By Trish Williams, Media & Gender Consultant, UK
UN figures show that while women form over 50% of the world's population they:
- own just one hundredth of the world's property
- earn one tenth of the world's income
- perform two thirds of the world's work
- form two thirds of the world's illiterates
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is often described as an international bill of rights for women. It defines what constitutes discrimination against women and suggests an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
Millennium Development Goals
This section of the toolkit examines the social and economic reasons for promoting gender equality, which along with the empowerment of women, is one of the concerns of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
According to the 2005 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report on the 'State of the World Population' the other seven MDGs can only be achieved by putting gender inequality and reproductive health at the forefront of government agendas.
Millennium Development Goals
- eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
- achieve universal primary education
- promote gender equality and empower women
- reduce child mortality
- improve maternal health
- combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
- ensure environmental sustainability
- develop a global partnership for development
Social areas included in this section are: