International Approaches to Gender Equality
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Transcript of International Approaches to Gender Equality
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International Approaches to Gender Equality
Historically Examining the United Nations and Gender Issues
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Why the course?
• Issues of Gender – rarely addressed in historical context
• World Affairs – Evolving from the national to international spheres
• Primary Modes of approaching supra-national issues today– Multilateralism + development and subsequent
challenges of globalization• Global Governance
– Getting states to comply with national obligations
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Course Focus
• Historical perspective – Last 100 years• Institutional mechanisms: UN system, national, and
regional levels• Comparative analysis of UN world conferences on women• Comparative analysis of progress made• Evolution of concept of gender equality• Role of civil society in promoting gender equality within
the UN and international frameworks
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SyllabusBrief Introduction of the courseBrief Introduction of the course
1. UN, multilateral diplomacy, and movement towards gender equality
2. The UN organizational structure for the promotion of gender equality
3. Issues and Activities- international, national, regional and sub-regional spheres
4. Beijing and Beyond
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Part I.
Multilateral diplomacy, and national Multilateral diplomacy, and national and international movement towards and international movement towards
gender equalitygender equality
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Multilateral Diplomacy
• Loosely Defined: – decision making in the foreign policy realm involving or participated in by
more than two sovereign states or parties
• Necessary to have sovereign states• Historical Usage/development of terminology
– Peace of Westphalia: 1648– Congress of Vienna: 1815– Berlin Congress: 1878– Post WWI, with the conclusion of the Peace at Versailles
• Multilateralism as an ever evolving concept
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Gender Equality - overviewGender Equality - overview
• Women since the 1920’s• League of Nations & UN: a strong impetus for historic
change• Power of international documents• Factors of positive results of women’s participation in intl.
political dialogue and UN operations• Shift in geographic focus• Culmination• More work to be done
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Movement PhasesMovement Phases
1. Changing objectives of the Women’s agenda:a. Suffragette and labour movementsb. Ind. Rev. Economic Rights 19th/ 20th Cc. Peace and security WW1 and WW2d. Gender Equality, esp. advancing political rightse. Recognition of equality, peace, and development
as prerequisites for equal participation of women in decision-making
f. Mainstreaming the gender perspective 1990s
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a. International Women’s and Labour Movementb. The establishment of the League of Nations c. Founding of the UN and Adoption of the UN Charterd. Adoption of the UDHR (Universal Declaration on Human Rights)e. Est. of CSW (UN Commission on the Status of Women)f. Adoption of CEDAWg. The UN decade for Women and the world conferencesh. The 1990s
Establishment of the International Establishment of the International DiscourseDiscourse
Policy and Institution Building
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Notable historical periods
• French Revolution – notion of citizenship and the rights of man
• 1890 - 1945• 1945-1962• 1963-1975• 1976-1985• 1986 1995 and beyond
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Establishing Institutional Machinery
1. The League of Nations2. The International Labor Organization
– Liaison Committee of the Women’s International Organizations
3. The United Nations
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1. The League of Nations
• Founding of League of Nations marked:– Beginning of organized & institutionalized
intergovernmental collaboration– Specified goals
• Cooperation of women’s international organizations & the League of Nations
• Reasons for women’s involvement
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Recommending functions of League of Nations
• Paris Peace Conference (1919)– Representatives of Women’s organizations
present
1. 5 Proposals2.2. SuffrageSuffrage3.3. Retention of nationality during marriageRetention of nationality during marriage4.4. Support abolition of trafficking of women and childrenSupport abolition of trafficking of women and children5.5. Intl. education and healthIntl. education and health6.6. Control and reduce armamentsControl and reduce armaments
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Results of Recommendations
• League of Nations declared the following– “Member states should promote humane
conditions of labor for men, women, and children”
– “Governments should allow all positions in the League of Nations and Secretariat to be open equally to the men and women”
• Establishment of a tangible committee
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2. International Labor Organization
• Requests from women of American and British labor unions– Working day and work week limits– Termination of child labor– Support for social insurance – Equal pay for equal work for both sexes– Minimum wages for housework– Creation of the World Health Organization
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•Liaison Committee of Women’s International Organizations
• Purpose of formation• Participation
– estimated membership of 45 million women from Europe and America
– meetings in Geneva and London– consisting of a number of adjunct committees– organized the first non-governmental
conference (1919)
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Subsequent Trends
• Latin American Women in 1928– International conference of Latin American states
results• Amazing success
– Made in the face of limited women’s rights
– Women created and achieved• Model for cooperation and interaction between NGOs and
intergovernmental orgs. • Obtained numerous rights• Increased prominence on agenda of intl. cooperation
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The Establishment of the UNThe Establishment of the UN
• Historical basis– The League of Nations
• Established on 24 October 1945 – By 51 countries
• with the commitment to preserving peace through– intl. cooperation – Collective security
• Breadth of participation
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The UN Charter
• Voluntary acceptance of obligations• Emphasis on the rights and freedoms of
every human being• 4 articles • 4 purposes4 purposes• Wording
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Membership/Function
• UN members sovereign countries• NOT a world government
– Thus, does NOT make laws• Holds other functions• All members have a voice and vote in the
decision making process
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UN Organization
• 6 main organs 1. The first 5 are based in NY headquarters2. The General Assembly (GA)3. The Security Council4. The Economic and Social Council5. The Trustee Council6. The Secretariat7. The International Court of Justice, which is located at the Hague
- There are also over 30 affiliated organizations known as the UN system
- Ex. UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO etc.
