Women empowerment can lead to sustainable dev

Says Unesco’s Global Education Monitoring Report

Education is essential for empowering women to achieve gender equality, which is vital for sustainable development, says a new Gender Review by Unesco’s Global Education Monitoring Report.
The review report was released marking the International Day of the Girl Child being observed yesterday (Oct 11).
According to UN Women, there are 1.1 billion girls today, a powerful constituency for shaping a sustainable world that’s better for everyone, as they are brimming with talent and creativity. But their dreams and potential are often thwarted by discrimination, violence and lack of equal opportunities.
There are glaring gaps in data and knowledge about the specific needs and challenges that girls face.
The theme for this year’s International Day of the Girl Child, ‘Girls’ Progress = Goals’ Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement”, is a call for action for increased investment in collecting and analysing girl-focused, girl-relevant and sex-disaggregated data.
One year into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, improving data on girls and addressing the issues that are holding them back is critical for fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals.
The review shows that countries with more women in parliament are more likely to ratify environmental treaties. Education can empower women to become leaders as they acquire literacy, confidence and communication skills.
It can give them a space to learn about and practice leadership, according to a message received here from Unesco headquarters.
However, fewer than one-fifth of the world’s heads of state, prime ministers and government ministers are currently women. Despite recent improvements in women’s political representation, they still occupy fewer than 25 per cent of national parliamentary seats worldwide.
“Significant and transformative actions are required to redress deeply embedded and complex gender inequalities that impact people within and beyond education and prevent the achievement of gender equality,” said Unesco Director-General Irina Bokova. “Whether society manages to reform in line with these recommendations will affect the empowerment of women and girls and, ultimately, the realisation of sustainable development.”
Sustainable development also requires addressing deep-rooted discrimination and disadvantages in the workplace the world over.
Aaron Benavot, Director of the GEM Report: “Educating men and boys to challenge conventional gender norms is equally important as educating girls. But educational experiences need to be reinforced by what happens in the home, in the workplace and in politics. For substantive gender equality, we need to work together to tackle the deeper obstacles holding girls and young women back.”

 

Women empowerment can lead to sustainable dev

Says Unescos Global Education Monitoring Report

Education is essential for empowering women to achieve gender equality, which is vital for sustainable development, says a new Gender Review by Unescos Global Education Monitoring Report. The review report was released marking the International Day of the Girl Child being observed yesterday (Oct 11). According to UN Women, there are 1.1 billion girls today, a powerful constituency for shaping a sustainable world thats better for everyone, as they are brimming with talent and creativity. But their dreams and potential are often thwarted by discrimination, violence and lack of equal opportunities. There are glaring gaps in data and knowledge about the specific needs and challenges that girls face. The theme for this years International Day of the Girl Child, Girls Progress = Goals Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement, is a call for action for increased investment in collecting and analysing girl-focused, girl-relevant and sex-disaggregated data. One year into the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, improving data on girls and addressing the issues that are holding them back is critical for fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. The review shows that countries with more women in parliament are more likely to ratify environmental treaties. Education can empower women to become leaders as they acquire literacy, confidence and communication skills. It can give them a space to learn about and practice leadership, according to a message received here from Unesco headquarters. However, fewer than one-fifth of the worlds heads of state, prime ministers and government ministers are currently women. Despite recent improvements in womens political representation, they still occupy fewer than 25 per cent of national parliamentary seats worldwide. Significant and transformative actions are required to redress deeply embedded and complex gender inequalities that impact people within and beyond education and prevent the achievement of gender equality, said Unesco Director-General Irina Bokova. Whether society manages to reform in line with these recommendations will affect the empowerment of women and girls and, ultimately, the realisation of sustainable development. Sustainable development also requires addressing deep-rooted discrimination and disadvantages in the workplace the world over. Aaron Benavot, Director of the GEM Report: Educating men and boys to challenge conventional gender norms is equally important as educating girls. But educational experiences need to be reinforced by what happens in the home, in the workplace and in politics. For substantive gender equality, we need to work together to tackle the deeper obstacles holding girls and young women back.