Research Reports
ECOSOC
Accelerating efforts to achieve gender
equality
25-27 September 2015
TORUŃ MODEL UNITED NATIONS 2015|ECOSOC
Forum:
Economic and Social Council
Issue:
Accelerating efforts to achieve gender equality.
Student Officer:
Dariusz Krajewski
Position:
Deputy President
_________________________________________________________________________________
Introduction
Gender inequality is a long lasting worldwide issue. In many countries men are recognized as privileged
sex when it comes down to employment or one’s position in renowned companies all over the world.
Under the pretext of being better suited both physically and psychically men tend to be considered to
handle most situations better than women. This superstition is deep rooted within mind of entire society
and has been proven to – in certain cases – be the opposite way. So far the UN has undertaken measures
so as to give a shout-out to all European Countries to help improve position of women. The ultimate goal
has not yet been reached, but the UN is sure to reach it with help of European Countries' officials.
Key terms
GENDER EQUALITY - is the view that men and women should receive equal treatment, and should
not be discriminated against based on gender. This is the objective of the United Nations Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which seeks to create equality in law and in social situations, such as in
democratic activities and securing equal pay for equal work.
Major Parties Involved
European Institute for Gender Equality- As an autonomous body, EIGE operates within the
framework of European Union policies and initiatives. The European Parliament and the
Council of the European Union defined the grounds for the Institute’s objectives and tasks in
its Founding Regulation and assigned it the central role of addressing the challenges of and
promoting gender equality between women and men across the European Union. Although
equality between women and men has been one of the fundamental principles of the
European Union since its creation, it remains far from a a gender-equal society. In order to
support better-informed policy-making in the area of gender equality, the Institute is
contributing to the promotion of equality between women and men in Europe through
delivering high-level expertise to the European Commission, the Member States,
enlargement countries and the European Parliament. The Institute is governed by a
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Management Board consisting of eighteen representatives from the Member States and one
representative from the European Commission. In addition, the Institute’ benefits from an
Experts’ Forum that provides support as an advisory body. To ensure synergies, avoid
duplication and increase the effectiveness of its work, the Institute has established a close
relationship and cooperation with relevant EU agencies such as the Fundamental Rights
Agency and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working
Conditions. It collects, analyzes, processes and disseminates data and information on gender
equality issues. It produces a wealth of information and reports that provide comparable
and reliable results at EU level.
General Overview
A recent study in the USA demonstrated that when leaders at scientific research institutes
were presented with otherwise identical job applications with either female or male names,
faculty participants rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hireable
than the (identical) female applicant. These participants also selected a higher starting salary
and offered more career mentoring to the male applicant. The tendency to be biased
towards the male application was expressed by both male and female faculty staff.
Wage discrimination exists when workers are equally qualified and perform the same work
but one group of workers is paid more than another. Historically, wage discrimination has
favored men over similarly qualified women. Although the disparities between men and
women are decreasing in the medical field, gender inequalities still exist as social problems.
Recently qualified female doctors in the U.S. make almost $17,000 less than their male
counterparts. The pay discrepancy could not be explained by specialty choice, practice
setting, work hours, or other characteristics. Gender inequalities often stem from social
structures that have institutionalized conceptions of gender differences. Marginalization
occurs on an individual level when someone feels as if they are on the fringes or margins of
their respective society. This is a social process and displays how current policies in place can
affect people. For example, media advertisements display young girls with easy bake ovens
(promoting being a housewife) as well as with dolls that they can feed and change the diaper
of (promoting being a mother). Gender inequality can further be understood through the
mechanisms of sexism. Discrimination takes place in this manner as men and women are
subject to prejudicial treatment on the basis of gender alone. Sexism occurs when men and
women are framed within two dimensions of social cognition. Discrimination also plays out
with networking and in preferential treatment within the economic market. Men typically
occupy positions of power within the job economy. Due to taste or preference for other men
because they share similar characteristics, men in these positions of power are more likely to
hire or promote other men, thus discriminating against women.
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Important Documents
Article 4 paragraph 1,CEDAW
The CEDAW or the Convention, also known as the international Bill of Women's Rights, is a
legally binding international treaty ratified by 187 States Parties, that entered into force in
1981.All parties to CEDAW, including the UN, are bound to honor it. The UN Doctrine of
Gender Equality, and 'Special Measures for Gender Equality' are inspired by and rooted in
the CEDAW, specifically in Article 4 paragraph 1, which states:
Article 4, paragraph 1 : Adoption by States Parties of temporary special measures aimed at
accelerating de facto equality between men and women shall not be considered
discrimination as defined in the present Convention, but shall in no way entail as a
consequence the maintenance of unequal or separate standards; these measures shall be
discontinued when the objectives of equality of opportunity and treatment have been
achieved. [ emphasis added]
General Recommendation No. 25, on Article 4, paragraph 1 of CEDAW
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW), an expert body composed of 23 experts on women's issues established in 1982 to
monitor the progress of the CEDAW's implementation, in 2004, adopted General
Recommendation 25, on Temporary Special Measures, on Article 4 paragraph 1 of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The general
recommendation 'clarifies the nature and meaning of article 4, paragraph 1, in order to
facilitate and ensure the implementation of Temporary special measures and accelerate
progress in achieving gender equality in 'employment and professional fields'.
