Forum pledges $40bn to advance gender equality – UN
The historic Generation Equality Forum in Paris concluded on Friday with new commitments designed to address gender equality and other injustices as well as the commitment of 40 billion dollars to advance gender equality globally.
The Forum also made a revolutionary commitment and plan to advance parity by 2026.
According to the chief of the UN’s gender empowerment agency, women are still “sitting in the corridors when men are inside at the table negotiating peace”.
“Close to 40 billion dollars was pledged in new investments, as well as ambitious policy and programme commitments from governments, civil society and others, to help fuel a new global five-year action plan to accelerate true gender parity by 2026.
“The Generation Equality Forum marks a positive, historic shift in power and perspective,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women.
The Forum has been held at a critical moment, as the world assesses the disproportionate and damaging impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls.
Gender equality advocates took the opportunity to press for gender-responsive stimulus and recovery plans to ensure that women and girls are not left behind as the world re-builds.
The 40 billion dollars in investments represent a major step-change in resourcing for women’s and girls’ rights, as lack of financing has been a major reason for slow progress in advancing gender equality.
Financing has been a major reason for advancing gender equality and in enacting the women’s rights agenda of the milestone 1995 Beijing Conference, according to UN Women.
Governments and public sector institutions have committed to 21 billion dollars spending on gender equality investments, the private sector 13 billion dollars and philanthropy 4.5 billion dollars.
UN entities, international and regional organizations committed an aggregate of 1.3 billion dollars.
“The Forum’s ecosystem of partners – and the investments, commitments and energy they are bringing to confront the greatest barriers to gender equality – will ensure faster progress for the world’s women and girls than we have seen before,” head of UN Women said.
Many organisations have made strong policy and programme commitments, including 440 civil society organisations and 94 youth-led organisations.
UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, Anne Hathaway, gave her personal commitment to “continue to be a global advocate for the legal and policy changes that will empower both women and men to begin the equal distribution of care responsibilities that will help change our world”.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, who now heads the U.S. international development agency, USAID, offered “a simple message, informed by decades of evidence:
“If you want peace in this world, trust women to deliver it,” Power said.
African Union Goodwill Ambassador on Ending Child Marriage, Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, said: “This week, I relived the experience of 1995, when I was a young women’s rights activist at the Beijing Conference
“Now it’s time to invest in girls and young women even more for resources to reach rural and marginalised communities, for technology for public good and available to all, and for Member States’ greater accountability to human rights of women and girls”.
Over the past three days, the Forum engaged nearly 50,000 people in a mainly virtual format to rapidly advance of gender justice.
It launched a Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality designed by six Action Coalitions, partnerships that have identified the most critical actions required to achieve gender equality, ranging from gender-based violence and technology to economic and climate justice.
The Forum also launched a Compact on Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action, and announced new gender equality initiatives focused on health, sports, culture, and education.
UN Women will maintain a critical role driving the Forum’s five-year action plan, overseeing the implementation of commitments to ensure accountability and progress. (NAN)
