Forum of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, Geneva: “Economic Empowerment of Women & Girls in a Sustainable Development Perspective”

Ms. Simone Ovart [President of the NGO Committee on the Status of
Women Geneva],
Ladies and gentlemen:

I am very pleased to be with you today for this important discussion on the Economic Empowerment of Women and Girls in a Sustainable Development Perspective. I am grateful to the Committee on the Status of Women (CSW) for organizing this timely Forum here in Geneva.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development alongside the three other major accords of last year on disaster risk reduction, financing for development and on climate change is our collective road map for the next 15 years and possibly beyond. These agreements would not have been possible without the active contribution of civil society, who will also play a major role in the implementation. As part of this process, the Committee on the Status of Women is doing important work to help governments implement their commitments on gender equality. And you are absolutely right in identifying the Sustainable Development Goals as a major opportunity to go the last mile towards gender equality.

The Millennium Development Goals helped us to make progress and improved the lives of many women and girls across the world. For example, today women make up 41 per cent of the paid work force outside of agriculture, compared to 35 percent in 1990. But 41% isn’t 50% and we still have important steps to take to achieve our targets in employment and in other areas.

Sustainable Development Goal 5 sets out the direction to “achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls” by 2030. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development can get us there, because it recognizes gender equality as a cross-cutting issue. Without progress on gender equality, goals on health, education, reduced inequalities and others will not be achievable.

To ensure that this is followed by action, we need to promote change right here, in International Geneva. As the operational hub of the international system, actors across Geneva have key expertise for the implementation of these goals. We are continuously working to adopt a horizontal approach in order to tackle interconnected issues linked to development, gender being one of them.

That is why, together with the Permanent Representative of the USA and the NGO Women@TheTable, I launched the Geneva Gender Champions network last year. This network brings together leaders of organizations from Permanent Missions to International Organizations, NGOs and private companies. Each of the more than 110 Gender Champions signs up to the panel parity pledge by which we strive for equal representation at panel discussions in Geneva. And everyone makes two more concrete commitments to promote gender equality in their institution or in their programmatic work. At UNOG, we have for example developed a new gender policy. That was my first commitment. And to add to these efforts, just last week, UN Women opened a new liaison office in Geneva. So, we are working and continuing to push.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is very ambitious. But change requires ambition. When women demanded the right to vote, in many countries, they were laughed at. Today equal rights to vote are the norm. Gender equality has to stop just being an ambition! It has to become a reality. Your presence here today and the focus on exchanging effective solutions at this gathering shows your strong commitment to this cause. I know that at the UN, we can count on your support in making the Sustainable Development Goals known to everyone, and making sure that their benefits reach everyone, regardless of their gender. You can count on our support too.

I wish you a fruitful conference. Thank you very much.