October 4th: UN Women
Welcome to Day 4 of 11 Days of Action!
We will discuss how Generation Equality can give voice to young women and girls and shape their future. This year’s theme of the International Day of the Girl, “My Voice, Our Equal Future” encourages all of us to stand with girls and, together, reimagine a better world for all humanity.
Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action with us.
This year we celebrate 25 years of the adoption of the most visionary agenda that set out how to remove the systemic barriers that hold women and girls back from equal participation in all areas of life.
To commemorate this anniversary, UN Women launched the Generation Equality campaign with a special focus on reaching out to young women and girls. The Generation Equality Forum and the Action Coalitions also put young women and girls at the center. You can learn more here.
These are some ways you can take action:
Generation Equality demands…
Freedom from violence and discrimination
Violence against women and girls is a violation of human rights affecting 1 in 3 women globally. Learn the facts and use your voice to advocate for comprehensive laws, policies and services for survivors.
Organize dialogues and talks at school, colleges, houses of worship and with your peers and networks, through social media, sports and other platforms to raise awareness. Encourage religious and community leaders to have dialogues within their communities.
Join our 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign in November, Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands against Rape.
Environmental justice
There are many ways to be a champion for the environment.
Raise awareness by writing an article for a school or local newspaper on mitigating climate change, conserving biodiversity or promoting sustainable land use.
Identify and support climate actions that women, including young women, around the world are already doing, for example, using apps to avoid food waste, modify and track one’s carbon emissions, or developing renewable energy technology.
Equal economic rights and opportunities for all
Women’s economic equality is their right, and also good for business and sustainable development. Globally, more than 2.7 billion women are legally restricted from having the same choice of jobs as men, and women earn 77 per cent of every dollar that men earn. Learn the real facts from UN Women and EmpowerWomen.
Join or start new campaigns for gender inequalities that you experience in your everyday life, for example, equal pay for work of equal value, paid parental leave for at least 14 weeks, and gender parity on corporate/organizational boards. Work with a school, university, organization or company to create these posters and viral social campaigns. Don’t forget to add #GenerationEquality!
Encourage CEOs in your community to sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles, a strategic framework for companies of all sizes to take action on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Access to sexual and reproductive health and rights
Sexual and reproductive rights are a human right for all. But not everyone can enjoy their rights and make choices about their own bodies because of restrictive laws, policies, and ideas.
In your community, advocate for young people and adolescents to have access to gender-sensitive, youth-oriented, non-discriminatory, rights- based health services, and engage them in decision-making for their own health care.
Find out and share information about health services for women and young people, including LGBTQ people in your community.
Justice and peace for all
When women are included in peace agreements, peace lasts longer, and yet, women constitute only 2 per cent of mediators, 8 per cent of negotiators, and 5 per cent of witnesses and signatories in all major peace processes. Involving young women in post-conflict reconstruction is transformative in rebuilding inclusive, gender-equal, and peaceful societies.
Conduct awareness raising campaigns and community radio discussions on the role of young women in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
Organize capacity-building initiatives and inter-generational dialogues to increase young women’s meaningful participation in peacebuilding. Organize a young women’s peace marathon to bring women from diverse ethnic, political and religious backgrounds together in conflict-prone communities.
Equal participation in politics and decision-making
Only 24.3 per cent of all national parliamentarians are women. Whether in our governments or on our corporate boards, women are far from reaching equal representation.
Reach out to your national representatives to see how they are supporting gender balance in decision-making through UN Women’s Call to Action for Parliamentarians.
Contact your local representatives about women’s representation in your local government.
Be a leader in your own community by connecting this information to the Sustainable Development Goals with this “Localizing the SDGs” toolkit.
Check out Not Too Young to Run, a global campaign to support young people’s right to run for office.