate the achievement of all the SDGs, that placing women and girls at the center is a key priority This recommendation further  complements other UN guiding documents like the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality , that urge Member States and stakeholders to consider effective transformative measures in our pursuit of gender equality. The measures include achieving equal rights and repealing all gender-discriminatory laws; promoting gender parity in all spheres and at all levels of decision-making, while including quotas and special measures; facilitating women’s economic inclusion, including through large-scale investment in the care economy and equal pay, and more support for women entrepreneurs; eradicating violence against women and girls, including through an emergency response plans, supported by the UN and promoting greater inclusion of the voices of younger women.

Expanding Opportunities to Amplify Women’s Voices

To help promote greater inclusion of the voices of young women, the Staff College is proud to have contributed to this through initiatives like the Women’s Voices for an Equal Future thought leadership series. The initiative was a significant milestone in expanding our opportunities to amplify women’s voices and highlight the significance of women’s leadership, gender equality, women’s empowerment, and much more.   

We are of the view that learning is an important vehicle to ensure women’s economic, political and social empowerment. This recognition has inspired learning interventions like the Leadership, Women and the UN programme which has been instrumental in promoting the expansion and renewal of prevalent paradigms of leadership, and ensuring a more gender-balanced workplace across and beyond the UN system.

Our Commitment to Gender Equality

The importance of strengthening efforts towards gender equality across all UN intergovernmental processes is clearly outlined in the  Our Common Agenda report, and other UN guiding documents that urge us to commit to achieving gender equality across all dimensions of the 2030 Agenda.

To ensure gender parity at all levels within the UN by 2028, key actions are envisaged. The actions call for a  review of the working methods of the Commission on the Status of Women (2021) and a concerted effort to build on the multi-stakeholder momentum of the Generation Equality Forum .

At UNSSC, we stand ready to work alongside our UN counterparts and partner organizations to accelerate gender equality, and fully empower women and girls worldwide to lead and drive change. We will support this important process through learning and training .

Photo:  Ryan Brown (UN Women)

Dr. Jafar Javan

Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow

Abigail and Sarah write for International Women's Day about  five ways they have discovered that women’s empowerment boosts child well-being

Every year on  International Women’s Day , World Vision celebrates the way women and girls are working to make the world a better place and to #BreakTheBias.

We know that globally, women and girls face discrimination and inequality worldwide. Women hold only 25.6% of national government positions; and 1 in 3 women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes.

We know that women’s empowerment drives better development outcomes. When women are empowered, children flourish. This is broadly understood at World Vision and throughout the development sector.

But last year, we recognised a need to better understand why women’s empowerment is so vital to the well-being of children. We know our programming supports gender equality.  But we couldn’t comprehensively articulate the links between women’s empowerment and World Vision's child well-being targets like ensuring children experience good health or are educated for life.

To identify these links, we conducted a literature review:  Equality and empowerment: Critical pathways to child well-being.   This review brings many important associations between women’s and girls’ empowerment and child well-being into one report, providing a comprehensive overview.

It is overwhelmingly clear that when women can access resources and opportunities, participate in systems of power and make decisions that impact their lives, they experience personal well-being.  This profoundly improves child well-being by almost every measure. Here are five important ways women’s empowerment influences child well-being.  

Women’s level of education has a direct bearing on their children’s health and education outcomes.

Women with higher educational attainment are more likely to vaccinate their children, breastfeed their children, and seek treatment for child illnesses. Children of educated women attend school for longer. Their daughters are more likely to be enrolled in school. Educated women also experience better economic outcomes, delayed marriage, and increased contraceptive use.

When women have increased economic opportunities, this can positively influence norms about girls’ status and education opportunities.

Women’s increased economic opportunities can influence how families and communities value girls, which can increase the support families give towards girls’ education. Women’s increased economic opportunities can further influence social norms related to women’s economic engagement.

Women’s agency is linked to child health.

Research indicated women who could freely make decisions within their households and over crop production had greater influence on how much to allocate to household food as well as regarding how the food was allocated within the household. In some contexts, their agency over food production and allocation has been found to have significant and positive effect on children’s weight and height for age.

Women’s experience of intimate partner violence affects child well-being.

Another important finding was how intimate partner violence affects child well-being. The literature review found intimate partner violence (IPV) and violence against children co-occur in a significant proportion of households. Children in households affected by intimate partner violence are also much more likely than other children to experience violent forms of punishment. And children can experience short and long-term impacts from witnessing IPV, even when they are not physically or sexually harmed themselves. For example, girls and boys who witness intimate partner violence are more likely to experience greater sleep disturbances, anxiety and depression, insomnia and self-harm and aggressive behaviours. These findings highlight the need to use a comprehensive approach to addressing violence – working to address family violence as an integrated issue.

Finally, girls and boys begin to markedly experience the impact of gender inequality in adolescence.

The experiences, expectations and disparities they face often mirror those of the adults in their lives. Adolescent girls (ages 15-19) have been found to experience higher rates of intimate partner violence than other groups of women. 

The review showed us that we need to address disparities across girls’ life cycles. Otherwise, the benefits of our programming with girls may not be sustained into their adulthood, and we must start over with the next generation of girls.  Addressing the barriers girls and their families face when it comes to getting girls to school – distance, gender norms, menstrual hygiene, child marriage – makes for educated, empowered women who will raise healthier children.

Secondly, the research made clear what many of us knew implicitly – that World Vision’s work to increase child well-being is not implemented in a vacuum.  This research has highlighted the importance of system’s approaches to child and adolescent well-being. As a child-focused organisation, we must address systems of inequality and disempowerment that exist around and among boys and girls and women and men in families, communities and societies. This is the only way to reach our aim of sustained child well-being.   

