Committee Topic Chair E-mail : Gender Affairs (SA2) : Ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere : Cansu Derin Bilgi : cansu.bilgi@std.itugvo.k12.tr Introduction Discrimination, which is the unjust treatment of minority groups is as old as the mankind itself and it is still present today. Minorities differences are usually seen unacceptable or wrong which have been causing discrimination in many ways for centuries. Creating an equal environment and eradicating any kind of discrimination has been one of the primary goals of the United Nations since its establishment and it is listed officially both in the millennium and the sustainable development goals. There have been many attempts to eradicate the discrimination especially regarding color, sexual preference and sex in order to equalize the whole citizens regardless of their qualities listed above. Ending all types of discrimination against girls and women isn't solely a basic right, however it conjointly crucial to fast property development. It's been tested time and once more, that empowering girls and women features a multiplier factor impact and helps come near economic process and development across the board. Discrimination supported gender (or
sex) could be a common civil rights violation that takes several forms, together with harassment, physiological condition discrimination, and unequal acquire girls United Nations agency do identical jobs as men. Gender equality could be a goal in itself and a requirement for property and peaceful development. Gender equality is achieved once girls, men, ladies and boys have equal rights, conditions and opportunities, and also the power to form their own lives and contribute to the event of society. it's a matter of just distribution of power, influence and resources in society. the widely subordinate position of power women and girls compared with men and boys should finish. All sorts of violence against girls and women associate degreed have an effect on each the individual and society as a full and are an obstacle to gender equality and development. Social norms and customs that sanction difference and violence against girls and women should be modified. The uneven distribution of unpaid domestic associate degreed social unit work that exists between girls and men may be a major obstacle to the opportunities women and girls having the ability to get an education and collaborating within the labor market and in society on identical terms as men and boys.
A society's prosperity will increase once girls and women will contribute on a similar term as men and boys through their resources and information. Tapping the skills and initiative of women is a vital driver of development. Economic condition decreases and economic productivity and growth increase once ladies participate within the economy and also the labour market and have access to resources and functioning markets. Definition of Keywords Feminism: Expression of the will to achieve equality of the sexes. Sexism: prejudice or discrimination based on a person's sex or gender Discrimination: The treatment towards a group of minorities due to a quality of them which is seen as unjust and inequitable. Prejudice: an affective feeling towards a person or group member based solely on that person's group membership (tribal behavior). Sex Trafficking: Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, including sexual slavery. A victim is forced, in one of a variety of ways, into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s) and then used by said trafficker(s) to give sexual services to customers. Legislation: The set of rules which is enforced by the government for all of the country to obey, the legal constitution. Pay Gap: The difference of money or loans that women and men receive as a result of their labor or work.
Timeline of Key Events March 19, 1911 Marked annually on 8 March, the primary International Women s Day in 1911 amasses over 1,000,000 individuals across Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland for women s suffrage and labor rights June 26, 1945 The United Nations (UN) became the primary international body to assert the principle of equality between women and men in its founding document. 1946 In 1946, the UN Commission on the standing of girls was shaped to promote the global advancement of women, focusing at the start on basic human rights and later accentuation the necessity for the broader social and economic inclusion of women. December 10,1948 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly which is the document that happens to be the solid beginning of the fight for equality. June 19-July 2, 1975 Coinciding with International Women s Year, the UN General Assembly and Commission on the Status of Women called on representatives from 133 member states to gather in Mexico City for the First World Conference on Women.
December 18, 1979 Adopted by the UN General Assembly, the Convention on the Elimination of All types of Discrimination Against women (CEDAW) is commonly delineated as a global bill of rights for women: it expressly defines discrimination against women, establishes legal obligations for countries that are parties thereto to end discrimination within the public and personal spheres, and aims to attain substantive equality between women and men. As of 2015, it's the second most sanctioned UN human rights pact, with 189 states party to it. September, 2000 The Millennium Development Goals were launched and it included a goal to ensure gender equality in the next thousand years. July 2, 2010 Creation of UN Women, an entity dedicated to achieving global gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. September, 2015 Sustainable Development Goals were launched by the UNDP, with a goal of gender equality.
General Overview a) Historical Background Women s rights were established by the UN itself more or less seventy years ago. It contains many rights such as but not limited to voting, having an equal wage, and living without misery and violence, but it's up to the nations themselves whether or not they will follow those rights, in alternative words these are the principles that are accepted voluntarily. Discrimination of gender has been rapidly common throughout the entire history, this result in consequences like harassment and unequal wage as compared to men that are unjust treatments in many ways. b) The Gender Pay Gap The gender equality within the workforce and also the gender pay gap are serious problems throughout the history. in particular, the combination of women into the workforce, giving them the necessities required to be used and incorporated into the workforce, and equivalent wages (based on hours and labor) for men and
women alike are pressing problems. religious customs and convictions have terribly wedged the percent of women in the workforce. In religions, for instance, Islam (particularly in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Islamic State of Afghanistan, Syrian Arab Republic and various different African countries) the customary convictions and, at times, the laws of that nation keep women from being appropriately incorporated into the workforce or nevertheless acceptive the coaching to do as such. Moreover, in each created and immature countries' social group standards have influenced balance for women in the workforce. The existence of the wage gap has been one of the most controversial topics in the subject of women s empowerment. Women s right activists claim that this is proof that full gender equality has still not been achieved and demand that governments take action to make sure that women are not discriminated against by companies and have achieved some success. Many countries have passed legislation to combat discrimination based on gender, however, the enforcement of these laws is generally seen as insufficient. For example, in 2008, the US Government Accountability Office created a report indicating that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor have not been fully monitoring the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws in the private and public sector.
