‘Meaningful Participation of Civil Society in Every Step of Policymaking Process Crucial, Says Minister, as Commission on Status of Women Continues Session
A ministerial-level discussion, organized by the Commission on the Status of Women, convened today to explore national strategies for empowering women and girls in Government, the economy and the workplace. Speakers shared challenges, best practices and strategies to advance the Beijing Platform for Action — a global agenda adopted 30 years ago to promote gender equality and uphold women’s rights.
Currently, the Commission is holding its sixty-ninth session at United Nations Headquarters in New York, focusing on reaffirming commitments, securing resources and accelerating the implementation of the Platform for Action, first adopted at the 1995 Beijing Conference on Women. Discussions also centred on advancing women’s rights as a critical step towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Chair of the Conference said that women’s empowerment in her country, Saudi Arabia, is one of the main pillars within Saudi Vision 2030 to build a vibrant society, prosperous economy and sustainable opportunities. “In recent decades, major transformations have taken place in Saudi Arabia in the area of women’s rights,” she added. Saudi Arabia continues to promote women’s rights through an integrated system of national mechanisms that guarantee equal opportunity and women’s participation in different sectors. The Women’s Affairs Council is responsible for coordinating national policies on women while the Humans Rights Commission aims to guarantee that policies are aligned with international standards, she said. “We have also adopted policies on equitable job opportunities” to prevent any form of discrimination in the workplace, she added. In Saudi Arabia, female graduates have reached 42 per cent of total graduates in 2023 and women’s participation in the economy has reached 36.2 per cent in 2024.
Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General for Operations of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), moderating the panel, said that the Beijing Declaration remains the most comprehensive, visionary and widely endorsed global agenda for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women. In 1995, 189 Governments unanimously agreed with “unprecedented consensus” to advance gender equality. Over the past five years, States have continued to take action to advance gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Progress and key new policy directions have emerged across all critical areas. Nevertheless, there’s been limited progress on gender equality outcomes. The ministerial roundtable provides the opportunity to share experience, good practices and lessons learned to “unblock these bottlenecks” and ensure continued commitment, resourcing and accountability for full and accelerated implementation.
Isalean Phillip, Minister for Youth Empowerment, Social Development, Gender Affairs, Ageing and Disabilities of Saint Kitts and Nevis, said that in 2022 the first female Governor General was appointed to office. “In the executive and legislative arms of Government, we currently have the highest percentage of female representation and participation, specifically in the cabinet to which I am a member, and in the legislature, women’s representation increased to 33 per cent,” she said. Similarly, in public administration, women occupy senior leadership roles as permanent secretaries for various ministries. “We also create enabling environments through youth focused programmes and organizations to encourage young women and girls to enter leadership roles,” she said. These programmes and organizations help to hone leadership skills and develop confidence. For example, primary and secondary school institutions in Saint Kitts and Nevis implement robust student government programmes that encourage girls from an early age to use their voice to advocate for their needs and those of their peers and communities.
“No sphere of life or sector of the economy, and their value chains, should be beyond the reach of women and girls,” said Sindisiwe Chikunga, Minister for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities of South Africa. Over the past 30 years, South Africa has developed robust national mechanisms with an explicit mandate to mainstream gender equality into all policies, programmes and decision-making processes. The Commission for Gender Equality and the Human Rights Commission are both independent constitutional bodies mandated to lead, promote, protect, monitor and evaluate gender equality through research, public education, policy development, legislative initiatives and litigation. South Africa is also leveraging untapped intellectual property and advanced technologies to equip and prepare women farmers for market success. “We are prioritizing preferential public procurement and gender responsive supply chains to ensure that, by law, a minimum of 40 per cent of total public procurement goes to women-owned businesses,” she added. “We listen to all voices: civil society, academia, traditional and religious leaders, as well as those voices that often go unheard,” she added.
Signe Riisalo, Minister for Social Protection of Estonia, said the Government is using administrative data to allow employers to monitor their organization’s gender pay gap data “with just a few clicks”. “We are directing resources to implement a set of activities to tackle gender segregation, particularly in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] and information and communications technology, where women remain underrepresented,” she said. Estonia is promoting collaboration between schools and employers and developing a training programme for career counsellors to encourage both men and women to pursue stereotype-free career paths. Estonian non-governmental organizations have carried out several international programmes to support women’s digital skills and entrepreneurship. These initiatives have, for instance, supported economic empowerment of Syrian women in Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye. “Looking ahead, the rise of populist and anti-gender movements is alarming,” she stressed. Civil society plays a crucial role in countering these narratives. Estonia supports women’s rights organizations through long-term strategic partnership agreements, ensuring their financial stability.
Caroline Gennez, Minister for Welfare and Poverty Reduction, Culture and Equal Opportunities of Belgium, echoing other speakers, said that a strong civil society is important for viable democracies. “Ensuring meaningful participation of civil society in every step of the policymaking process is crucial,” she added. A strong civil society is a necessary counterbalance to Governments. “They offer skills and knowledge that might be overlooked by policymakers,” she emphasized. The participation of civil society enhances accountability and transparency in policymaking processes. In Belgium, civil society took part in consultations on drawing up and monitoring the national action plan to combat gender-based violence, but also in the national action plans on women, peace and security. “Most importantly of all, we are all striving to reach the 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals, and there we need to make sure that we keep the pace up,” she said. Policies designed with input from civil society are more likely to be sustainable and have a lasting impact. “I have been an activist myself when I was young; so in politics, we need activism; we need a counterbalance,” she said.
Huang Xiaowei, Minister and Deputy Head of the National Working Committee on Children and Women of the State Council of China, said that her country has incorporated gender equality and all-around development of women into its overall economic and social development plan. China has developed and implemented outlines to ensure policy consistency and continuity. “The current outline contains 75 goals and 93 strategic measures in eight areas, including women’s health and education,” she said. The central and provincial governments have all established mechanisms for evaluating gender equality for regulations and policies. China has set up a working group on women and children that publicly solicited opinions in 2024 during the legislative process for a law. Over 23,000 opinions were collected and shared. China has an immense number of women’s groups and consultative councils who assist in providing grassroots feedback for the Government, and more specifically legislation.
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* The 5th meeting was not covered.