Cathy Wineslet NTAHNYUY NGASSA⁎
Gender equality can be seen as the equal valuing by the society of the similarities and the differences of men and women and the roles they play.[1] It is based on women and men being full partners in the home, community and society. Thus, equality in this sense does not insinuate women and men would become the same but rather that, their rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female.Gender equality is achieved when women, men, girls and boys have equal rights, conditions and opportunities, and the power to shape their own lives and contribute to the development of society.
Women and girls represent half of the world’s population as such they have a handful of the world’s potentials. Gender equality is not only important because it is a fundamental human right, but equally because it is essential in achieving peaceful societies with full human potentials and sustainable development. As such, gender equality is said to be a prerequisite for sustainable development. It would be difficult or rather impossible for a society to develop sustainably without supporting opportunities, resources and choices for both men and women which would enable them have equal power to shape their own lives and contribute to their families, communities and countries.
“Gender equality goes hand in hand with macroeconomic and financial stability; it can stimulate economic growth, boost private and public sector performance, and reduce income inequality.”[2]
Moreover, it has been proven severally that empowering women spurs productivity and economic growth. Women’s employment can generate large economic gains. “On average across countries, long-run GDP per capita would be almost 20% higher if gender employment gaps were closed up. Studies estimate economic gains in the order of $5-6 trillion if women started and scaled new businesses at the same rate men do”[3]. Women’s leadership can equally enhance long-term economic, environmental and social outcomes, as well as governance gains. Most businesses who have at least 30% of women in leadership positions are 15% more profitable.[4] All over the world, women do most unpaid care work, whereas this has major costs. Most unpaid care services are usually larger than paid services.
Furthermore, unequal societies are less cohesive and have high rates of violence. Gender equality will prevent violence against women and girls because it will reduce men’s control of decision making and other limits to women’s independence. This will help promote a more peaceful and safe society, thus, favoring progress. Nevertheless, it would be difficult for progress to be achieved if the root causes of gender-based discrimination and inequality are not tackled.
Conclusively, “the UN Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres has stated that achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls is the unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our world.”[5] This shows there is still a long way to go to achieve full equality of rights and opportunities between men and women. Therefore, it is very important to end all forms of gender-based violence and promote equal access to education and health. Equally promote equal access economic resources and participation in political life and equal opportunities in employment and positions of leadership of women and men and girls and boys.
⁎Cathy Wineslet NTAHNYUY NGASSA is a Researcher at the Center for Gender, Peace and Security (CGEPS). Holder of a Master degree and PhD student in History of International Relations, her researchs focuses on Gender issues in peace and security.
[1] UNICEF, (2017), “Gender equality: glossary of terms and concepts”, https://www.unicef.org/rosa/media/1761/file/Genderglossarytermsandconcepts.pdf, site visited on the 02/7/2023.
[2] International Monetary Fund, (2022), “Gender equality boosts economic growth and stability”, Remarks by Gita Gopinath, IMF first deputy managing director, delivered at the Korea Gender Equality Forum, https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2022/09/27/sp092722-ggopinath-kgef-gender-korea#, site visited on the 30/6/2023.
[3] World Bank, “Gender overview: development news, research, data”, https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/gender/overview#, site visited on the 30/6/2023.
[4] Victorian Government, “The benefits of gender equality”, https://www.vic.gov.au/benefits-gender-equallity, site visited on the 02/7/2023.
[5] UN, “Gender equality: the unfinished business of our time”, https://www.un.org/en/global-issues/gender-equality, site visited on the 02/7/2023.
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