November 7, 2022
Discussion 1: Coming Up Soon!
Our first discussion is happening soon! Register below to receive more information, such as the date and time. Potential topics include five SDGs related to the planet:
6 - Clean Water and Sanitation
12 - Responsible Consumption and Production
13 - Climate Action
14 - Life Below Water
15 - Life on Land
More information to come!
UN Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower ALL Women The 5th SDG is to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. In the past decades, “more girls are going to school, fewer girls are forced into early marriage, more women are serving in parliament and positions of leadership, and laws are being reformed to advance gender equality”. However, there is much to be done in order to achieve the ultimate goal of gender equality. Take political participation as an example: while “In 46 countries, women now hold more than 30 per cent of seats in national parliament in at least one chamber”, the average percentage worldwide is only 23.7%. Further action goals include ending physical abuse such as violence targeted at women and trafficking; ensuring equal access to economic resources like property ownership and inheritance; ending discrimination, etc.
UN Women: What does gender equality look like today? Following extreme weather events, political conflicts, and COVID-19, as well as economic recession around the world, the future of women’s rights and gender equality is looking bleak. Women and girls are affected by the recent turmoil around the world more disproportionately than men. The negative effects of COVID-19 on societies around the globe and the global economy is only making matters worse. Despite efforts, women and girls are still treated unfairly, often with devastating effects on the rest of their life. For example, despite being the front-line workers fighting against the virus, “women are restricted from working in certain jobs or industries in more than 50% of countries”. Globally speaking, “1 out of 5 girls under the age of 15 are growing up in extreme poverty”. Not only that, “the number of employed women declined by 54 million in 2020 and 45 million women left the labor market altogether.” Women suffer more socioeconomic impacts than men. Seeing the current bleak situation of gender equality, urgent, effective, and well-funded actions must be taken, both on a community level and a governmental (country) scale.
Why have women been so disproportionately affected by Covid-19? Experts explain A study conducted the charity Pregnant Then Screwed investigates the Britain policy related to women’s pregnancy. It concludes that if “if you (a woman) had taken a period of maternity leave in the past 3 years then you would receive a much-reduced payment compared to your childless or male colleagues.” Furthermore, in 2020, pregnant women working outside of home lack risk assessments and experiences increase in need for mental support. The article also features other examples of covid’s effect, including employment in Japan, school safety net and teen pregnancy in Uganda, transgender healthcare programs, etc.
Further Reading
Want to learn more? Join us for a discussion to collaborate with students across the world, engage in new perspectives on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and connect with UNA-USA officials and members throughout the country.