A Better World Volume 1

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proportion in 1995. This is nowhere near parity and the rate

of change is still too slow, but it is progress.

Governments often are, and will continue to be, key drivers

of gender equality. They can take a range of important actions,

such as passing new laws or strengthening existing ones

to improve women’s economic empowerment; form new

programmes or build upon existing ones to eradicate violence

against women and girls; or encourage women’s participation

in decision-making. Governments can also invest in national

action plans or policies for gender equality, or create public

education campaigns to the same end.

In September 2015, UNWomen co-hosted a ‘Global Leaders’

Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment:

A Commitment to Action’. At that meeting, and in the year

since, some 93 heads of state have made clear and concrete

commitments to gender equality. For example, Japan commit-

ted to “boost women’s leadership and development assistance

for gender equality,” while Kenya committed to “reproductive

health, [and] progressive action towards economic empower-

ment.” Estonia committed to “reduce the gender pay gap and

protect against discrimination under the first national gender

equality action plan,” and the United States committed to

“work towards a world where every woman and girl can enjoy

their rights and freedoms.”

Partnering with these governments, we can make impor-

tant strides on a range of priority issues, such as providing

support and protection to women who work in domestic care,

and other parts of the informal economy. With government

support, we can continue to tackle the persistent wage gap,

and work on changing outdated laws as well as implementing

the good laws that are designed to protect women.

Other stakeholders, such as United Nations agencies;

regional bodies and international organizations; civil society,

which can comprise both international and local non-

governmental organizations; foundations; the private sector;

academia and the media will also play a big role in ensuring a

gender responsive implementation of the SDGs.

Civil society has the unique ability to hold governments to

account for their commitments made in bilateral or multilat-

eral agreements, such as Agenda 2030. Indeed, the fact that

the new agenda is so emphatic in its gender equality outcomes

and grounded in international human rights standards owes

much to the strong and effective participation of well-organ-

ized women’s rights and civil society organizations. The role

of a strong civil society will continue to be critical in the

implementation of the SDGs and the leadership and strength

of the transnational women’s movement will be necessary to

hold governments to account for their commitments to peace,

plurality, justice and equality and a sustainable planet.

In many countries of the world, there are new and fierce

attacks on democratic actors and democratic space. Civil

society and in particular women’s rights activists and other

social justice actors are facing serious threats to their work

and lives, and the very legitimacy of their political work is

Image: UN Women/Joe Saad

In Guinea, Partenariat Recherches Environnement Medias has helped rural women to form cooperatives and plant, harvest and sell

the leaves of the vitamin-rich Moringa tree

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