If you’ve been following along, you can tell by now that CSW is certainly not going to be boring by any stretch of the imagination. Today was no exception.
I was very excited to attend an early morning session at the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, and that is saying something if you know this night owl! One of my goals is to build relationships with the diplomats from France since I will be spending a month in Paris this fall working on my research project.
Unfortunately, the morning did not go as planned. I had a lovely walk to the mission, however, I was greeted at the door by angry protesters — truly French, as I joke that protesting is the national pastime of France.
The meeting was full. Apparently, some other diplomats must have shown up sans invitation and taken our seats. Four of us were turned away at the door. Well, I certainly made up for it later. Keep reading!
Ministerial Round Table: National mechanisms for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls
Realizing I had time to try and get a coveted ticket to the round table at 10am, I hustled over to the UNGA building. I made some new friends in line, most of which were told they were in the wrong place just before the ticket desk opened. (And I wonder why it’s so hard to connect with people!) But Mira stayed, and after we happily got our tickets, we skipped off to the coffee shop to kill some time before the session started.
It turns out Mira was the head of a delegation of law students from Switzerland, so we had a great conversation about what it was like in higher education right now and how the economic situation in the US if very similar to Switzerland, which is independent of the EU (translation: tariffs). Afterwards, we found our seats and began the fascinating 2-3 minute flurry of reporting from a gazillion different countries.
The topic of the session was “recommitting,
resourcing and accelerating implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action also with a view to contribute to the achievement the SDGs”. In plain English, that translates to “what have you done for women lately and what are you doing next?”
I’ll be brief here, but if you’re not interested in this relatively exhaustive (exhausting) list of country reports, you can scroll down a bit. Before you do, I must say that this session was CRAZY — the subtitling got hacked midway, and someone decided to start typing MLK Jr’s “I Have a Dream” speech instead. This would have been funny in any situation that wasn’t meant to be hyper secure… so my guess is their network security team is working overtime tonight!!!
Here are the country updates - it’s super interesting if you want a real idea of how things are going (aka not from the news).
St Kitts & Nevis
75% of their civil service permanent secretaries and managers are women
Going forward, they are focusing on policy shifts to protect the aging population from financial and physical abuse (legal aid with wills and estate planning, ensure safety of long term care, improve life expectancy for men)
South Africa
Robust national agenda addressing gender equity and human rights. Working on untapped intellectual property, gender-responsive supply chains, and 40% public procurement to women-owned businesses
Focus on young girls through free higher ed and the South African National Service Institute (SANSI) - propelling AI and coding, robotics and step up market, small agriculture, artisans, rural roads, apprenticeships, and commercialization pathways
Estonia
Successfully driving financial resources to advance gender equity by having a Welfare Development Plan, implementing the Pay Mirror, tackling gender segregation in STEM/IT, and building strategic partnerships with international NGOs for digital skills
The “Russian war” has brought thousands of Ukrainian women to Estonia. They are currently working to support their community’s mental health, build financial independence so they are less vulnerable, and provide access to child care.
Belgium
Advancing gender quality and ensuring meaningful civil society contribution in policy making (National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Society)
Leveraging digitalization and AI to prevent another gender gap. New initiatives are to focus on female role models in STEM, action plans to close the digital divide, focus on seniors and disabled, and increase 20% women in IT.
“We need activism. We need counterbalance. Never lose it.”
In case you’ve read this far, I’d like to reward you with this incredible jab that Belgium threw out at the end of her statement… “unlike a certain uber macho who lacks standards and values”. I can’t possibly imagine who she was referencing. 🙄
China
China blew me away, in all honesty. They had so much to report that I couldn’t write it down fast enough!
Economic and social development plan with 37 member organizations includes intensified monitoring and evaluation, gender mainstreaming, a Working Group on Women and Children, the establishment of 900,000 women’s homes, and grassroots projects
Free cervical and breast cancer screening, 300k low income HPV vaccinations
Central Bank gave out over 8 million loans to women
Lichtenstein
Increase in tertiary education, women almost outnumber men
Tracking 35 more stats
Oman
Social Protection Law and Labor Law provide social protection systems
2040 Oman National Vision (just glossed right over those ten extra years??)
Wiki Omani Women Initiative
Qatar
2030 National Qatar Vision (keep in mind, this spokesperson went right after Oman 🤭)
Increased women’s presence in government, academic, political, and diplomatic roles and responsibilities
Generous financial support to international and regional women’s institutions
Latvia
Training judicial branch to be more responsive to domestic violence victims
Strengthening partnerships in private sector
Providing rehab centers, psychological support, mental health, etc. for Ukrainian women
Libya
Sharia law - 5 woman ministers appointed
Women who are not married to Libyan nationals can run for office
500 new schools in remote areas
Law passed to punish “electronic crimes”
Kiribati (it’s a micro mini)
Gender based violence (GBV) is a vicious challenge (particularly in local government) and needs to be tackled through prevention and survivor-centered services
Front line of climate crisis - need women in leadership here
Côte d’Ivoire
Revised the Family Code and created the National Gender Observatory to integrate data into public policy
Financing access for women farmers including tech, however need to tackle access and digital divide in rural areas
Special call to strength from Côte d’Ivoire:
Increase international funding.
