UN 65th CSW & IBA Project

International

UN 65th CSW

A the virtual UN 65th Commission on the Status of Women. The themes included:

■ Priority theme: Women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls;

■ Review theme: Women's empowerment and the link to sustainable development.

The event included many formal and informal meetings but was overshadowed by emergency provisions reacting to COVID-19. During this period, women have been marginalised and there has been an upsurge of sexual and gender-based violence. The pandemic risks eroding the fragile gender equality gains accrued over decades, there is an urgent need to draw on the evidence base that has been built through practice, success and failure over time.

Other discussions included:

■ The strong link between economic empowerment and the ability to live a life with freedom of choice and from violence. There is a need for investment in providing education and skills for women, including access to resources and economic opportunities.

■ Harnessing the power of the digital world, for example, the creation of apps, such as Safetipin, (Safetipin | Safetipin, Creating Safe Public Spaces for Women) can enable women to access help in cases of violence.

■ All types of violence against women has increased including in the public, political and social spheres as well as in cyberspace but this has not translated into greater protection.

■ The severe problems in tech working environments with 70% of women feeling treated differently from men; low numbers of women working in this industry which is a business issue for companies.

■ The existence of appropriate laws is not sufficient and a culture-shift is also a pre-requisite for a non-discriminatory society. Stereotypes, bias and discriminatory social norms often start in homes and at school.

■ Governments need to put women into decision-making roles to ensure their needs and contributions are not overlooked.

■ The importance of women’s entrepreneurship contributing to economic recovery highlight the need for public private partnerships to support the entrepreneurship and invite the private sector partners to jumpstart change for women around the world.

The bulk of the global response to COVID-19 is gender blind. More data collection is needed to support real action and investment in the effective integration of gender policies and for dismantling patriarchy, for a more equal and caring humanity. ■

IBA Project:50/50 by 2030

The International Bar Association, in collaboration with LexisNexis, launched a ground breaking nine-year global project on 8 March 2021 – International Women’s Day - to address the lack of gender parity at the most senior levels across the legal profession, with the tagline 50/50 by 2030.

The project is targeted not just at law firms, but at private companies (FTSE 100 firms in the UK), the public sector, and the judiciary, with the aim of achieving equal representation of men and women at the top of the profession. The study will run for nine years and provide empirical evidence of barriers to advancement for women in each sector and jurisdiction, and will highlight initiatives that have a positive impact. Every three years the researchers will measure the results against previous baselines to provide a clear picture of the position over time.

The project will start with a pilot in 2021 across 3 countries – England and Wales, Spain and South Africa. Once the methodology has been reviewed and confirmed to be working a further 12 jurisdictions from 2022; (Nigeria, Netherlands, USA, Australia, India, Singapore, UAE, Japan, Chile, Mexico, South Korea and Ukraine).

The law is often invisible and intangible but it is central to every society and it should reflect the make-up of that society. The International Bar Association recognises that it must go further and deeper than previous studies on gender parity, which is why it is the first to conduct a global study that will look at 15 major jurisdictions representing each continent.

The need for this work and analysis is heighted by the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women. The homeworking demands, unequal domestic burdens and increase in domestic abuse are all factors that are setting back gender parity by a considerable margin.

The research will provide practical recommendations and guidance to the profession through its extensive reach throughout the study. Our ability to engage law firms, governments and individual Bar Associations around the world can influence millions like no other study or blueprint for change has done before. ■