To read Equality and empowerment: Critical pathways to child well-being click here  

To learn more about World Vision's work across a range of sectors click here 

Abigail Howe-Will, is World Vision International's Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Technical Director and Sarah Shteir is  World Vision Australia's Senior Gender Equality Advisor.

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Podcast: Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow

Tune in and check out this month's episode of #FarmsFoodFuture, a podcast that’s good for you, good for the planet, and good for farmers, brought to you by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

This month, in anticipation of International Women’s Day 2022, our focus is on gender equality.

The theme of this year's celebrations is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.” At IFAD, we've long recognized that sustainable development is inseparable from female empowerment – so this episode is devoted to exploring how gender equality and agricultural development go hand in hand.

Joining us are Ndaya Beltchika, our Lead Technical Specialist for Gender and Social Inclusion; representatives of all five winners of our 2021 Gender Awards; and Jeong Kwan, a Buddhist nun from South Korea known as the "philosopher-chef."

Listen to this episode on the IFAD website .

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Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow, international women’s day highlights the key issues on gender equality.

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TASHKENT, 8 March 2022 – On International Women's Day, UNICEF has called for gender equality for women and girls, focusing on empowering them to build a better future. This requires more robust participation of women in economic, political, and public spheres, enhancing access to formal and non-formal education and investing in girls' participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and digital skills.

This year's theme is "Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow," recognizing the contribution of women and girls in the context of climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build a more sustainable future for all.

The government of Uzbekistan makes tremendous efforts for girls' and women's empowerment. While there has been substantial progress for them, much remains to be done to create equal opportunities for girls and women in both urban and rural areas.

This can be achieved by ensuring women and girls equal access to resources and opportunities, such as through access to formal and non-formal education, including STEM skills, legal employment, low-interest loans, and land ownership and use. State organizations, NGOs, and communities can contribute to eliminating discriminatory stereotypes on the roles and responsibilities of women and girls to achieve more positive results. The focus should be on those residing in remote rural areas, from low-income families, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups.  

Girls with disabilities are particularly at risk of missing out on education and training and lack the minimum computer literacy to navigate safely in the digital world. This not only limits their future educational and employment opportunities but also makes them vulnerable to online abuse, harassment, and intimidation. In this regard, one of the priorities of UNICEF in Uzbekistan for this year is the approach to developing STEM skills among girls through a computer literacy program for girls, including those with disabilities.

UNICEF continues implementation of the social innovation program ImkonLab. This provides young people with the skills and the opportunity to realize their ideas for the benefit of their communities and is also essential to give young people with disabilities self-confidence.

To support the Government of Uzbekistan, UNICEF is calling for promoting more substantial participation of women in economic, political, and public spheres. In this regard, it is essential to advocate shifting gender stereotypes and norms on women's participation and equality by targeting parents, caregivers, communities, religious leaders, and institutions. 

For more information, please contact:

Komolakhon Rakhmanova

Gender and Inclusion Specialist

Phone: +99871 233 95 12

E-mail: [email protected]

Nargiza Egamberdieva

Communication Officer

Phone: +99871 233 95 12; +998 93 380 34 19

E-mail: [email protected]

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UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children visit  www.unicef.uz .

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Essay On Gender Equality Today For a Sustainable Tomorrow

Hello My Dear Lovely Friend, In this post “ Essay On Gender Equality Today For a Sustainable Tomorrow “, We will going to read about Gender Equality Today For a Sustainable Tomorrow as an Essay in detail. So…

Let’s Start…

International Women’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world. It is a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic, or political.

This International Women’s Day theme is “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. This day is observed to celebrate women’s achievements. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality. Imagine a gender-equal world.

A world is free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that’s diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge women’s equality. Collectively we can all BreakTheBias .

Gender equality is a human right, but our world faces a persistent gap in access to opportunities and decision-making power for women and men.

Globally women have fewer opportunities for economic participation than men, less access to basic and higher education, greater health and safety risks, and less political representation.

Guaranteeing the rights of women and giving them opportunities to reach their full potential is critical not only for attaining gender equality but also for meeting a wide range of international development goals.

Empowered women and girls contribute to the health and productivity of their families, communities, and countries creating a ripple effect that benefits everyone.

The word “Gender” describes the socially-constructed roles and responsibilities that societies consider appropriate for men and women. gender equality means that men and women have equal power and equal opportunities for financial independence, education, and personal development.

International Women’s Day Speech in English

International Women’s Day 2022 Theme

The theme of international women’s day, 8 March 2022 is “gender equality today for a sustainable future” recognizing the contribution of women and girls around the world, who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and response, to build more sustainable future for all.

Most people’s perception about women.

• Women are not good leaders,
• Women should not be paid equal to men,
• Women should not be educated,
• Women should not work properly,
• Women should cover their Body completely,
• Women should not drive vehicles,
• Women should be at home only,
• Women should be beaten, if they do not listen to men,
• Women should be married before the age of 18 years,
• Women’s job is to give birth only.

what can we do?

• Celebrate women’s achievements,
• Raise awareness about women’s equality,
• Push for gender equality as early as possible,
• Fundraise for female-focused charities,
• We can break the bias in our communities,
• We can break the bias in our workplaces,
• We can break the bias in our schools, colleges, and universities,
• Together, we can all break the bias.

Conclusion:

Short Essay On Women Empowerment

Thanks For Reading “ Essay On Gender Equality Today For a Sustainable Tomorrow “.

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