Women’s rights: address poverty and boost access to decision-making

MEPs set their priorities for the upcoming UN Commission on the Status of Women

Address root causes of women’s poverty

Take gender into account when shaping policies and budgets

Ahead of the 68th UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York in March, Parliament spelled out its priorities on Thursday.

In a resolution adopted on Thursday, MEPs call for equal opportunities in education, in the labour market, as well as in political and economic decision-making, with equal access to economic and financial services.

Setting out their priorities for the upcoming UN CSW session in March, MEPs demand that the multiple, systemic root causes of women’s poverty globally, such as women’s over-representation in low-paid, precarious and part-time jobs, careers breaks to care for family, and the gender pay and pension gap, be addressed. Member states should put in place strong social security schemes, they say, including a minimum income, to ensure a safety net for all women, particularly for those most at risk of poverty and social exclusion.

Energy poverty affects women disproportionately; there should be specific measures to support those in vulnerable situations while ensuring everyone has access to electricity, heating and cooling in the green energy transition, the texts underlines. Member states should prioritise investing in social infrastructure, green jobs and women’s full participation in the green transition to advance towards a sustainable economy while ensuring gender equality in new and emerging sectors.

The EU and member states should take gender into account when shaping their policies and budgets by applying gender mainstreaming and gender budgeting in all policy areas; these are globally acknowledged tools to implement women’s rights and reach gender equality, MEPs point out.

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Robert BIEDROŃ (S&D, Poland) Chair of the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee, said: “Tackling women's poverty is fundamental in our efforts to achieve gender equality worldwide. We are at a pivotal moment in history; we can feel the winds of change, and exactly in these times, it is crucial that the European Union shows strong leadership on the international stage when it comes to gender equality, gender budgeting and gender mainstreaming. We must remain the leaders in this fight.”

Background

The Beijing Declaration was adopted by the UN at the end of the 4th World Conference on Women on 15 September 1995 to promulgate a set of principles on the equality of men and women. The Platform for Action called for strategic actions in areas such as economy, education, health, violence and decision-making. The UN CSW68 will focus on accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. A delegation of MEPs on the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality Committee will attend the UN CSW68 in New York, from 18 to 22 March.