Establishment of SDGs

Description:

In 2015 the United Nations adopted global goals called “Sustainable Development Goals”, or SDGs as an action to tackle global poverty, protect the environment and promote social peace and prosperity by 2030. There are 17 SDGs in total defined by an international community to foster progress towards the end of poverty, inequality, climate, and environmental degradation, and promote justice. They are interconnected, meaning their outcomes influence each other, and corporations and countries have committed to adopting measures related to the SDGs in their strategies. The SDG 5 refers to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls” and concentrates efforts to end all gender discrimination and to empower women, as they are key to economic growth and development. Although many initiatives have been put in place over the years, still there are many disparities among different countries and regions in terms of access to the job market, education, health care, unpaid work, sexual abuse, and how pandemic and environmental disasters disproportionately affect women. The SDG is a key driving force to promote equity and give women more voice and power. It sheds light on the importance that women have in the economy as well as in the quality of life of their families, and the consequences that more women have in the performance of companies and economies.

Enablers:

• International community / United Nations: defining policies that brings the international community together and align the objectives and goals towards the subject
• Access to information/use of technology: more people (women and men) have access to information, including the consequences of more women in the workplace and as leaders, and how they benefit from it in the personal (higher income per family) and business sides (more revenues and profitability in company with more women in leadership positions)
• Globalization

Inhibitors:

• Climate change and natural disasters
• Pandemic
• Migration and conflicts
• Economical crisis
• Political and economical forces (local governments have the power to make the rules and regulations)

Paradigms:

• Women earn only 77 cents for each dollar earned by men but increase profits and revenues of companies where they are leaders.
• 2 of 3 developing countries have achieved gender parity in primary education.
• Almost a 750million women and girls alive today married before completing 18 years old.

Experts:

• United Nations (UN) - https://www.undp.org/sustainable-development-goals#gender-equality
• European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) - https://eige.europa.eu/

• Marta Vieira da Silva – world-renowned Brazilian soccer player - UN Women Goodwill Ambassador - https://www.unwomen.org/en/partnerships/goodwill-ambassadors/marta-vieira-da-silva

• Jaha Dukureh – activist - UN Women Ambassador for Africa - https://www.safehandsforgirls.org/

Timing:

2030 is the deadline to achieve the SDG goals that are comprised of:

• End discrimination against women/girls
• Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls
• Eliminate all harmful practices (as forced marriage and mutilation)
• Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work- Ensure equal opportunities in decision-making in all levels of political, economic, and public life
• Ensure health care access (especially sexual, reproductive health, and reproductive rights)
• Promote equal rights to access financial services, inheritance, property rights, and natural resources
• Promote the use of technology universally
• “Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels”

Web Resources:

• https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/
• https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality
• https://www.usaid.gov/what-we-do/gender-equality-and-womens-empowerment

Contributor:

Nathalia