Our ability to fulfil SDG premises on the decision to put women and girls at the centre.
In our previously published article, it was clear that as an organisation,
we are taking steps toward achieving six SDG goals through recent
projects. Our second objective states to enhance the socio-economic
growth of women, youth & children through grass root and national
efforts. This article expounds on how empowering women and girls is at
the centre of this mission.
To achieve this goal, we have to do things differently by scaling up the
investment of resources in gender equality. This scaling up is achievable
through promoting and supporting women’s health, education, enterprise
and leadership pursuit. Ensure women can access financing and
resources without bias. Considering what successive governments and
stakeholders have done, we find we must still do that much.
Despite almost equal population equality, women are disadvantaged.
The number of men and women in the world is roughly equal. More
precisely, for every 1,000 people, 504 (50.4%) are men and 496 (49.6%)
women. So why is the gender parity index wide in terms of education,
leadership, job opportunities and distribution of resources? Investing in
women’s economic empowerment sets us on the path of gender equality,
poverty alleviation and economic growth.
Women substantially contribute to our economy, whether in businesses,
farming, entrepreneurship, employment, or unpaid care work at home.
But women remain disproportionately hit by abject poverty, gender
discrimination and exploitation, thus, curtailing equal access to economic assets and full participation in economic and social policies.
Because women perform the bulk of household chores, they often have
less time to pursue economic opportunities. Time is running out; we have
to bridge this gap.
Factual evidence
There’s a growing body of evidence indicating that gender equality
significantly contributes to the economy and sustainable development.
Look at the number of formal and informal women-led enterprises and
the now famous table banking groups. Moreover, many international
commitments support women economically. These include 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.
Possible interventions
i) Increase investments in gender-responsive social protection and public
services.
ii) Strengthen institutional capacity to employ more women, promote
those who merit and also increase women’s leadership (pass the
iii) Ensure adequate financing for all, both in the national budgets and
official development assistance.
iv) Have robust data collection methods and provide access to it. This
provides an accurate picture of the progress being made.
v) Trust and recognise the contributions or reports of our civil society
and women’s organisations, human rights, and environmental defenders
v) Equal distribution of resources and economic opportunities.
Conclusion
As the year 2030 approaches, this serves as our reminder to the world that the
ability to fulfil the millennial agenda primarily revolves around prioritising
women and girls at the highest level of policy and decision-making.
Only then can we structure the foundations for a more sustainable,
resilient and gender-just future.
By Brian Anyanzwa