Davos-Klosters, Switzerland–(ENEWSPF)–24 January 2015 – The year 2015 could be a landmark one to lay the foundations for achieving gender parity, according to panellists speaking at the 45th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland. The Sustainable Development Goals, set to frame the post-2015 development agenda, are expected to be adopted at a United Nations summit in September. The goals build on, and go beyond, the targets of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Already, there have been remarkable achievements, but despite optimism about realizing gender parity, panellists agreed there is much work to be done, which will require leadership. Education and technology, particularly the internet, cut across every aspect of women’s empowerment.
“In implementing the MDGs, we’ve gathered evidence about what works. We know that girls’ education is a game- changer,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Undersecretary-General and Executive Director, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN WOMEN), New York. “Many countries need to embrace and adopt vigorously what we know,” she said. Mlambo-Ngcuka called on countries to use the knowledge we have to make a difference. “This is a question of leadership,” she added.
Rwanda is a role model in gender parity for developing countries. “In rebuilding Rwanda we needed to involve everybody. The constitution says 30% of parliamentarians must be women. We mobilized the population; 64% of our parliamentarians are women,” said Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda. “Women were a disadvantaged group in our society. Our mission was to deal with that problem as well as benefit from it; 52% of our population is women.”
In Norway in the 1980s, women realized their needs were not being met and started running for elected office; they comprised 40% of parliamentarians. The laws passed opened unprecedented avenues for women’s empowerment: free kindergarten, one year of paid maternity leave and 10 weeks’ paternal leave, are a few examples. “It happened because of women’s leadership in politics but also because women went into politics,” said Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway. “A critical issue for women is the possibility to be a mother and the ability to participate fully in the workforce.”
Women play a central role in society, particularly in developing countries, said Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA. “If you invest in a girl or a woman, you are investing in everybody else,” she said. “If we don’t do this, we don’t unlock the potential of what you can do for a family, society and a country.” Gates pointed out that technology, particularly mobile phones, has brought “amazing things” to women’s lives. “The cell phone is one of those innovations that will unlock everything and change things for people all over the world,” she said. Gates pointed to the potential of mobile money to change women’s lives and the internet to transform education.
Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever, United Kingdom, pointed out that it is impossible to create a high-performing organization if everyone does not have the chance to rise to their full potential. Unilever mainstreams gender parity across the organization and its brands. “We put a gender lens on our whole value chain,” he said. “[Gender parity programmes] cannot become a programme of the month. It must be part of the business model. It boils down to leadership.” Polman pointed to the power of technology to empower women. “It gives women a voice that can be aggregated to be heard,” he said.
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