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Gender-centric articles
1. UN Charter- Article 8 addressing gender equal participation in the UN- Article 55c. addressing human rights and fundamental freedoms- Article 71consultative status*
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2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
– Process • Equal rights of men and women (gender
specific)• All human beings born free and equal in
dignity and rights
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Part II.
UN Organizational Structure for the Promotion of Gender Equality
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Intergovernmental and Treaty bodies
• CSW• ECOSOC• UN 3rd Committee of the General Assembly• CEDAW• (DAW) UN Division for the Advancement of
Women• UNIFEM• INSTRAW
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UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)
• Established as a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council by Council resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946 – To Prepare recommendations and reports to the ECOSOC– Make recommendations to the Council on urgent problems
requiring immediate attention in the field of women’s rights– Promote implementation of the principle that men and
women shall have equal rights • Commission’s mandate expanded in 1987 & 1995 by the
Council• Composition/work schedule
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Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
• Functions and Authority• Composition/schedule
– 54 elected members– 3 yr terms– Meets 1 month a year
• Work Distribution
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UN Third Committee
• The Third Committee part of the General Assembly that deals exclusively with economic and social affairs.
• General AssemblyGeneral Assembly (GA)– the highest intergovernmental body in the UN– is the principal policy-making and appraisal
organ on matters relating to the follow-up to the FWCW
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UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
• established under the terms of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women – adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution
34/180 in December 1979• reviews the reports of States parties on the
implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
• evaluates the progress made
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UN Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)• Established in 1946 • Functions
– Conducts research – develops policy options– fosters interaction between governments and civil
society – provides substantive servicing for United Nations
intergovernmental and expert bodies– provides advisory services and technical cooperation
programmes to developing countries
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UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
• Created in 1976 as an innovative and catalytic fund
• Functions– Supporting new initiatives and programs for
developing countries– To aid beneficial activities for women at the
pre-investment stage at the national and regional level
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INSTRAW• Established in 1980 with HQ's in the Dominican
Republic • its programme is comprised of "practical and
specific objectives" • Functions
– conducting action oriented research and studies with particular problems of WID
– establishing training programmes, including fellowship programmes and advisory services
– to raise awareness on issues relating to WID– develop and increase opportunities for women to gain new skills– establish an information system on women
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International Instruments Conventions and declarations of particular importance to women's rights.
• Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (1993)
• Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1979)
• Declaration on the Protection of Women and Children in Emergencies and Armed Conflicts (1974)
• Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (1967)
• Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (1962)
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• Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960)• Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
(1958) • Convention on the Political Rights of Women (1952) • ILO Equal Remuneration Convention (1951) • Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons
and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (1949)
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Part III.
Issues and ActivitiesIssues and ActivitiesInternational, National, regional/sub-regional levelsInternational, National, regional/sub-regional levels
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Role of personal commitment and NGO Activity
"More perhaps than any other UN body the delegates to the CSW were personally committed …and acted as a kind of lobby for the women of the world…There was no more independent body in the UN. Many governments had appointed…as their representatives women who were militants in their own countries" (Humphrey 1984)
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Issues Relevant throughout
• marriage/divorce, custody over children = nationality
• women in decision-making and public life• labour relations - developed into WID• trafficking with women• Statistics
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Helvi Sipilla
• appointed UN Assistant Secretary General in 1972
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Women In Development Approach (WID)
• Pre -Mexico Conference-1975• 4 Principal Aims of the Mexico Conference• Changing the political environment• Post-Mexico Conference
– UN Decade for Women– Establishment of national machineries
• World Conference in Women in Copenhagen
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Shifting from WID to GID (Gender in Development)
• Began in the 1980s• Nairobi Conference (1985)• Usage of the term Gender
– a socially constructed definition of men and women
– a socially constructed definition of the relationship between the sexes
• Gender Mainstreaming and GID goals
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Part IV.
Beyond the Beijing ConferenceBeyond the Beijing Conference
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Emerging Issues
• Human Rights of women/violence/conflict• Role of men in eliminating violence• Reiteration of the right to family planning as a
human right• Feminisation of poverty• Sectoral approaches to gender equality (e.g. trade)• Conservative backlash
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Focusing on political rights
– Participation• Strategies for achievement
– Transforming political structures and systems
– Obstacles• From The World Survey on the Role of Women in
Development (1984)