Women’s Major Group position paper

Women today find ourselves in very difficult times. We see this in rising protectionist governments; xenophobia, misogyny, and discrimination; governments turning more inward and backward to the detriment of the world; and power ever more concentrated among elite and corporations. We see this in environmental destruction, violations of women’s human rights, privatization of public goods, and further marginalization and exclusion. It is hard to see a light at the end of a long and dark tunnel.

Colonialism and unbridled neoliberalism’s effects – including massive poverty, unemployment, landlessness – interacting with patriarchy and other systems of oppression, reinforce inequalities, deny women agency, and block progress towards sustainable development.

Realising the transformative intent of the Sustainable Development Agenda and ensuring women’s human rights and gender justice require more than just efficiency; it must be purposeful. We cannot allow for siloed responses to the world’s multiple crises.