UN WOMEN BACKGROUND GUIDE CHAIRS AARYA TAVSHIKAR ADITI KALIA LEXINGTON MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE

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1 UN WOMEN BACKGROUND GUIDE CHAIRS AARYA TAVSHIKAR ADITI KALIA LEXINGTON 1

2 AWARDS CRITERIA: Delegates should put forward the best possible solutions to the problem at hand, through sponsoring or signing onto draft resolutions. Awards will be given to delegates who most influence debate and resulting revolutions throughout the conference. The opinions of the Chairs and Junior Chair will play an important role in selecting those who will receive awards. Delegates who are rude to the staff or other delegates, regardless of their skill in committee, will not be awarded. Respectful and considerate DESCRIPTION OF THE COMMITTEE: The UN Commission on the Status of Women, or CSW, is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. As a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council(ECOSOC), CSW was established by Council resolution 11(II) of June 21st, The CSW is key in promoting women s rights, documenting the reality of women s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women (1). During the CSW s annual two-week session, representatives of UN Member States, civil society organizations and UN entities gather at UN headquarters in New York. At this annual meeting, delegates mostly focus on emerging issues that affect gender equality and the empowerment of women, passing resolutions to reinforce these ideals. The outcomes and recommendations of each session are forwarded to ECOSOC for follow-up (ibid). This committee will be stimulating the 2019 convening of the UN CSW, with the primary focus of addressing discrepancies in gender based wage gaps and mitigating sexual trafficking. debate is an expectation at all times. 2

3 TOPIC 1: GENDER WAGE GAP TOPIC OVERVIEW: While there is no one definition of the gender wage gap, this committee will be using the definition provided by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD: the difference between median earnings of men and women relative to median earnings of men (2). This issue spans the majority of the world; few countries have approached true gender equality in regards to income. While the disparity of income varies globally, the average gap stands at 59%. MAIN FACTORS: Four main factors play a role in the gender pay gap. The first factor is slow economic growth keeping women out of the workforce by limiting available opportunities. In addition, there have been few policy changes to address issues like the wage gap. Further, increased automation has led to machines taking over many jobs which were previously held by women. Finally, social factors also play a role. In most countries, women are still expected to be the primary household keeper, in addition to raising children. This responsibility puts stress on working women, limiting economic growth and achievement. In terms of inhibiting this disparity, in the last 38 years, the gender pay gap has only decreased by 18% (3). At the current rate, paired with other factors, the World Economic Forum predicts it will take 170 years to close the gap. Despite the fact that research has shown that gender-diverse workplaces increase revenue by 15%, the gap is unlikely to close in the near future. 3

4 HISTORY OF GENDER PARITY: The fight for equal pay began as early as 19th century England. During World War 1, tension regarding the gap increased, as women began to take over men s jobs, yet received significantly lower pay (4). One of the earlier strikes was led by female train conductors in 1918, which resulted in an equal pay settlement. The issue circulated until history was made in 1968, when women at the Ford Car Plant went on strike for three weeks, eventually gaining a five percent increase in salary to 92 %. (ibid) Though not fully realized, the strike helped push momentum for the passage of the Equal Pay Act of 1970, which would not be implemented until Today, more than 120 years after the fight for income equality began, women are still paid less than their male counterparts. MORE FACTORS: In addition to the aforementioned factors which fuel the wage gap, age and race also play a major part. Women under 25 who work full time earned 93.8% of a man s salary, while those who were earned 75.2% (5). Race also influences the wage gap; in 2017 African American women earned a striking 61% of what their white male counterparts did (6). Surprisingly education does not play a large role in the pay gap; women at all education levels faced discrimination. CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS: The World Economic Forum, or WEF, publishes an annual report detailing how close the world is to gender parity. Last year, for the first time in 11 years, the number decreased from 68% gender parity to 63% (7). Further, WEF estimates show that the workplace gap will require 217 years to close, as compared to last years 170 (ibid). Women in leadership have also decreased; women represent fewer than 50% of the leadership in every industry analyzed. In addition, the proportion of women in leadership positions has only increased by 2% in the last decade. 4

5 QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: What are possible solutions to increase gender parity in the workforce? Are there any policies to enact? What is the economic impact of low gender parity? How would increase parity impact both global and regional economies? Which nations would benefit most from increased gender parity? Why? TOPIC 2- FEMALE TRAFFICKING TOPIC OVERVIEW: According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, up to 71 perfect of all trafficked people are women and girls (8). Men are usually trafficked for forced labor, while women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation, rape, battery, forced and sham marriages, and other such offenses. This issue is especially seen in underdeveloped countries, and few countries have succeeded in erasing female trafficking. MAIN FACTORS: Women that become victims of trafficking are often pushed into these situations due to a variety of factors. These factors range from religion, culture, economic desperation, corruption, armed conflict, etc. These factors are present in almost every society, an are the reason more than 4 million women are pushed into being trafficked each year (9). Several cultures overlook trafficking crimes, as they are seen as industries, trading people instead of goods. This leads to women getting lured into these traps, often through members of their own communities that they might know. Women are also often seen in the roles of traffickers, with their jobs being to trap other women into getting trafficked. Trafficking conviction rates have gone up over the course of the last decade, which means that courts are finally catching and ruling against traffickers. However, these rates are still very high, and delegates must find solutions to stop trafficking at its source. 5

6 HISTORY OF FEMALE TRAFFICKING: Human trafficking has been happening for centuries, through forced slavery or prostitution. It is only in the last two centuries that people have become aware of the gravity of this issue and raised awareness about it. Since then, groups of forced laborers and sex slaves have protested and revolted against their masters, in order to gain their freedom from this system of cruel living conditions and being stripped of their basic human rights. The use of the term sex trafficking emerged in the 1980 s, with female protesting the difference between free and forced prostitution (10). Since then, the UN has passed protocols and resolutions to prevent and protect victims of sexual exploitation through trafficking. MORE FACTORS: Some other factors that might influence the growth of this 1.5 billion dollar global industry are lack of education in the victims of these situations. A lot of victims do not realize the issue they are getting themselves into, due to a lack of education. This committee would also favor a solution from the delegates about raising awareness and educating women and children in rural communities, so they do not become future victims of this crime. CURRENT STATE OF AFFAIRS: Women and girls are trafficked in communities around the world every day, getting lured into these situation through oppressive factors in their living conditions. The rate of sexual traffickers convicted last year was higher than the last ten years (11). This is a positive sign of change, however, delegates must find more solutions to stop these trafficking rates from climbing in the future. QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER: 1. What policies can be made in order to lower and eventually stop these trafficking crimes around the world? 2. What economic and political impacts does this issue have? 3. What solutions can be devised to check the full stopping of this issue? 6

7 Positions: Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Ireland, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Mongolia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Peru, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom, United States of America 7