 It’s Monday, October 12, 2015, for some a school holiday, for others a regular work day and for some, another day to move gender equity and opportunity forward globally. On Mondays we focus our attention on women and girls in media, gender equity and opportunity in the larger social landscape, animation and film. Not only in the LA basin, but globally as well. We will be talking about women as employers and employees, media aimed at girls and women, the road to creative and technical leadership, and how women function and thrive in work groups across the globe. We will be posting interviews with girls and women who are in the process of making new road maps to success, who have risen to the top and who are in a position to lift, educate and mentor.
Today we’re highlighting the UN Commission on the Status of Women in order to bring attention to the need for education and access to a wide variety of places, places where technology companies are focusing their efforts to build internet infrastructure, provide smart phone connectivity, and eventually create a consumer base to purchase and consume media & technology, and through that, tell international stories that impact populations and change the course of a life. Story telling is one of the most powerful forms of culture change. Eventually most rural and domestic workers may have a smart phone in their hand. Since many of those workers are women, the economic realities of women and girls should be in the minds and hearts of the folks distributing and selling those devices. Smart devices represent a revolutionary tool for education, empowerment and opportunity if the leaders of industry take advantage of their unique vantage point when creating new infrastructure in new markets. Education, mentoring and work opportunity ladders are key to the success of girls entering the animation and media industry. Also key is the understanding of cultural norms, education and access to training in local and global communities. To frame this discussion we start globally and will then narrow the lens to look at national and then local communities, where basins of opportunity and education are thriving, leading to economic opportunity and gender status improvement. Our friends over at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women are tasked with reporting on the current economic and social well being of women and girls. The UNCOSW observes and reports on the larger global situation, work being done, and remaining to do, to provide safety and economic opportunity for women and girls across the globe. Medical, educational and technology inroads provide the first point of contact for eventual global media consumption and through doing so, provide visibility into the status of women and girls, citizens of their nations. As one thinks about global media consumption, it’s important to approach technology inroads mindful of the value sets, needs and realities of the local culture, not only from the point of view of creating new consumer demand but also from the point of view of what can be quickly seen and understood about the realities for women and girls in communities where Google or NOKIA are providing connectivity and cell towers. The role and status of women and girls is often overlooked, except from the consumption viewpoint. I stay tuned to the work the Commission is doing because it has its eyes open regarding the economic, social and family pressures that keep women in girls in situations where they cannot thrive, locations on the globe where technology is moving in, providing game changing opportunities for consumers and new paradigms for culture making and culture sharing. Below is an overview of the work of the commission, with a special highlight on a regional program below. 2015 is winding to a close and the focus for 2016 is development. Technology and even yes, animation, has a role to play here. A link to the Commission's economic empowerment agenda is below. 2016: Priority theme: Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development. Review theme: The elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls. - See more at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw#multiyear http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. A functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), it was established by Council resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946. The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women. In 1996, ECOSOC in resolution 1996/6 expanded the Commission’s mandate and decided that it should take a leading role in monitoring and reviewing progress and problems in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, and in mainstreaming a gender perspective in UN activities. During the Commission’s annual two-week session, representatives of UN Member States, civil society organizations and UN entities gather at UN headquarters in New York. They discuss progress and gaps in the implementation of the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the key global policy document on gender equality, and the 23rd special session of the General Assembly held in 2000 (Beijing+5), as well as emerging issues that affect gender equality and the empowerment of women. Member States agree on further actions to accelerate progress and promote women’s enjoyment of their rights in political, economic and social fields. The outcomes and recommendations of each session are forwarded to ECOSOC for follow-up. UN Women supports all aspects of the Commission’s work. We also facilitate the participation of civil society representatives. Methods of Work The Commission adopts multi-year work programmes to appraise progress and make further recommendations to accelerate the implementation of the Platform for Action. These recommendations take the form of negotiated agreed conclusions on a priority theme. Under its current methods of work, established by ECOSOC resolutions 2006/9, 2009/15 and 2013/18, at each session the Commission:
Multi-Year Programme of Work The Commission elaborated a multi-year programme of work for the first time in 1987, containing priority themes for discussion and action at its annual sessions, per ECOSOC resolution 1987/24. Subsequently, multi-year programmes of work were adopted in 1996 in ECOSOC resolution 1996/6, in 2001 in ECOSOC resolution 2001/4, in 2006 in ECOSOC resolution 2006/9, in 2009 in ECOSOC resolution 2009/15, and in 2013 in ECOSOC resolution 2013/18. Since 2006, the Commission has added an annual review theme, to evaluate the implementation of agreed conclusions from a previous session. Themes for 2010–2016 are:
http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment Economic empowerment Investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path towards gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. Women make enormous contributions to economies, whether in businesses, on farms, as entrepreneurs or employees, or by doing unpaid care work at home. But they also remain disproportionately affected by poverty, discrimination and exploitation. Gender discrimination means women often end up in insecure, low-wage jobs, and constitute a small minority of those in senior positions. It curtails access to economic assets such as land and loans. It limits participation in shaping economic and social policies. And, because women perform the bulk of household work, they often have little time left to pursue economic opportunities. Our solutionsMany international commitments support women’s economic empowerment, including the Beijing Platform for Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and a series of International Labour Organization conventions on gender equality. UN Women supports women’s economic empowerment in line with these, and with the growing body of evidence that shows that gender equality significantly contributes to advancing economies and sustainable development. Working with a variety of partners, our programmes promote women’s ability to secure decent jobs, accumulate assets, and influence institutions and public policies determining growth and development. One critical area of focus involves advocacy to measure women’s unpaid care work, and to take actions so women and men can more readily combine it with paid employment. In all our economic empowerment programmes, UN Women reaches out to women most in need, often by engaging with grass-roots and civil society organizations. Particularly marginalized groups include rural women, domestic workers, some migrants and low-skilled women. Our aims are higher incomes, better access to and control over resources, and greater security, including protection from violence. Download a two-page thematic brief on UN Women's work on economic empowerment. - See more at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/economic-empowerment#sthash.fQlvZ2sd.dpuf Comments are closed.
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