Consultation to focus on achieving gender equality within Sustainable Development Goals

Commonwealth ministers, senior officials and civil society representatives responsible for gender equality and women’s empowerment will meet in New York on 12 March for an annual consultation.

The meeting provides an opportunity to explore national and regional priorities on gender equality in the context of the the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).     

“Our annual consultation enables the Commonwealth to listen and gauge from its membership their priorities. The meeting supports future analysis and planning to develop a consolidated Commonwealth platform for advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in the coming years,” said Amelia Kinahoi-Siamomua, Head of Gender at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

She added: “Targets in the SDGs will not be met if women continue to be excluded. Building resilience and women’s economic empowerment in all sectors is necessary for growth and prosperity.”

During the annual consultation of Commonwealth National Women’s Machineries, participants will receive the end of term report on the

Commonwealth Plan of Action for Gender Equality 2005-2015 and share updates on the first Commonwealth Women’s Forum,  part of the leaders’ summit in Malta last year.

Discussions will also focus on planning for the Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministers Meeting in Samoa from 5 to 9 September 2016. The ministerial meeting takes place every three years, bringing together ministers responsible for gender equality to discuss priority issues.

The Commonwealth continues to pioneer and lead on ambitious strategies to promote gender equality in all its member states and ensure the rights of women and girls are upheld and protected.

A recent

Commonwealth base-line study on women’s leadership shows that while some progress has been made to increase the number of women in political decision-making roles, the number of women in corporate leadership falls below the agreed 30% target, and is less than 20% cent in many countries. 

The report Strategies to Increase Women’s Leadership across the Commonwealth makes policy recommendations to increase women’s participation on public and corporate boards and suggests the creation of a Commonwealth-wide network of women in leadership.

In February, the Commonwealth brought together judges from East Africa to validate a bench book on violence against women  – a set of improved judicial standards expected to be finalised by June 2016. Similar bench books are planned for the Asia region in partnership with UN Women, as well as for the Caribbean and East Africa regions.

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