International Women’s Day, 2023
Her Land, Her Rights: Advancing Gender Equality & Land Restoration Goals
The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day, March 8.
Women hold a vital stake in the health of the land, yet they often don't have control over it. Securing women's land rights can help advance the intertwined global goals on gender equality and land restoration. Credit: United Nations
BONN, Mar 7 2023 (IPS) - When it comes to land, gender inequalities are pervasive. Today, nearly half of the global agricultural workforce is female – yet less than one in five landholders worldwide are women 1.
Women’s land rights are essential for their economic empowerment and the sustainable development of rural communities. However, women continue to face significant barriers to accessing and controlling land resources, which limits their ability to participate fully in agricultural production, improve their livelihoods, and contribute to broader economic growth.
Moreover, the lack of access to land and other productive resources adversely impacts on women’s enjoyment of human rights.
According to a landmark study by UNCCD, gender equality remains unfinished business in every part of the world. For instance, in more than 100 countries today, women cannot inherit their husband’s property under customary, religious, or traditional laws and practices.
Andrea Meza Murillo
Discrimination related to land tenure, credit access, equal pay and decision making often keeps women from playing an active role in sustaining land health. When they do have property rights, women often own smaller plots, and less fertile lands, compared to male landowners.
And when land becomes degraded and water is scarce, rural women are usually the worst affected, often skipping meals in favour of other family members.
Globally, women already spend a collective 200 million hours every day collecting water. In some countries, a single trip to fetch water can take over an hour. Droughts make the situation even harder—they tend to increase the burden of unpaid care and domestic work shouldered by women and girls.
But women are not only on the frontline of climate change and land degradation impacts; they can also be major actors in the global efforts to restore the land back to health and boost drought resilience.
Evidence shows that when women and men have equal land tenure rights, women are more likely to invest in soil conservation and sustainable land management practices. For example, in Ethiopia, land certification and registration undertaken in the early 2000s increased tenure security for women and men and boosted landowners’ likelihood of investing in soil and water conservation measures by 20-30%.
Gender equality is vital to deliver sustainable, progressive, and meaningful action to advance sustainable land stewardship. The recognition of women’s land and resource rights will accelerate land restoration efforts by opening doors to markets and finance, training and other services, and gender-appropriate sustainable land management tools and technologies.
It will also enable women to step up their contribution to the achievement of climate and biodiversity goals, keeping global temperature increase to 1.5°C and restoring at least 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030.
Already, women worldwide use traditional knowledge and innovative solutions to address desertification, land degradation and drought. In India, irrigation systems developed by women farmers rely on rainwater harvesting. In Jordan, a plant nursery entirely run by women using state-of-the-art methodologies and protocols is producing high-quality native seedlings for land restoration.
The UNCCD has a long track record in placing gender equality firmly at the core of its mandate as a vital catalyst of progress. Gender-responsive land restoration is an obvious pathway to reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition.
When women are empowered to have a say in decision-making on land matters, entire communities and societies benefit, and these benefits can be passed on to future generations.
We must urgently change the way both women and land are treated. We must invest more in women as the custodians of healthy land and thriving communities. It’s time for women and girls to be at the forefront of land restoration efforts.
For this, governments must take action to assess and reform legal and regulatory frameworks, promote gender-responsive policies and public services, and support successful programmes that promote women’s rights to land and resources.
Ending discrimination against women in their access to, use of, and control over land and other resources is crucial. In doing so, we can create a more just and sustainable world for all.
Andrea Meza Murillo is Deputy Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Prior to joining the Convention, she served as Minister of Energy and Environment for the Government of Costa Rica. She brings over 20 years of expertise in sustainable development, having worked in more than 15 Latin American countries to formulate public policies, participate in international negotiations, and execute climate, conservation and restoration projects.
IPS UN Bureau
Photos from the women's rally in March 2020. Image from inmediahk.net (CC: AT-NC)
Upon the lifting of the pandemic-related public gathering restriction on March 1, 2023, a women’s rights group had planned a rally on March 5, the Sunday ahead of International Women’s Day. Yet, the organizer, the Hong Kong Women's Worker Association, called off the rally on the eve of the event on March 4, without providing any reason.
