The Equality Forum Gender Equality and the Sustainable Development Goals

Welcome to the Equality Forum Today we’re going to discuss and explore the issue of gender equality: the degree to which men and women have equal rights and participate equally in society. This is a vitally important question, not only for building a fairer and more just society but also for helping countries to grow and develop thanks to the participation of all their citizens. You’ll be asked to take part in an action which we hope will help to make men and women, boys and girls more equal. This might be about greater equality in your own community, or greater gender equality across the world – as is shown in this photograph taken in Sierra Leone. Here men and women are working together, with equal rights to farm the land and with an equal say in the decisions that affect their community. Photo credit: John McLaverty/Oxfam GB

A long history of gender equality – The Suffragettes The struggle for gender equality is a long one and it’s still not finished. A good example is the suffragettes, who campaigned for the right of women to vote in UK Parliamentary elections ***Adapt to national context*** In the late 19th and early 20th centuries many people still believed that women were not independent enough from their husbands or even responsible enough to vote in Parliamentary elections. Only men voted. The Suffragettes were a group of women who campaigned to change this. They were supported by many men. In 1918 in the UK women over the age of 30 who owned property, like a house, won the right to vote. Ten years later in 1928 all women over 21 won the right to vote on an equal basis to men. These changes in the law were the result of both thousands of people taking part in campaigns and protests, and the social changes that occurred when increasing numbers of women went out to work during World War 1 Image: Suffragettes demonstrate outside the Police Court, 1911 Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suffragettes_demonstrating_outside_the_Police_Court.jpg

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2015 -2030 Today the campaign for equality still continues across the world In 2015 the countries of the United Nations agreed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All countries agreed to implement these global goals by the year 2030. They are shown on this slide and give you a good idea about the things that the global community agrees are important. The fifth Sustainable Development Goal - SDG5 - is about ‘Gender Equality’. So it’s still a big issue 100 years after the Suffragettes’ campaign. Other goals are also about gender equality – for example SDG4 (Quality Education for all) and SDG3 (Good Health for all). Today we’re going to concentrate on SDG5 but if you have time look at the other goals and find out how they also help to challenge gender inequality. http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

End all discrimination against women and girls everywhere Nine targets End all discrimination against women and girls everywhere End all violence against women and girls (eg: sexual exploitation) End all harmful practices against women and girls (eg: forced marriage) Recognise and value unpaid care and domestic work Ensure full participation in decision making and leadership Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health Give women equal rights to economic resources (work, land, property etc) Use ICT and other technology to promote women’s empowerment Strengthen laws and policies that promote equality SDG5 is broken down into these nine separate targets. These targets apply to all countries so they apply as much to our own country as to the other countries of the world. Read through them. Spend a few moments to think about; whether any of these targets surprise you. Why? whether you think they’re the right targets. Would you add new targets or replace any of them? The countries of the United Nations have agreed SDG5. But the SDGs are the result of a lot of international compromise. So you’re totally entitled to decide for yourself whether you think they’re the correct priorities for the world or whether in your judgement they should be different. For example one criticism is that they don’t explicitly mention the rights of LGBT people. This is despite same sex relationships still being illegal in 76 out of 195 countries and LGBT people facing discrimination and violence in many countries. (Source: Independent 17.5.2016)

What you really really want End Violence Against Girls? Quality Education for All Girls? End Child Marriage? Equal pay for equal work? Another criticism of all the SDGs is that they give countries a long and unmanageable list of targets to meet. However the targets are meant to fit together to bring about greater equality between women and men. In a moment we’ll watch a short video. But before we watch it I’d like you to think about two questions. ***We suggest you divide the audience into two groups with each group thinking about one question*** How should countries actually implement the nine SDG5 targets? Are there some that you’d prioritise? Are there others that fit well together? Your answer may well depend on the country you live in and its context, but each of us has to start somewhere. Where will you start? The video suggests four priorities. Do you agree with them? What are the best ways of making SDG5 interesting for your schoolmates and your community? Many people may not have heard about the SDGs before so what’s the best way to capture their attention and inform them? Does the style of the video communicate its message clearly and effectively? Are there other ways you’d get the message across well? ***Play the video*** To view the video right click on image and open hyperlink; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZQ2RUFd54o Time:- 1’ 24” ***Recap and briefly discuss the questions*** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZQ2RUFd54o

The Equality Forum – Your chance to make a difference The Equality Forum gives you a chance to make a difference. Forums are taking place in 13 schools in 5 countries and many more schools are taking part. That’s a lot of young people! Everyone in all the schools that are taking part has a chance to learn more, take part and make their voices heard. I hope you will get involved as much as you can, whether you’re organising a Forum, attending a Forum or taking part in an action after the Forum. And remember, gender equality doesn’t stop at the Equality Forum. It takes a lifetime! Photo: Eimear Hurley/Woodside High School

Thank you  ‘On the way to equality’ This photo represents what we hope the Equality Forum represents. It shows the Women’s March in Montreal, Canada, in January 2017. Similar marches of women and men took place all across the world and called strongly for gender equality. The yellow banner reads in French ‘on the way to equality’. We hope your Equality Forum is on the same path and will have a similar impact. Thank you. Photo credit: Oxfam Quebec