CSW62 Side-event: “Towards a gender-responsive global compact for migration”

Thank you, Craig, for giving me the floor and thanks to the organizers of this event for the invitation to present FAO’s efforts to promote gender equality and women’s rights in the context of migration.

Women and men have different migration experiences. Migration offers many possibilities for women’s empowerment. But it can also expose women to new or increased risks and vulnerability or reinforce traditional gender roles that may hinder gender equality and empowerment of women.

It is promising that the adoption of a gender-responsive approach is one of the guiding principles of the zero draft of the Global Compact for Migration.

In this regard, FAO would like to echo the recommendation made by the Secretary-General in his report “Making Migration Work for All” to recognize the contributions of migrant women and address their role, needs and vulnerabilities in full, thus contributing to achieve gender equality and promote women’s empowerment in line with the 2030 Agenda.

FAO also joins UN Women’s efforts to “eliminate all forms of discrimination against women at all stages of migration”, focusing on the intersecting and multiple forms of discrimination faced by women originating from rural areas. The Global Compact for Migration should also ensure that women’s rights are respected at all stages of migration.

I would like to highlight four main ways in which the global compact can bring into focus the realities of women migrant workers from rural areas:

First, addressing the adverse drivers of forced migration, by focusing on factors preventing rural women to access decent work in areas of origin. In this context, FAO works towards the empowerment of rural women by ensuring their participation in policy dialogue, promoting financial inclusion, and ensuring their access to productive resources and employment opportunities in the rural sector.

Second, filling knowledge gaps by building a solid evidence-base on agriculture, rural development and migration including through gender-responsive data collection and analysis.  This will allow us to better understand how migration is influenced by gender norms and normative frameworks and how it can be harnessed to advance gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Third, promoting horizontal and vertical policy coherence between labour migration, employment and social policies and multi-stakeholder partnerships by focusing on rural areas of origin and ensuring that rural women – whether migrating or remaining behind - are provided with the same treatment, employment opportunities and social protection as men.

Fourth, ensuring accessible and affordable social services and legal migration pathways for all women and men in both rural and urban areas. We must recognize that rural population are often based in remote and isolated areas that offer limited access to economic opportunities and human mobility options. Many times, rural populations lack even the information on legal migration pathways. These divides must be bridged.

In relation to remittances, it is promising that the zero draft of the global compact highlighted specifically the importance of opening distribution channels to underserved populations, including in rural areas. In fact, although global migration data are not disaggregated by rural or urban origin of migrants, available data shows that up to 40 percent of international remittances are estimated to be sent there. These remittances have a tremendous impact of the livelihoods of millions of women and men. Let me add that the women tend to send home a higher proportion of their income than men, which also makes the case for boosting the financial inclusion of women.

To end, let me say that we have the opportunity to translate into action the principle of women’s empowerment and move women from the margins to the center of sustainable development, making them powerful agents of change. Let’s seize it together.

Thank you very much.