SDGs in focus: SDG 5 and interlinkages with other SDGs - Gender equality

The last time SDG 5 – achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls – was reviewed at the High-level Political Forum in 2017, there was evidence of some progress being made to advance gender equality, including legal reforms, more girls in school, and fewer child marriages. The percentage of women serving in parliament had increased. Nevertheless, the pace of change was not fast enough and discriminatory laws, social norms, gender stereotypes and violence against women remained pervasive, and women continued to be underrepresented at all levels of decision-making processes and political leadership.

The socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 have added to this, disproportionately affecting women and girls, and threatening to push back recent progress and further entrench persistent gender inequalities. Disproportionate job and livelihoods losses, derailed education, increased burdens of unpaid care work, and increased rates of gender-based violence are among the struggles women and girls have faced with greater intensity since the onset of the pandemic. During the pandemic women have been more exposed, making up 70 per cent of health care workers, and more likely to leave the labour market altogether. Negative impacts are compounded for women and girls who are marginalized based on multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, age, income, geography, disability, or other characteristics. Women migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, as well as forcibly displaced women living in humanitarian crises, are also at heightened risk.

Gender equality has critical interlinkages with all 17 SDGs. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development cannot be fully achieved unless gender inequality is addressed. As countries respond to and recover from COVID-19, this requires addressing the root causes of gender discrimination through promotion of gender-responsive laws, policies, institutions, programming, and budgeting across sectors. As it stands, only about 40 percent of national-level policy measures are designed to respond to gender-specific risks and challenges. This session will focus on concrete policies and actions that can ensure an equitable recovery from COVID-19 that accounts for the needs of women are girls at all levels of decision-making. It will also consider actions to advance gender equality and empower women and girls in the context of advancing progress across the 2020 Agenda.

Proposed guiding questions:

What is the current status of progress and trends on the SDG 5 indicators and gender equality more broadly?
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted progress on SDG 5, particularly considering groups of women and girls facing multiple forms of discrimination?
How can we redirect financing towards advancing the implementation of SDG 5, including through gender-responsive budgeting, economic access, and international trade? How can gender data help inform this transition?
In building a gender-equitable recovery from COVID-19, what are some key barriers, opportunities and promising practices in the areas of social protection, health systems, reproductive rights, and economic opportunities, particularly as it pertains to employment opportunities and the care burden?
Considering the interlinkages between SDG 5 and other SDGs, what are the main barriers and opportunities for advancing gender equality in the areas of climate resilience, natural resources, technology and infrastructure?

Chair:

H.E. Mr. Collen Vixen Kelapile, President of the Economic and Social Council

Keynote addresses:

Her Royal Highness Princess Dina Mired of Jordan, Global Advocate for cancer control and Non-Communicable Diseases
Dr. Denis Mukwege, Gynecologist and Human Rights Activist, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, DRC

Highlights:

Highlights of the report of the Secretary-General on progress towards the SDGs – SDG 5 on Gender equality
Mr. Paul Pacheco, Statistics Division of UNDESA

Interactive panel discussion

Moderator:

Ms. Peggy Clark, CEO and President for the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW)

Resource Persons:

Dr. Denis Mukwege, Gynecologist and Human Rights Activist, 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate from east Congo
Ms. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia
Ms. Margaret Greene, Senior Fellow of Promundo, United States
Ms. Nadine Gasman, President of the National Women's Institute of Mexico

Lead Discussants:

Mr. Victor Madrigal-Borloz, Chair of the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
Ms. Samra Filipović-Hadžiabdić, Director of the Agency for Gender Equality, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ms. Frida Ravn Rosling, Danish Youth Delegate to the UN on Democracy and Partnerships
Ms. Pille Tsopp-Pagan, Women's Support and Information Centre NPO, Estonia (MGoG)

“ Lightning talk” (interspersed through the discussion):

Ms. Tofara Lindsay Chokera, Founder of Tofara Online, Zimbabwe ( an initiative to empower MSMEs and women to adopt digital marketing and emerging technologies for international trade)
Mr. Vikrant Pandey, Founder and Managing Director, Fightback, Nepal (An innovation that prevents gender-based violence)
Mr. Innocent Menyo, Team Lead & Co-Founder, Mobile Scan Solutions Uganda (A mobile ultrasound device to detect pregnancy complications in low-resources settings in Uganda)

Respondents:

H.E. Ms. Jutta Urpilainen, European Commissioner for International Partnerships
H.E. Ms. Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, South Africa
H.E. Ms. Seiko Noda, Minister in charge of Women's Empowerment, Minister of State for Gender Equality of Japan

Interventions of Ministers and participants (3 minutes each)