The United Nation’s Commission on the Status of Women recently hosted their 61st Forum with a focus on Women and Girl’s Economic Empowerment in the Changing World of Work. More than 8000 women, feminists and women’s organizations, and some men, united for a common purpose. If women are to achieve gender equality by 2030 (Equality and inclusion are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for the UN’s Agenda for Sustainable Development), we must all recognize the gender gap in work and employment and create a cohesive action-oriented plan that all NGO’s can support.
The Sisters of St. Joseph have an NGO office in New York at the UN. This gave me the opportunity to join this global effort to work towards gender equality and economic empowerment for women and girl’s. It is not possible to describe in a blog the multiple workshops with women presenting what is happening in their part of the world. Rather I would like to outline in a series of short blogs the incredible accomplishments already achieved by women (previous gatherings and conferences) and critical work that still needs to happen in order to achieve equality, given the multiple challenges faced by women today.
The Forum gives women, an opportunity to come together and ensure through the good work that is happening around the world that on one is left behind. There is still much to do. We must continue to reach out to the most marginalized women and girls, and those experiencing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. Civil society plays a critical role in addressing the unique needs of these women and girls and capitalizing on their strengths and agency to move toward substantive equality, a Planet 50 – 50 by 2030. We in Canada, although better than some parts of the world, still have work to move the needle along to achieve gender equality.
This ambitious goal offers me inspiration and possibilities for strengthening partnerships and alliance so efforts can continue to increase the diversity and number of people working on the achievement of gender equality. Wherever you are, we all become more conscious of how our places of employment are working to achieve gender equality. We each can do something to help move us along toward achieving this goal by 2030. Our voices are needed and they are growing stronger.
Joan Atkinson, CSJ