A protest group revealed that the city's police threatened to arrest its members while the police told the press that the reason behind the cancellation was “a balance of pros and cons,” claiming that the authority discovered that “violent groups” would appear at the rally.
For decades, it had been customary for local women’s rights groups to organize an annual solidary rally around International Women’s Day in early March. Thanks to pandemic-related public gathering restrictions, public assemblies and rallies were forbidden for almost three years.
In a press conference on March 2, the organizer said the police authority had given a “nod” for the rally, and later the same day, the organization officially received a “letter of no objection.” The women’s group began preparing the rally in early February, and it took over a month for the police to issue an official letter.
The group anticipated around 100 persons would join the rally to promote labor rights and gender equality.
However, waves of political pressure emerged ahead of the event.
Soon after the group announced its plan, pro-Beijing politicians started citing the necessity to uphold the Anti-Mask Law, which was enacted in October 2019 under the Emergency Regulations Ordinance, banning face coverings at both lawful and unlawful assemblies. Ronny Tong, a member of the government’s Executive Council, stressed that wearing a face mask to mitigate COVID-19 could not be used as an excuse to cover one’s face during rallies and that police officers had the authority to arrest those who wore masks in the rally.
During the 2019 anti-China extradition protests, many protesters wore masks to protect themselves from being identified or arrested for attending unlawful assemblies.
After the Women’s Worker Association called off the rally, a pro-democracy protest group, the League of Socialist Democrats, revealed in a statement that four of its members had received verbal threats from national security police officers on March 3. They were told that if they showed up at the rally, they would be arrested. In the statement, the group stressed:
Freedom of speech is under threat, and the right to protest is being trampled. This is the reality here. Regardless of its rhetoric in telling good stories about Hong Kong, the ruling elites could not cover up such a reality.
At the same time, the police said as the organizer called off the rally, the “no object letter” would be voided. The authority warned that any individual who gathered in the rally spot could be arrested for participating in an unlawful assembly.
Despite the call-off, more than 30 police officers were stationed around the Southorn Playground on Sunday. Laura Westbrook, a correspondent from South China Morning Post, tweeted:
According to the Public Order Ordinance, if three or more people assemble together and behave in a “disorderly, intimidating, insulting or provocative manner” that causes “a reasonable fear” or “a breach of peace,” this could be defined as an unlawful assembly. The maximum penalty is five years imprisonment.
Prior to the enactment of the National Security Law (NSL) on June 30, 2020, the police authorities had restricted their power in enforcing the Public Order Ordinance as the colonial law, which was enacted to crackdown the 1967 riots in Hong Kong, has considered in violation of the Bill of Rights (1991). For decades, civic groups only need to go through a notification procedure for hosting protests and rallies.
In fact, the previous women's day gathering in the city took place in March 2020, just months before the enactment of NSL.
In the past three years, many activists were jailed for violating the Public Order Ordinance. For example, in 2020, a dozen activists received six- to ten-month jail sentences for organizing and participating in the annual candlelight vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Massacre at Victoria Park on June 4, 2020. The vigil was held annually from 1990 until 2020 when the police banned the public gathering citing COVID-19 restrictions.
The police authorities did issue a dozen of “no objection letters” for public gatherings since the enactment of NSL, including Lunar New Year celebrations, school charity walks, church fundraising, and more.
Had it not been canceled, the women’s rights rally would have been the first public civil society gathering since the enactment of the National Security Law.
Germany's gender pay gap just won't go away
Timothy Rooks
03/07/2023March 7, 2023
Female workers in Germany are still paid less than their male colleagues in nearly every industry, confirms a new study. The authors are calling for action and an end to this unfair practice.
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https://p.dw.com/p/4OJP8
Another year, another batch of bad news for working women. In 2022, women in Germany continued to be at a disadvantage in the labor market in many respects, according to a new study from the Düsseldorf-based Institute of Economic and Social Research .
Coinciding with International Women's Day, the study highlights working hours, income and the lack of promotions as three big issues facing working women today. The latest study also confirmed that gender inequality exists across nearly all sectors of the country's economy, albeit in different ways.
To come to these conclusions the team looked at the latest data published by the Federal Statistical Office and the Federal Employment Agency, which covered 2021 and 2022. What they found may be surprising when considering the big untapped potential and the much talked about skilled-labor shortage in the country.