The purpose of the "special measures", which are 'temporary' is " to accelerate the
improvement of the position of women to achieve their "substantive equality with men, and
to effect the structural, social and cultural changes necessary to correct past and current
forms and effects of discrimination against women, as well as to provide them with
compensation." These are not an exception 'to the norm of non-discrimination', but rather
'part of a necessary strategy' to achieve 'substantive equality of women'. The 'temporary
special measures', includes 'preferential treatment; targeted recruitment, hiring and
promotion; numerical goals connected with time frames; and quota systems'.
UN and Article 4, paragraph 1 on Special Measures
The UN Committee on CEDAW in its general recommendations number 25 commended the
Secretary General on his initiative to implement 'temporary special measures', noting "The
use of temporary special measures by the Secretary-General of the United Nations is a
practical example in the area of women's employment, including through administrative
instructions on the recruitment, promotion and placement of women in the Secretariat.
These measures aim at achieving the goal of 50/50 gender distribution at all levels, but at the
higher echelons in particular"'.
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In 2012, the UN Secretary General drawing attention to Article 4 paragraph 1 of the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
assured the General Assembly that Special Measures were temporary, and will "be
discontinued when gender parity has been achieved and sustained for a period of time".
UN Involvement
The United Nations has the responsibility to ensure that all its actions promote and protect
gender equality and women’s empowerment. UN efforts to help establish the rule of law for
all on the basis of equality are essential to this end. Advancing gender equality and
empowering women are widely recognized as ends in themselves as well as means to
achieve the UN goals of sustainable peace and security, human rights protection, and
sustainable economic and social development.
Gender-based discrimination permeates all cultures, and is often manifested in the laws,
policies, and practices of institutions. For example, in many countries women are not
afforded the same inheritance rights and property rights as men, nor are they allowed to
testify in court. Even where constitutional guarantees provide for equality and laws protect
women’s rights, discriminatory practices by law enforcement and security services, courts,
lawyers and social services can serve as major obstacles to women’s security and access to
justice. Customary and traditional norms and practices, including informal justice
mechanisms, may perpetuate gross violations of the rights of women and girls. The UN rule
of law approach seeks to realize international human rights norms and standards related to
gender, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
Against Women (CEDAW). CEDAW provides a definition of discrimination
that emphasizes de facto improvements in women's lives, and requires States to "embody
the principle of the equality of women and men in their national constitutions or other
appropriate legislation." Legal reform must involve not only removal of discriminatory
provisions from existing laws, but also the drafting of new laws needed to support measures
to achieve gender equality. Effective implementation of laws requires training and
awareness-raising of those responsible to enforce and uphold the rule of law, and the
provision of the necessary financial and human resources.
Relevant norms and standards include implementation of UN Security Council resolution
1325, which requires that peace agreements include measures that ensure the protection of
and respect for human rights of women and girls, particularly as they relate to the
constitution, the electoral system, the police and the judiciary, and resolutions 1820 and
1888 which stress the importance of ending impunity for sexual violence during and after
conflicts, and strengthening the capacities of national institutions, in particular judicial
systems to this end.
Mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment considerations in UN rule of
law activities involves constitutional and legal reform, supporting women’s voices and
concerns in the development of priorities, strategies and plans, empowering women to
participate as actors in the institutions and processes that make law, and enforce and uphold
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the rule of law, and ensuring substantive efforts address women’s needs, and further de
facto their security and protection of their rights.
While all UN entities are responsible for integrating gender equality in their activities, the
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women)
has been created to consolidate the important work of four previously distinct parts of the
UN system: United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM); the Office of the
Special Adviser on Gender Issues (OSAGI); the Division of the Advancement of Women
(DAW) in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA); and the United Nations
International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW).
Inter-agency mechanisms such as the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality
(IANWGE) and UN Action on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict are also playing key roles in
enhancing women’s equality and empowerment.
Possible Solutions
Current efforts must be scaled up in order to meet the target date for Goal 3 of
eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education, preferably
by 2005 and at all levels no later than 2015. The insights and lessons learned
in the past two decades of experimenting with a range of interventions (Subrahmanian
2002) must be applied and the interventions brought to scale in
the next 12 years.
