Gender economics should be at the forefront says new Social Watch publication

It is time to put an end to the gender blindness of current economic policies concludes a new occasional paper by the international civil society network Social Watch entitled “Putting gender economics at the forefront. 15 years after the IV World Conference on Women”. The publication is launched March 9 2010 in New York to mark the 15th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

PRESS ADVISORY: New Social Watch Occasional Paper

Gender economics should be at the forefront says new civil society paper

New York, USA (March 9, 2010) – It is time to put an end to the gender blindness of current economic policies concludes a new occasional paper by the international civil society network Social Watch entitled “Putting gender economics at the forefront. 15 years after the IV World Conference on Women”. The paper will be launched today, March 9 during the review of the Committee on the Status of Women at Conference Room C (TNLB) from 3.00 - 4.30 in the North lawn of the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York.

Putting gender economics at the forefront argues that the economic and financial crisis has deepened gender inequalities even further and now it is time to design and implement a new development paradigm with equal rights and opportunities for all. Contesting the view of classical economics that measures wealth through the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) indicator, the paper argues that “it is necessary to redefine macroeconomics and recognize that the monetary economy is just the tip of the iceberg that rests on an extensive care economy in which the main work force is female”.

This publication demonstrates that, notwithstanding some advances since the Beijing Conference and the adoption of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the UN member States still have not fully implemented their commitments to gender equity as an essential condition for sustainable economic and social development. In Asia, Latin America, The Middle East, Africa and Europe women’s movements have acknowledged the positive effect of international instruments on the lives of women. However, the experiences shown in this paper prove that there is an evident gap between gender legislation and its implementation.

Furthermore, the Gender Equity Index (GEI) included in this publication uncovers a staggering wipe out of the economic gains made by women at the global level and the negative impact of the global financial crisis on them. The regional and national articles that feature in this paper highlight the gendered nature of the crisis and its effects on women and women-depending economies. Moreover, the articles point to concrete policies which should be implemented to deal with the current crises.

Social Watch is an international network of non-governmental organizations in over 60 countries monitoring government compliance with their international commitments to end poverty and gender discrimination.

Links:

See the publication "Putting gender economics at the forefront"
http://www.socialwatch.org/node/11571

See Statement submitted by Social Watch, March 2010
http://www.socialwatch.org/node/11972

See more information on Beijing +15 in Choike
http://www.choike.org/2009/esp/informes/7723.html

2010 NGO Global Forum for Women: Beijing +15
http://www.ngocsw.org/en/events/2010-forum