Concertation MontréalConcertation Montréal
Événement en anglais, coorganisé par Concertation Montréal et ONU-Habitat
Via la plateforme Webex :
<https://unhabitat.webex.com/unhabitat/j.php?MTID=md5404ba27590ec3473f20e19316b5440>
Join by meeting number. Meeting number (access code): 142 302 0624
Meeting password: 1234
Description :
Many women have long-faced severe obstacles to participation and leadership where they have been underrepresented whether in elected office, the civil service, the private sector or academia. Some women, including young women, differently-abled women, indigenous women, transwomen and racialized women are even further underrepresented. While several women have individually overcome these challenges with great acclaim – and often to the benefit of society at large – there is a need to level the playing field and ensure opportunities are open for all women.
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action highlights women’s equal access to and full participation in decision-making as a critical strategy for achieving equality for women and girls. It clearly accentuates that global peace is inextricably linked with the advancement of women; and women are a fundamental force for leadership, conflict resolution and the promotion of lasting peace at all levels. Additionally, gender equality and women’s empowerment are recognized as being catalytic towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Women leaders play important roles in mobilizing and advocating for legislative and constitutional reforms that benefit the lives of women and girls, and in scaling up efforts to expand opportunities to increase their participation. Women in leadership positions can also inspire and mentor other women and girls to assert their rights and to become future leaders. Participatory and inclusive urban governance entails increasing the avenues for women’s input and ensuring there is no-discrimination (broad platform); customizing participation methods to women’s needs; ensuring that women’s views and experiences count in decision-making (and not merely involving them to fulfil formal requirements); and in assessing the degree to which processes and outcomes positively impact all women.
Additionally, women in leadership are great champions in the fight against sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) which is one of the most prevalent and persistent human rights violations in the world. Globally, an estimated one in three women will experience physical or sexual abuse in their lifetime. Despite global progress in legislative and policing reforms to address this, ending violence against women and girls remains an elusive goal and an enduring problem. This is especially significant as evidenced more recently during the ongoing Covid-19 global pandemic which saw a spike in GBV cases in many parts of the world and in online spaces. Women leaders command the authority to challenge unequal gender power relations as one of the root causes of GBV and advocate for resources towards scaling up prevention and response efforts.
This event, which takes place during the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW65), will focus on women in leadership, women’s public participation, and inclusive governance structures. In addition, it will highlight examples of how women in leadership are supporting efforts towards ending GBV and how efforts to transform harmful masculinities contribute to ending GBV and creating and enabling environment for women’s leadership and participation. Inclusive leadership and representation are a prerequisite for sustainable, just and developed society. Discussion and case studies will look at transformative and innovative interventions that can be replicated to other regions/areas.