German gender pay gap in numbers
Still, it is always the gender pay gap, which is the difference in average gross earnings between men and women, that makes headlines.
In this case, the researchers estimated that in 2022 women in Germany earned 18% less on average compared with their male counterparts. Men made an average of €24.36 ($25.94) gross per hour across all sectors, while women earned €20.05 ($21.35) per hour before taxes.
The study looked deeper and divided workers into their different sectors. It found that though the female employment rate has risen in recent decades, many parts of the economy are still male-dominated. Those sectors include mechanical engineering, construction, civil engineering and freight transport. The service industry, on the other hand, has a much higher portion of female employees. These include jobs in areas like health care, social services and teaching.
The gender pay gap is a long-entrenched global phenomenon
Vuk Valcic/ZUMAPRESS/picture alliance
Of the 46 sectors investigated, the study found that in 45 of them, women earned less than men. The gender pay gap based on specific industries ranged from 4% in passenger and freight transport to 5% in social services, all the way up to 30% in health care and 32% in the legal and tax advice industry. The only exception was the postal service. Here, the gross hourly wage for women is 2% more than for men, though the base pay is quite low.
Looking at more than just the pay gap
The study looked at more than just pay. Women are disproportionately responsible for running the household and child care. It is a complex issue, but can this really be the answer to why they earn less? The study took working hours into consideration and found big differences. Across all business sectors, men worked more often in a full-time capacity, which can lead to promotions and more experience.
Additionally, more men were in leadership positions than women. In 26 out of 34 sectors for which data was available, women were less likely to hold managerial positions than men, the study found. There were no significant gender differences in the seven sectors. The only area where women led more is in the passenger and freight transport industry. Still, in general, men make more management decisions than women.
The researchers noted that a lot needs to be done to enforce gender pay equality, and suggested an equal opportunity law for the private sector that would oblige German companies to develop and implement equal opportunity strategies.
And Germany has a long way to go to achieve gender pay equality, since it has one of the largest gender pay gaps in all of Europe. In 2021, it was only slightly better than Switzerland, Austria and Estonia. The European Union has not been ignoring the issue.
It's not just a German problem
Last November, the European Commission calculated that overall in the EU women are paid 13% less than men on average for an equal job. This means that for every €1 a man earns, a woman will only earn 87 cents. That may not sound like a lot, but it can add up to around two months of a yearly salary.
The gap is closing, but over the past decade, it has only changed by 2.8% in Europe. There are also big differences between various EU countries. The get a handle on these gender pay gap problems the European Commission has introduced a number of directives on equal pay, pay transparency, work-life balance and introducing more women to company boards.
"Equal work deserves equal pay. This is a founding principle of the European Union. Solving the injustice of the gender pay gap cannot come without change to the structural imbalances in society," Vera Jourova, vice president of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, said in November 2022 on the occasion of European Equal Pay Day.
Edited by: Uwe HesslerGender gap at work far wider than expected, women's pay remains static, UN saysBy Michael Fitzpatrick - RFI
EUROPE
MAR 7, 2023
AFP/File
Women have a harder time accessing work globally than previously thought, while the gender gap in working conditions and pay has barely budged in two decades, the United Nations said on Monday, just two days before International Women's Day.
The findings, announced by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), are based on a new statistical approach to unemployment figures.
The new indicator developed by the ILO is called the Jobs Gap. It takes account of all persons without employment who are interested in finding work.
The revised figures paint a much bleaker picture of the situation of women in the world of work, compared to the more commonly used unemployment rate.
The new data shows that women still have a much harder time than men in finding a job.
According to the latest ILO figures, 15 percent of working-age women globally would like to work, but do not have a job, compared to 10.5 percent of men.
The jobs gap is particularly severe in developing countries where the proportion of women unable to find a job reaches 25 percent in some low-income countries.
"This gender gap has remained almost unchanged for two decades," the report says.
By contrast, official unemployment rates for women and men are very similar.
Women excluded disproportionately
This, the ILO says, is because the criteria used to determine if someone is officially unemployed tend to disproportionately exclude women.
The organisation points out that personal and family responsibilities, including unpaid care work, disproportionately affect women.
