Gender Equality

Finland Launches Landmark Gender Equality Prize

By Rita Joshi

NEW YORK (IDN) - In run-up to the sixty-first session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, CSW61, in New York from March 13 to 24, the government of Finland has launched the International Gender Equality Prize, which will be awarded for the first time later this year.

The prize, intended to promote gender equality worldwide, to support discussion on equality between women and men and to celebrate Finland’s 100 years of independence, was launchded by Prime Minister Juha Sipilä in Tampere on southern Finland on March 8, the International Women's Day.

: Rita Joshi; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 12 March 2017

Photo: “Rape is primarily an act of violence against the person and the law leaves much to be desired in many countries around the world. In some it is even practically condoned”. Credit: Courtesy of Equality Now

The Shameful Epidemic That Is Rape

By Phil Harris

ROME (IDN) – Do legal systems around the world give women and girls true protection from rape and other forms of sexual violence? Do the victims of rape and sexual violence have access to real justice if violence is perpetrated?

The answer is ‘no’, says a report issued March 6 by Equality Now, an international human rights organisation working to protect and promote the rights of women and girls.

Are governments ensuring that adequate laws dealing with sexual violence are enacted, developed and enforced? Are governments living up their commitments to end all forms of violence – including sexual violence – against women and girls?

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 06 March 2017

Photo: UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown

Japan Federation to Advance Women’s Economic Empowerment

Note: This article first appeared on UN Women website as part of a series on International Women's Day, 8 March 2017

NEW YORK (IDN | UN Women) - During their first visit to the United Nations Headquarters in New York on March 2, leading female executives from Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), joined UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri for a roundtable discussion on women’s economic empowerment.

The Keidanren is the largest Japanese economic federation with a membership of more than 1,300 corporations. The Keidanren Female Executives Mission was led by Haruno Yoshida, the first female Vice Chairman of the Board of Councillors at Keidanren, and includes five additional female executives from various industries in Japan.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 03 March 2017

Photo: Soledad Rotella and daughter Kiara at the Child and Family Care Center of Tres Ombúes, a neighborhood northwest of Montevideo. Credit: UN Women/Agostina Ramponi

Care Law Catalyses Change and Breaks Stereotypes in Uruguay

Note: This report is part of a series on International Women's Day, 8 March 2017

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS | UN Women) - Uruguay’s Care Act has changed the concept of “care”. Under the new law, all children, persons with disabilities and elderly persons, have the right to get care. The state not only provides care services, but also guarantees their quality by providing training and regulations.

It is the day before the school year begins at the Child and Family Care Centre of Tres Ombúes, a neighborhood west of Montevideo. Soledad Rotella is mother to one of the 89 children in the neighborhood who attend the centre yearly.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 02 March 2017

Photo: UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. Credit: Marco Grob.

Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030

By Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women Executive Director

Note: This is the text of message by UN Women Executive Director as part of a series on International Women's Day, 8 March 2017

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS | UN Women) - Across the world, too many women and girls spend too many hours on household responsibilities – typically more than double the time spent by men and boys. They look after younger siblings, older family members, deal with illness in the family and manage the house.

In many cases this unequal division of labour is at the expense of women’s and girls’ learning, of paid work, sports, or engagement in civic or community leadership. This shapes the norms of relative disadvantage and advantage, of where women and men are positioned in the economy, of what they are skilled to do and where they will work.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 01 March 2017

UN Focuses on Gender Equality and Women Empowerment

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) – Gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls, which is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, will draw the focus in the month of March.

The month would not only witness International Women’s Day on March 8 with focus on 'Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030', but also the 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women – CSW61 (2017) from March 13 to 21 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

As UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, points out, the world of work is changing, and with significant implications for women.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 01 March 2017

Photo: Club members with some teachers from the schools and teaching assistants from my institution. Credit. Lowana Veal | IDN-INPS

Iceland Shares Land Restoration Expertise with the Needy

By Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK (IDN) – Back in 1907, at a time in which Iceland was already faced with severe land degradation problems caused mainly by overgrazing and logging for firewood, the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCSI) was set up as a governmental agency with the mission of preventing soil erosion and reclaiming eroded land.

Much has been learned in the intervening years and keen to pass on its expertise, SCSI – in collaboration with the Agricultural University of Iceland (AUI) – is now running a United Nations University (UNU) training programme targeting participants from developing countries.

: Lowana Veal; UN INSIDER; 18 February 2017

Photo: 26 women from 16 villages in Liberia, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda were selected to participate in six months of training on building, installing and maintaining solar lamps and panels. Photo: Thomas Dworzak

UN Pleads for Highlighting Achievements of Women Scientists

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Stories about women who have excelled in subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) can help overcome bias against girls and create new role models, UN officials said on the occasion of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science on February 11.

A recent study, ‘Gender stereotypes about intellectual ability emerge early and influence children’s interests’, shows that by the age of 6, girls are already less likely than boys to describe their own gender as ‘brilliant’, and less likely to join an activity labelled for ‘very, very smart’ kids.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 12 February 2017

UN Women Urges Renewed Efforts To Eliminate FGM

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) - While there has been an overall decline in the prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) across countries, this progress is likely to be offset by rapid population growth in states where FGM occurs, unless efforts to eliminate the practice are renewed in light of recent research, and urgently stepped up, UN Women has warned.

In a statement on the occasion of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation on February 6, UN Women – United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women – refers to a 2016 report of the UN Secretary-General. The single largest factor influencing the continuation of female genital mutilation is the desire for social acceptance and avoidance of social stigma, the report found.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 03 February 2017

Photo: Worker in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Something is Rotten in the State of Social Equality

By Phil Harris

ROME (IDN) - Amid persistent strong uncertainty about the global employment scenario, working poverty – particularly in emerging countries – is expected to increase as unemployment rises and the gender gap in the labour force increases.

So much for the optimism expressed when the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in September 2015 to promote "sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all” and achieve “gender equality and empower all women and girls”.