Share information across nations for easier implementation.
Help one another strengthen systematic gender sensitive indicators.
The following countries reported next, but I’ll simply point out a few highlights so you don’t fall asleep.
Algeria: Equality through education and prevention of domestic violence
Guinea: Focus on institutions and funding microbusinesses
Guyana:
Luxembourg: Currently creating its first national action plan on gender based violence
Somalia: Combating female genital mutilation
Serbia: 40% female government ministers
Angola: Targeting women's economic empowerment
Sweden: Introducing a proposal of abortion as fundamental constitutional right
Egypt: Issuing 1.5 million women's IDs (this made our entire row gasp)
Togo: Hotlines and support centers for victims of gender based violence, national commission to combat trafficking, community monitoring units to combat teenage pregnancies
Zimbabwe: Gender commission monitoring equality and male engagement initiatives
UAE: Safe healthcare services - preventive, curative, rehabilitative, holistic. Women on corporate boards.
Canada: The very best in intersectional gender budgeting
Greece: Introduced quotas and established gender committees at the local government and universities.
Meeting Culture and Arts: Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment
I know you’re disappointed, but I had to leave early to get to this next session. (I figured two of three hours was a solid investment, and I’d ask Mira for her notes afterward.)
Some of you may have seen my post on Instagram earlier, wondering whether I should try to go to the Israel and Palestine conversation or the Arts & Culture conversation. After giving it a lot of thought and taking into account the difficulties I had getting into the more in demand sessions, I chose the Arts & Culture session. After all, I’m clearly an expert in this particular area and I wanted to be there for the conversation.
Little did I know that I would not only be in a very small room of individuals, but I also was about to meet a legit professional tap dancer!
The session began with a breathtakingly complex piece by the exquisite Shoko Tamai. Melding everything — modern, flamenco, ballet, and qi gong — she portrayed what burnout and work does to the body over time.
Then we got a taste of her lovely movement method - a little grounding, a little moving energy, a little slicing, jabbing, blocking… and then…
A bit of “holding up the world”. Have you ever put your arms up and tried to hold them there like Atlas holding the Earth? Well, it didn’t take long for the fatigue to set in, let me tell you! The weight of the world became very real today — both figuratively and literally. As tears started to spring from my eyes, she had us imagine that we were now holding ice that was gradually melting and cooling, gently trickling down and washing over us. You can guess what an emotional puddle I was after that!
Fortunately, Reco Cheng was up next, and we very clearly recognized each other as tap family, despite the language barrier. It took one “shave and a haircut” and a Bojangles nod during his improv for me to know we both could shake a leg and had solid roots in the history of the art.
Rather than talk too much about his dancing, I’ll let the video speak for itself. But know it was part of a beautiful presentation on the work he’s doing with youth in Taiwan, building confidence and breaking down barriers through tap dance!
Parliamentarians Assess Beijing +30 Impacts
I was excited to attend the afternoon session of parliamentarians at the Permanent Mission of Canada to the UN. I had no idea there would be any parliamentarians from countries other than Canada!
Never mind that I spent an entire conversation afterwards with Guillermo Gouffier Valente, an MP from France, thanking him for being such a good neighbor to the north. Thank goodness he was a charming politician and just let me talk.
Additional speakers included Baroness Elizabeth Sugg from the House of Lords (UK), Eva Biaudet MP from Finland, Petra Bauer MP from Belgium, Honorable Paddy Tornsey Permanent Observer IPU, Marilou McPhedran and Flordeliz “Gigi” Osler, both Senators from Canada.
Key Takeaways:
Backsliding. Global gender equality is facing significant challenges, with backsliding in women's rights, particularly in countries like Afghanistan and Iran, where women are being systematically denied education and basic freedoms.
Sexual violence in conflict zones remains a critical issue, with speakers emphasizing the need for accountability, legal mechanisms, and justice for survivors.
Funding priorities are screwed up. Military spending continues to increase at the expense of development cooperation, with many countries prioritizing defense budgets over social welfare and gender equality initiatives.
Collaborate. Cross-party and international collaboration is crucial for advancing women's rights, with parliamentarians highlighting the importance of working together across political divides.
Civil society organizations are vital. NGOs and civil organizations help by pushing for gender equality reforms, a cting as an intermediary between politicians who don’t agree, and supporting survivors of gender-based violence.
Elbows up! We have to work to reform social norms. No amount of legislature will solve culture.
As Senator “Gigi” Osler put it:
“Culture eats policy for breakfast.”
See you tomorrow, friends.
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