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GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT

Echoing human security principles, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasises a “world free from fear and free from want.” To achieve its transformative promise, Agenda 2030 calls for a new approach to address the interconnectivity of today’s challenges. To this end, human security and applying a gender perspective provides an effective analytical lens and programming framework and one where gender must be mainstreamed throughout.

Gender equality is one of the major human development challenges around the world. Equality is not merely a political and ethical issue, but it also serves to guarantee the effectiveness of development policies and programmes. Strengthening the rights of women and girls, including trans women, helps all of society move forward towards an equitable and peaceful society.

We, the WHIS Panel on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, understand that there is a direct correlation between inequality and insecurity. In fact, one of the best indicators of conflict is gender equality. The larger the gender gap is, the more likely a country is to be involved in intra- and interstate conflict, to be the first to resort to force in such conflicts, and to resort to higher levels of violence. On issues of national health, economic growth, corruption, and social welfare, the best predictors are also those that reflect the situation of women. What happens to women affects the security, stability, prosperity, health, regime type, and the power of the state. Therefore, development will only be possible and indeed, sustainable if its benefits accrue equally to both women and men.

The SDGs must be viewed as interdependent parts, all must be achieved if the 2030 Agenda is to be fully realised. As the 2030 Agenda applies to all countries, all peoples and all segments of society, gender equality is essential for creating inclusive societies and sustainable economic trajectories. Women’s equality and empowerment is one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, but also integral to all dimensions of inclusive and sustainable development. This is why we say that it’s a ‘cross-cutting theme’. To be effective, policy actions for sustainability must address the disproportionate impact of economic, social and environmental shocks and stresses on women and girls. Women’s knowledge, agency and collective action has huge potential to improve resource productivity, enhance ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, and to create more sustainable, low-carbon food, energy, water and health systems. Failure to capitalise on this would be a missed opportunity. Women should not be viewed as victims, but as central actors in moving towards sustainability.

Sex, age, gender and sexual orientation matters in the context of programme development and in understanding the challenges and barriers to progressing the UN SDGs. Gender equality can only be achieved by taking proactive action, removing all barriers to full and equal participation, and calling out inequality when we see it.

The Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment Panel of Experts consists of a Chair and five experts, a diverse group of women and men including specialists in Education, Health, Economics, Human Rights and Equality Studies. The panel is committed to the mainstreaming of a gender perspective throughout WHIS programmes and initiatives, conducting a gender analysis for all projects and will continue to identify opportunities to progress gender equality and the empowerment of women globally.