what we do
The global Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted 18 December 1979 , so it just turned 40-years-old! Almost all UN member states have ratified this convention, USA is one of the very few countries that has not. Still, discrimination against women and girls is persistent. There have been great advances in anchoring women’s equal rights in laws across the world. But underlying barriers continue to exist, everywhere. To solve the challenges facing humanity, we need full participation and equal decision making rights for women and men. We document why women rights are a prerequisite for sustainable development. We support partners working to end discrimination and gender based violence. We cooperate with women’s rights and human rights organisations to advocate for rights-based policies.
Women’s rights a prerequisite for sustainable development
Women have structurally less control of resources, which often is a barrier to their equal participation and decision-making. In addition, women do many times more unpaid care work then men. Sometimes 4 times more hours than men: to produce food, to look after children, ill and elderly, to clean and cook and contribute to community work. In all countries, women earn less then men for work of same value. This gender pay gap can be as high as 90%: some female textile workers in Asia earn only 10% of the salary of their male colleagues. We promote women and men’s equal rights to decision making and to resources. We show how women when they have more rights, become leaders in sustainable development. We work with partners who are women managers of energy cooperatives, women political leaders in local and national government, women leaders of civil society. We cooperate with women’s rights movements, with scientists and UN agencies to document, monitor and advocate together, with the aim to reach equal rights in this generation.
