RCS Ottawa
Sep 5, 20161 min
In 2015, the baton was exchanged between the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Goal 5 of the 17 SDGs aims for gender equality and empowerment for all women and girls. In simple terms, the mission is to nurture the enabling environment where women, both young and old, have the opportunity to pursue their aspirations without fear, hindrance or discrimination.
This year’s Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting (WAMM) is focusing on “Gender equality through sustainable development in an inclusive Commonwealth”. The 2013 WAMM Meeting Outcomes report acknowledged that gender equality remained a challenge for many countries as at 2013, two years prior to the deadline for the MDGs. It is therefore worthwhile that this year’s discussions focus on gender equality to brainstorm the way forward.
The World Bank Group Gender Strategy for 2016-2023 is focused on improving human endowments for women―health, education, and social protection; removing constraints for more and better jobs; removing barriers to women’s ownership of and control over assets; and enhancing women’s voice and agency. It has also been identified that there should be better country-level diagnostics, policy dialogue, and sex-disaggregated data. Full Story