Such activities, it says, not only often prevent women from working, but also from actively searching for employment or being available to work on short notice, which are criteria for being considered unemployed.
The UN labour organisation found that the jobs gap was particularly severe in low-income countries, where nearly a quarter of women are unable to find a job.
For men, the corresponding rate was below 17 percent, the ILO said.
Gender pay gap remains vast
Access to employment is not the only problem.
The ILO adds that women tend to be overrepresented in certain types of vulnerable jobs, including helping out in relatives' businesses rather than working on their own account.
"This vulnerability, together with lower employment rates, takes a toll on women's earnings," the ILO says.
"Globally, for each dollar of labour income men earn, women earned only 51 cents."
The pay gap meanwhile varies widely between regions, with the figure dropping to 33 cents in low-income countries, but reaching 58 cents in high-income countries.
"This striking disparity in earnings is driven by both women's lower employment level, as well as their lower average earnings when they are employed," the UN body concludes.
International Women’s Day, 2023
Five Sharp Questions on Female Empowerment
By Katja Iversen
The following opinion piece is part of series to mark International Women’s Day, March 8.
NORMA, Italy, Mar 7 2023 (IPS) - International Women’s Day is right around the corner and it presents an obvious opportunity to dig into what female and empowerment means for different people.
INXO invited their female CEO and two female board members to answer five sharp political and personal questions.
The following is a shortened version of my answers. It is an adapted version of the original Danish version, which can be found here.
Katja Iversen– When you hear the words Female Empowerment – what do you think?
I think: “More of that”…. We need more gender equality. We need more women in economic and political power. And we need more women to feel more in the driver’s seat, be more powerful and more valued in their personal and professional lives.
– Where do you see the biggest obstacle to Women’s Empowerment – in the individual woman?
Women are often brought up to be liked. We are often socialized to put others’ needs before our own, to be seen not heard, to smooth conflicts, and not to spoil the party – and taught that we indeed do spoil it, if we are too loud, or claim our rights, and rightful share of power.
Hence, many girls and women don’t articulate their own needs and what they themselves want, but – consciously or unconsciously – live a life in service for others, whether it is the children, the partner, the parents or the workplace.
This is not only an individual problem, but very much also a systemic problem, which is underscored by the statistics, documenting that women shoulder by far the largest share of the unpaid care work at home, as well as the largest part of the unpaid voluntary work at work, adding up to more than US$10 trillions a year.
– … and the obstacle to Women’s Empowerment – in the outer world?
Apart from the current political push back on gender equality, women’s rights, and not least sexual rights, I see three groups of obstacles: systems, stereotypes and language.
Many of the existing power structures and systems in societies are keeping men in power.
The world values production, but not reproduction. We already spoke about the unpaid care work which needs to be recognized, reduced and redistributed. But add to that the motherhood penalty – the systematic disadvantage that women encounter in the workplace when they become mothers – and how sector’s and jobs with predominantly women in them often have lower worth and salaries. And don’t get me started on the tax systems or systematic lack of diversity and inclusion in top leadership.
Then there are the norms and stereotypes: How many times haven’t we heard women in power be called too loud, too much, too aggressive, or criticized on their body, dress, looks? “Good girls” are typically described and defined as sweet, caring, quiet and beautiful, while “real boys” must be strong, fast, energetic and assertive.
Let it be clear that these stereotypes don’t just hold women back, they also hold men back. When men for example, do not live up to the stereotypical image of the ‘real man’, who is tall, powerful, never cries, and earns a lot of money, they too can feel inadequate.
Language is gendered. There are so many phrases in our language that denigrate or disparage women – bossy, nasty, catty, chatty, ditzy, slutty, mousy, moody, flakey, blond, kept. Or reproduce the man as the one with influence and power: Chairman, fireman, business man, manmade, manpower, mankind. And if you want to diminish or make less of a man, there are plenty of gender slurs like sissy, queen, cunt, bitch available – or just tell him that he acts, run or cries like a girl.
Luckily how language reproduces gender norms HAS gained much more attention, and it has begun to change, not least thanks to young people, who are challenging that and gender stereotypes at large.
– How have you empowered yourself throughout life?
