Why gender equality is one of the most important Global Goals - Women's Agenda

Why gender equality is one of the most important Global Goals

The new United Nation’s Global Goals for Sustainable Development cannot be achieved “without full and equal rights for half of the world’s population, in law and in practice.”

It’s a bold statement that came from the United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon after world leaders gathered in New York last month to commit to 17 Global Goals that work towards:

  • Ending extreme poverty.
  • Fighting inequality and injustice.
  • Fixing climate change.

The Global Goals, aim towards a better future for all by 2030, and have a measured way of getting there, with 169 specific targets falling under 17 goals.

Building on the successful Millennium Development Goals (MDGs – 2000 to 2015) the Global Goals set a powerful set of benchmarks we can use to hold world leaders accountable over the next 15 years.

And with a whole goal dedicated to Gender Equality (Goal #5), there’s no doubt there’s plenty of work to be done to ensure that by 2030, women and girls from all over the world have an equal chance of succeeding at all levels of public life.

“The MDGs were really powerful drivers of change and an important mechanism because they were crisp and simple and focused the world on human development issues and obviously, that included gender equality and maternal health and reproductive rights for women,” says Chief Executive of Oxfam Australia, Dr Helen Szoke.

In addition to being a human rights advocate, Dr Szoke has worked tirelessly for years in the women’s rights and gender equality space both here in Australia and around the world. Prior to joining Oxfam, she worked as Australia’s Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner after working for seven years as the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner.

Dr Szoke explains how she believes the Global Goals will continue to build on the MDGs as they deal with the increased complexity we’re facing globally and act as significant leap forward for women’s rights.

“What we see now with the Global Goals is they’re not only built with standalone goals, but they’re built into many other goals. Women may be adversely impacted by crises or poverty or hunger, but they’re also the best solution to actually addressing these issues,” Dr Szoke added.

When broken down further, the Gender Equality goal consists of these nine elements and sit under this powerful initiative: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

  • 5.1 – End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
  • 5.2 – Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
  • 5.3 – Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilations
  • 5.4 – Recognise and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies, and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
  • 5.5 – Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
  • 5.6 – Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the ICPD and the Beijing Platform Action and the outcome documents for their review conferences.
  • 5.7 – Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance, and natural resources in accordance with national laws.
  • 5.8 – Enhance the use of enabling technologies, in particular ICT, to promote women’s empowerment.
  • 5.9 – 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, 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.

So, what’s Australia’s role in all of this?

Currently, 80 per cent of aid investments must include a component or focus on women’s equality and gender empowerment. Fact is, despite what the average Aussie thinks, our contribution to Australian aid equates to under 1 per cent of total government spending.

Sure, the Global Goals are bold and while it’s easy for the government to pledge its support verbally, how can Australia play our part in contributing to helping women to build a better reality for themselves?

“To realise any substantial change, we need a greater investment in aid and of course, according to the current trajectory, Australian aid is heading towards its lowest level in our nation’s history if the next round of cuts are implemented,” says Dr Szoke.

There’s no disputing progress has been made. Countries such as Australia focusing their aid investments on MDG 3, contributed to the world achieving equality in primary education between girls and boys. There’s still a lot of work to be done, both in relation to education and pay equity as well as recognition of work.

“The issue of equality is far from being realised globally – we know women earn around 24% less than men globally. We hope the Global Goals will be a catalyst for more change,” says Dr Szoke.

It goes without saying that pay equity is an issue that hits a little too close to home in our own backyard with Aussie women knowing first-hand what it feels like to get paid less than men despite performing the same role. It’s safe to say there’s still plenty of work to do in Australia too.

Ultimately, progress is not inevitable.

“It will take a collective effort to achieve these new Global Goals. We all have a role to play and now, we’ve got a powerful set of benchmarks we can use to hold world leaders accountable for the next 15 years,” says Executive Officer for the Campaign for Australian Aid, Tony Milne.

From here, the spotlight is on Julie Bishop and the new Turnbull government. Will the push for stronger targets on gender equality be backed up by action?

Want to help drive real change? Join Campaign for Australian Aid and join the movement lobbying the government to help build a better world for everyone.

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