Gender inequalities in both, urban and rural areas, are a major obstacle to sustainable development including poverty eradication, a healthy environment and economic growth because they lower women’s and girls’ opportunities to meaningful participation to social, political and economic life. In rural areas women and girls form the majority of those living in poverty, face greater likelihood of living with domestic violence and have unequal opportunity of access to resources and assets, including land tenure rights, and are more vulnerable to negative effects of fluctuations in food prices and food insecurity. These inequalities obstruct economic growth while perpetuating the unequal distribution of resources, rights and duties between men and women. To achieve gender equality is thus key and must be placed at the center of the new framework, as well as mainstreamed across all goals.
In consequence, Switzerland suggests a stand-alone goal titled Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls with three sub-goals, which are considered as key to overcoming structural impediments to gender equality. The stand-alone goal needs to go in conjunction with consequent mainstreaming of gender into all other relevant sustainable development goals. For the stand-alone goal three sub-goals are proposed:
1. Equal Economic Opportunities
Ensure equal access to education
Ensure equal access to employment and promote decent work
Ensure equal access to and control over productive assets and resources
Ensure equal social security and distribution of care work
2. Freedom from violence against women and girls
Prevent violence against women and girls
Ensure protection from and response to violence against women and girls
Eliminate sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in conflicts & disasters
Ensure access to justice and end impunity
3. Equal participation and leadership
Ensure equal participation in political institutions
Ensure equal participation in the private sector
Ensure women’s participation in peace and security
Gender inequalities in both, urban and rural areas, are a major obstacle to sustainable development including poverty eradication, a healthy environment and economic growth because they lower women’s and girls’ opportunities to meaningful participation to social, political and economic life. In rural areas women and girls form the majority of those living in poverty, face greater likelihood of living with domestic violence and have unequal opportunity of access to resources and assets, including land tenure rights, and are more vulnerable to negative effects of fluctuations in food prices and food insecurity. These inequalities obstruct economic growth while perpetuating the unequal distribution of resources, rights and duties between men and women. To achieve gender equality is thus key and must be placed at the center of the new framework, as well as mainstreamed across all goals.
In consequence, Switzerland suggests a stand-alone goal titled Achieving Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls with three sub-goals, which are considered as key to overcoming structural impediments to gender equality. The stand-alone goal needs to go in conjunction with consequent mainstreaming of gender into all other relevant sustainable development goals. For the stand-alone goal three sub-goals are proposed:
1. Equal Economic Opportunities
2. Freedom from violence against women and girls
3. Equal participation and leadership
The complete Swiss position on Gender Equality can be downloaded under: www.post2015.ch/post2015/en/home/topics/gender.html
A contribution from the SDC's thematic networks on Gender and on Agriculture and Food Security, Bern, Switzerland