You can be what you can see, and I have always had good female role models who were inspiring and strong in different ways – Pippi Longstocking, Rosa Parks, Virginia Woolf, Eleanor Roosevelt, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Christine Lagarde and my grandmother just to name a few.
Also, I followed by my grandmother’s strong advice of getting an education and never become financially dependent on a man.
Even if my family does not come from money, I know I am privileged – and that I am fortunate that my parents instilled in me from an early age that I am good, loved and worthy, just the way I am. I know, I don’t have to be perfect to be loved, and I’m allowed to make mistakes. This has made me confident in trying new things, without fear of failing.
I’m also good at forgiving myself – and others. I actually think, that I am both smart, beautiful and talented, even if I don’t live up to the standard norms. If someone says otherwise, I don’t listen.
In general it is a way of holding women down and back, indicating that SHE is the less capable, less confident, less good at this or that. But it is not the women who need to be fixed, it is the systems.
– … and what is your best advice to other women if they want to empower themselves?
The first piece of advice: You are good enough, you are strong enough, and you have enough worth in yourself. All women should remember that. We are not only worth something in relation to others. We are not only worth something or worthy of something when we give, care and nurture.
The second: We must stand up for ourselves and stand up for each other. Show some good old sister solidarity – and not just to women who look like us, or are privileged like us. Women should play each other good, and lift each other up.
The third: Be aware of what you want and what you desire – and this is both in relation to sexual desire and life in general. Desire (and pleasure) is a good thing and can be a huge positive, driving force, as can breaking habits and being more conscious about the choices you make every day.
Imagine if you for a period of time consistently could asked yourself: What do I want to do? Who do I want to see? How do I want to show up in life today? Imagine what an energy and power that could unleash.
Katja Iversen is Executive Adviser, Author, Advocate, and Professional Board Member
IPS UN Bureau
‘Lack of participation in peace process poses a challenge for women’-RJMEC
RJMEC's Amb. Charles Tai Gituai. (File photo)
The head of the Joint Monitoring & Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) has said that access to power, inclusivity, and effective participation for women in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement remains a challenge.
Amb. Charles Tai Gituai while speaking during a workshop convened by RJMEC in collaboration with the ceasefire monitoring body (CTSAMVM) and the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO), said that even though Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 on the role of women in conflict resolution and peace processes, which calls for the adoption of gender perspectives, especially of women’s and girls’ needs in peace agreements, and their implementation mechanisms, and for the protection and respect of
He noted that lack of proper access to power, inclusivity, and effective participation in the peace process and gender bias, continue to hinder the advancement of women in South Sudan.
“Unless such challenges are adequately addressed, perspectives and concerns of women will be overlooked in politics as well as in the implementation of the Roadmap of the peace agreement,” AMb. Gituai said. “This, therefore, calls for women to be respected and not to be ignored or undermined, and women should be assertive in making their voices heard.”
He called for the inclusion of women in key institutions such as the Political Parties Council, the National Elections Commission, and the National Constitutional Review Commission.
Also related to the Constitution-making process, he said, is the establishment of the Preparatory Sub-Committee for the National Constitutional Conference, and recruitment of the Constitutional Drafting Committee.
According to Amb. Gituai, the gender provisions of the Agreement enhances the inclusion and empowerment of women, as they cover the participation and representation of women in decision‐making positions, in all governmental bodies, and institutions and mechanisms that drive political, economic, social and judicial reforms, as well as the constitution-making process.
“This remains equally valid and important in the Roadmap,” he said.
The Agreement mandates a 35 percent level of women’s participation in such bodies, and the nominees to these bodies need to reflect the gender, political, social, ethnic, religious, and regional diversity of South Sudan.
“RJMEC takes these considerations very seriously, and as we conduct our monitoring and evaluation of the peace agreement, we will ensure that these parameters get the proper level of attention,” Amb. Gituai said. “It is evident that the letter and spirit of the gender provisions in the Revitalized Peace Agreement are deep and far-reaching, and aimed at creating a conducive environment for women in South Sudan to actively participate in the political, economic, and social life of their country.”
The workshop brought together over 60 South Sudanese women under the theme “Understanding the Roadmap and women’s participation in the implementation of the Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan (R-ARCSS).”
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