There are few rigorous evaluations of which interventions have the greatest
impact on increasing girls’ participation in secondary education, and more
research is needed to fill gaps in current knowledge. But there is ample understanding
of how to remedy the problem of girls’ low enrollments. Herz and
Sperling (2004) identify four approaches that increase girls’ participation in
primary school that can also be applied to secondary school. These strategies
have all been effective in a variety of countries:
• Making girls’ schooling more affordable by reducing fees and offering
targeted scholarships.
• Building schools close to girls’ homes, involving the community in
school management, and allowing flexible scheduling.
• Making schools girl-friendly by improving the safety of schools, the
design of facilities (such as latrines for girls), and instituting policies
that promote girls’ attendance (such as permitting married adolescents
to attend).
• Improving the quality of education by training more female teachers for
the secondary level, providing gender-sensitive textbooks, and developing
a curriculum for girls that is strong in math and sciences and that
projects gender equality.
Within countries these interventions must give highest priority to marginalized
and excluded populations of girls, such as those who belong to ethnic
minority groups or who live in poor communities. Many of the national
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averages on girls’ enrollment and completion rates mask the disadvantage that
excluded groups continue to face. In Latin American countries, for example,
it is particularly important to invest in the education of girls from poor households
and indigenous populations, where participation remains low.
Making schools affordable
There are two ways to make school affordable for poor families: by eliminating
user fees and other school fees to reduce direct costs and by providing incentives
to families to send their girls to school, for instance, through scholarships, takehome
rations programs, or other means. Eliminating or substantially reducing
school fees has resulted in increases in primary enrollment, particularly for girls.
When free schooling was introduced in Uganda in 1997, primary school enrollment
nearly doubled from 3.4 million to 5.7 million children, rising to 6.5 million
by 1999. Total girls’ enrollment increased from 63 percent to 83 percent,
while enrollment among the poorest fifth of girls rose from 46 percent to 82
percent (World Bank 2002c). In Tanzania the elimination of primary school
fees in 2002 resulted in additional enrollment of 1.5 million students (Coalition
for Health and Education Rights 2002). Abolishing user, uniform, and other
fees is important for ensuring that girls’ attend and complete school.15
Scholarship programs have also been effective in boosting adolescent girls’
enrollment and retention rates. Bangladesh launched a nationwide stipend program
in 1994 for girls in secondary schools, including all madrasas (religious
schools). The program has had a substantial impact on girls’ enrollment, particularly
in rural areas (box 3.1; UNESCO 2004; World Bank 2001a). In Tanzania
a scholarship program for girls significantly increased their enrollment in
secondary school. The program was subsequently extended to boys.
Cambodia established a national program of scholarships for girls and ethnic
minorities to encourage the transition from primary to secondary school and from secondary
to postsecondary education. The scholarship is not only
for newly enrolled girls but also girls who are at risk of dropping out because
of high costs. It covers tuition, board, and lodging for those who need it most.
Though the program has not yet been systematically evaluated, a pilot girls’
scholarship program in four districts of Kompon Cham province had a 90–95
percent success rate for enrollment and retention (UNESCO 2004).
Some programs provide cash grants to poor households with school-age
children. Grants are conditional on regular school attendance. The programs
aim to increase enrollment and attendance by compensating households for
the direct and opportunity costs of sending children to school. Such programs
simultaneously raise the immediate incomes of impoverished families and help
to educate poor children. Conditional cash transfer programs are well established
in Mexico (Progresa, now called Oportunidades), Brazil (Bolsa Escola),
and Bangladesh (Food for Education). Mexico’s Progresa provides cash transfers
to poor households in marginal rural areas conditional on children attending
school regularly (box 3.2). It has increased enrollment rates at the primary
level and even more at the secondary level, especially for girls. Such programs
are also in place or under development in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador,
Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and Turkey (Morley and Cody 2003).
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School-feeding and take-home rations programs also provide incentives for
school enrollment and retention. These programs have demonstrated effects in
boosting girls’ enrollments at the primary level, but they are not widely implemented
at the secondary level (IFPRI 2001).
Reducing the distance to school
Decreasing the distance to school encourages girls’ enrollment and attendance,
by alleviating concerns for safety and reputation. Research in such diverse
countries as Ghana, India, Malaysia, Peru, and the Philippines indicates that
distance matters for all children, but especially for girls (Sipahimanlani 1999;
Lavy 1996; Gertler and Glewwe 1992; King and Lillard 1987). Providing
schools within local communities has been shown to substantially increase
enrollments for girls in Egypt, Indonesia, and several Sub-Saharan African
countries. In Egypt, following a campaign to construct rural primary schools,
girls’ enrollment grew 23 percent, while boys’ enrollments grew 18 percent
(Duflo 2001; Rugh 2000; Filmer 1999).