c) Female Genital Mutilation The practice of female genital mutilation is common in 27 countries in Africa, in Asia it is practiced in some communities in Malaysia and Indonesia, Egypt, Yemen, and Iraqi Kurdistan. With the implementation of female genital mutilation, women and children rights are being violated, including their rights to health, physical integrity, being free from violence and being free from inhuman and violent actions. Discrimination against women is observed through this action. Some countries have laws and legal framework regarding FGM. These countries are; Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Djibouti, Ghana, United Kingdom, Guinea, Sudan, Sweden, and the United States of America. Keeping in mind that FGM is commonly seen in Africa and Asia, countries with regulations for this issue should increase. Major Parties Involved and Their Views Yemen: Yemen was ranked as the worst country in terms of women rights according to the Global Gender Gap Report for 2018. Yemeni women lack rights and opportunities especially in terms of politics, economics and education which prevents them from becoming active and equal citizens of the society. This inequality leads the discrimination of women in many fields due to the lack of rights given to them. They have been the worst country for women rights 9 years in a row and this leads to Yemen becoming one of the top countries for discrimination against women. This ranking
could be encouraging for the states who seek to find a reason to show as an excuse to the discrimination in their borders since even the Yemeni government is discriminatory towards women. United States of America: United States of America was one of the first countries to take action in terms of women rights. However, as time goes by, the Republican Party s point of view towards the issue weakens and the misconception of the term national sovereignty becomes an obstacle for the USA to pay attention to women rights and treaties. That is why USA signed but not ratified the CEDAW, which raises questions about the commitment of the USA for the issue as a whole since there are only 7 countries left that did not sign the treaty and USA being one of them is definitely tragic since USA is one of the biggest countries in terms of both land, power and human rights in general. Iceland: Iceland, according to the Global Gender Gap Report for 2018, is the country that has the most gender equality. The women have rights in terms of education and voting which contributes and involves them into the society. In accordance with the report, the rate of discrimination against women is lower than many countries which makes Iceland stand out as an example for the nations who seek to achieve the gender equality. However, even Iceland did not fully accomplish gender equality and discrimination according to gender can be seen in many fields, but Iceland still has the closest level of equality that CEDAW seeks which makes it a developed and well-adjusted nation in terms of women rights and a supporter of the fight to eradicate the discrimination against women in any forms. Saudi Arabia: Even though Saudi Arabia has also signed the Equal Pay Act, the government provides women workers with 56% less salary than men. The discrimination against women in workplace is supposed to be against their law, however it does not change the outcome. UN Women: UN Women is an United Nations organization which has dedicated itself to provide gender equality and allow women to be active members of our society. It has been the primary advocate for women rights and assisted many nations on the way of achieving gender equality. It is the torch that shows the way to the nations during the implementation process of the CEDAW which resulted in a total success and signatures of many countries. HeForShe is the perfect example of an UN Women campaign that tries to include men into the actions to be taken to achieve gender equality once and for all.
International Labor Organization(ILO): International Labor Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations which works on promoting jobs and protecting workers. It also focuses on gender equality in workplace. ILO organizes activities in order to put an end to gender pay gap. For instance, The Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC) was led by ILO. Also, in 1958, The ILO Convention has been established which was made to abolish the laws which contained inequality amongst genders. Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA): Workplace Gender Equality Agency aims to eliminate gender inequality in Australian workplaces. The Agency works with the employers and companies in order to reduce the current amount of gender pay gap and raise awareness within the nation about gender equality. The Agency contains a database on how companies implement gender equality in their workplaces. Conventions and Treaties Universal Declaration of Human Rights This is a convention that makes the base of all the human rights and it is accepted by a huge amount of nations. The whole document is about the Human Rights which are important in this subject as it proves the act of discrimination to be wrong and unacceptable. Especially, Article 3 suggests that Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. which is an article to protect women rights and proves any act of discrimination wrong.
Possible Solutions A quota system can be enforced in numerous countries so as to supply gender equality within the hands. This quota system would lead to a lot of women being employed since it'd be mandated by the government, it'd need firms in several regions to contain a particular number of female workers. Also, nations, for instance, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and totally different nations that do not recognize equality amongst individuals would need additional exertion put into this considering they'd change the social standard of the state, which requires significant investment and a great deal of association with the entire nation. Another solution would be making mentoring programs for women. Mentoring programs would enable women to coordinate better when the projects are made in particular for them. For instance, tutoring women on the best way to prepare their pay and dealing conditions and how to accommodate maternity and function, may be a tight begin. In addition, some women might feel more comfortable and greater being guided by another woman. The greater part of tutors are senior male representatives and, as indicated by considers, half of female junior employees revealed feeling anxious about the one-on-one contact with senior coaches. Thus, organizations need to give female and additionally male guides. Useful Links https://www.cfr.org/blog/global-progress-toward-gender-equality-timeline https://www.hrw.org/topic/womens-rights http://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2016/12/cedaw-for-youth
Special Note from the Chair Delegates should put special emphasis on CEDAW, education problem, the gender pay gap, female genital mutilation and gender discrimination in social life. It should not only include raising awareness but also long-term solutions which will solve the issue from its root all around the world, globally. I suggest all the delegates to further research on the topics written on the Timeline of Key Events and also the topics written above. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask me by sending an email.