UN Women has published the paper “Gender equality as an accelerator for achieving sustainable Development Goals”, which aims to demonstrate how gender equality and investment in this issue can contribute to the development of all SDGs.
The report mentions what kind of policy interventions related to gender equality need to be accelerated for the implementation of Agenda 2030. This paper argues that achieving equality in real terms involves four main interrelated elements: ensuring equal rights, capability and access to resources and opportunities for both women and men; strengthening the agency or ability of women to make decisions and take decisions and act on them; eliminating gender-based violence and discrimination and transforming power relations at all levels of society, from individuals and households to institutions and structures.
In terms of benefits, the positive influence that exists in the following areas is highlighted by gender equality: economic development, poverty reduction, education and health, recognition, reduction and redistribution of unremunerated work (domestic work, child care, etc.), food security, climate change, and disaster management and natural resources, political participation and elimination of all established gender violence.
Finally, to accelerate the progress towards the implementation of the Agenda 2030 and achieving results, the public politics must be re-evaluated and re-designed using a gender-sensitive approach. This implies taking into account the different roles, responsibilities and socially determined capacities of women and men, together with the power relations and the cultural environments in which the activities of women and men are developed, at the same time responding to their diverse needs and interests. This approach brings with it the need to contextualize funding under a thematic-sensitive approach to ensure appropriate investments aimed at implementing national policies towards gender equality and the empowerment of Women.
To read the full report, visit the website of SDG Philanthropy
Source: GENDER EQUALITY AS AN ACCELERATOR FOR ACHIEVING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (UN Women).