Improving safety and infrastructure
Schools also need to be safe places for girls. This includes freedom from harassment
from male peers and from the predatory behavior of male teachers (Lloyd
and Mensch 1999). In Rajasthan, India, community initiatives led to the formation
of the Shikshakarmi Project, which appoints a female helper to escort girls to and from
school and provide care during school hours. According to
Jain (2003), this has increased girls’ attendance rates. In countries where parents
are apprehensive about sending girls (especially postpuberty) to school if
it involves contact with male teachers or students, girls-only secondary school
might be an option (Jha and Subrahmanian 2004).
Although ministries of education have been slow to address gender-based
violence systematically throughout their school systems, NGO efforts have
emerged in countries around the world to counter gender-based violence in
schools. They offer workshops, theater, and a range of other program activities
for students on destructive gender norms and violence and attempt to shape
positive, nonviolent masculine and feminine identities. These efforts, which
have mostly been limited to individual schools, are gaining popularity. They
need to be rigorously evaluated and, if proven effective, expanded throughout
school systems.
Another minimal but essential step toward making schools hospitable
environments for girls is providing private latrine facilities. Experience across
30 African countries, for example, indicates that a majority of young women
do not attend school when they are menstruating if there are no private latrine
facilities to enable them to care for personal hygiene (Forum for African
Women Educationalists 2001; World Bank 1996, 2001b).
Opportunity costs for girls’ education that arise from their large burden of
household chores can be addressed in a variety of ways. Some measures reduce
the need for girls’ work: providing day-care centers and preschools for younger
siblings or for students’ children, or improving the supply of accessible water and
fuel. Changing policies to permit married and pregnant adolescents to attend
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school can also promote girls’ attendance, as in Botswana, Guinea, Kenya,
Malawi, and Zamiba (UNESCO 2004). Other measures—such as flexible
school schedules—enable girls to pursue an education while meeting household
responsibilities. Take-home food rations for the families of school-attending
girls can offset the loss to the household of the girls’ labor. Flexible schedules,
double sessions, and evening school hours have been introduced in Bangladesh,
China, India, Morocco, and Pakistan (Herz and others 1995). There do not
appear to be any programs designed to transfer some of the domestic burden to
boys, although countries should consider this as another option.
Improving the quality of education
Girls and their families may find little reason to attend school if the curriculum
or their teachers or counselors convey the message that girls are less important
than boys or if the school tracks girls into fields of study or training for lowpaid
occupations considered appropriate for females. Analyses of textbooks in
the Middle East, Asia, and Africa consistently find heavily stereotyped material,
with women portrayed as subordinate and passive and men as intelligent,
leaders, and dominant (Lloyd and Mensch 1999; Herz and Sperling 2004). Many developing
countries also practice gender tracking in secondary school,
directing girls away from math and science (Herz and others 1995). Teaching
practices—such as giving boys more opportunities than girls to ask and answer
questions, to use learning material, and to lead groups—may further discourage
girls (UNICEF 2002). Several countries in Africa and Asia are beginning
to use gender sensitivity training for teachers and administrators to encourage
girls’ participation (UNICEF 2001).
Providing female teachers for girls may address some security concerns as well
as provide useful role models. International cross-section data suggest a positive
correlation between gender parity in enrollment and the proportion of female
teachers (Herz and others 1995). Qualified female teachers are in short supply,
however. Young women are now being recruited, particularly in rural areas. Their
lack of educational qualification may be compensated for by their knowledge of
and commitment to local communities (Herz and Sperling 2004).
Educating illiterate women
A large body of evidence shows that providing education for uneducated or
illiterate mothers of young children can facilitate better education outcomes
for their children. Support to literacy programs for adult women can be an
important complement to interventions to increase access and retention rates
of children in school. Adult literacy programs, especially when combined with
the acquisition of other skills relevant to the learner, may be particularly useful
where there are pockets of undereducated women, such as among ethnic
minorities and indigenous communities.
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Sources:
https://www.oneyoungworld.com/blog/gender-equality-we-need-new-solutions
http://www.unrol.org/article.aspx?article_id=28
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gender_inequality
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Measures_for_Gender_Equality_in_The_United_Nations%28U
N%29
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gQFjAEahUKEwiSrcygbXHAhXKa3IKHcm_Bs0&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhdr.undp.org%2Fen%2Fcontent%2Fgenderinequality-indexgii&ei=OWTUVdKsNMrXyQPJ_5roDA&usg=AFQjCNGJ7fD_V3nU6xkPxWs_u0n3f4q67w&sig2=Wom2n
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