UN Women - PragueMUN

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UN Women Uni ted Nati onsEnti ty forGenderEquali tyand theEmpowermentofW omen

Study Gui de

Prague, February 2016 Prague Model United Nations Conference Model United Nations Prague o.s. Jaurisova 515/4 140 00 Prague 4 The Czech Republic Web: www.praguemun.cz Authors: Clarissa Tabossa, Linda Slapakova Graphic Design: Jiří Drozd, MUN Prague

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Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 History ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Key Roles ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 Key Documents .................................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction to the Committee topics ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Topic A: Women in Decision-Making .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Important Resolutions, Documents and International Conventions.................................................................................. 8 Women in Political Decision-Making........................................................................................................................................... 10 Women in Economic Decision-Making......................................................................................................................................... 11 Fundamental challenges..................................................................................................................................................................12 Country and Blocs Positions ...........................................................................................................................................................13 European Union: ............................................................................................................................................................................13 Latin America................................................................................................................................................................................. 14 Saudi Arabia................................................................................................................................................................................... 14 Somalia and the Sub-Saharan Region ................................................................................................................................ 14 Topic B: Burden of Poverty on Women ............................................................................................................................................ 16 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 16 The Beijing Platform for Action, MDGs and SDGs ................................................................................................................... 17 Main challenges .................................................................................................................................................................................. 19 Country and Blocs Positions ..........................................................................................................................................................22 United States of America ...........................................................................................................................................................22 Brazil .................................................................................................................................................................................................22 Malawi ..............................................................................................................................................................................................23 South Africa ................................................................................................................................................................................... 24 Members of UN Women in PragueMUN 2016................................................................................................................................ 24 Further Readings .......................................................................................................................................................................................25 References .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27

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Introduction History The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, UN Women, is a relatively new organization, created in 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly. It was created in order to compile key already existing parts of UN system which dealt with gender equality and women empowerment issues: the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI), and the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)1. By merging these parts, the UN aimed at attaining a more efficient and coordinated work in improving lives of women around the world. The UN Women also works closely with inter-governmental bodies such as the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), a functional commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) stablished in 19462, as well as with member states, and civil society.

Key Roles The UN Women key roles are the following: 



 

To assist inter-governmental bodies, for instance the CSW, in the creation of policies, and in setting main global standard and norms in the wide scope of women’s rights and protection; To assist Member States in the implementation of these standards, by providing suitable technical and financial support to states that request assistance, and to engage in effective partnerships with civil society; To guide and to coordinate the UN work on gender equality; To promote accountability by different actors, and to regularly monitor the progress of these actors.3

The UN Women works mainly in eliminating discrimination, empowering women and girls, and achieving gender equality. Furthermore, “UN Women focuses on priority areas that are 1 UN Women – About UN Women http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women 2 UN Women - Commission on the Status of Women http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw 3 UN Women – About UN Women http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women

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UN Women fundamental to women’s equality, and that can unlock progress across the board”4 such as: leadership and political participation, economic empowerment, eliminating all forms of violence against women, women in peace and security, women in the context of humanitarian action, the role of women in government and national planning, the links between gender inequality and HIV and AIDs, and currently women in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The delegates must keep in mind these key roles when drafting their position paper as well as when drafting resolutions during the conference. It is very important to bear in mind the roles and competences of the given committee in order to propose solutions to the topics being discussing that are within the actual scope and competences of the UN Women.

Key Documents Some of the main International agreements related to Women’s rights and which guide the work of the UN Women are the following:    

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Optional Protocol; Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (PFA): considered the blueprint for advancing women’s rights; UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (2000); Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): all human rights issues have also a gender dimension and the SDGs also impact directly on women’s lives.

In relation to the girl child, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child (UNCRC) and the two Optional Protocols are also relevant documents.

Introduction to the Committee topics The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, stressed that “no country has yet achieved equality between men and women”5. Throughout this study guide, the delegates will be able to identify some of those key existing gender gaps, especially to what concern women in decision making process, and burden of poverty on women.

4 UN Women – What we do http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do 5 UN News Center, No country has yet achieved equality between men and women – UN human rights chief http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51879#.VkWlGrcvfIU

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Prague Model United Nations 2016 Both topics being discussed in the UN Women committee, PragueMUN 2016, are among key areas of concern identified by the Beijing Declaration and Platform for action. Furthermore, the topic B is closely linked to the first goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), End Poverty in All Forms and Everywhere. Topic A is as well linked to the SDG goal 5, Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls. Yet, it is important to stress that a holistic approach to the issues may be the most efficient way to look at these topics, as gender inequality stretches over many areas which affect each other. In this sense for example, the lack of women’s representation in decision-making processes hinders the eradication of poverty, and vice versa, the burden of poverty infringes women’s rights to be included in political and economic decisionmaking. One must therefore bear in mind that all aspects and scope of gender inequality are interconnected and therefore, delegates must try to stablish the main links of these areas as well as the Sustainable Development Goals. Budgetary and institutional measures must also be taken into consideration by delegates, when discussing about both boosting women’s role and participation in decision making processes and when trying to seek solutions to the situation of women under poverty conditions. The next two sections should serve to give delegates an introduction into the main discussion and negotiation topics of this committee, however delegates are strongly encouraged to expand their research into specific aspects of the topics in preparation of the conference.

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UN Women: Topic A

Topic A: Women in Decision-Making “Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspective at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.” (Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Article 181)

Introduction The inclusion and participation of women in decision-making is one of the most pivotal aspects of the global agenda on gender equality. According to Helen Clark, the United Nations Development Program Administrator, equal representation of men and women in decision making is a “necessary condition for women´s interests to be fully taken into account and properly addressed”6. This is further reiterated by the Fourth World Conference on Women, which took place in Beijing in 1995, and which states that “Equality in political decision-making performs a leverage function without which it is highly unlikely that a real integration of the equality dimension in government policy-making is feasible. In this respect, women’s equal participation in political life plays a pivotal role in the general process of the advancement of women” (Art.181). But also vice versa, several studies as well as international conventions and resolutions confirm that inclusion of women in politics and decision-making plays an important role in increasing government efficiency, transparency, enhancing global development and furthering “all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security”7 Global data indicates that although there has been significant improvement since the launching of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1990, gender equality in national and international decision-making is still far from achieved. Furthermore, success is slow and uneven, and there are 6 United Nations Development Programme, (2014). Gender Equality in Public Administration. [online] United Nations Development Programme http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20 Governance/Women-s%20Empowerment/GEPA%20Global%20Report%20May%202014.pdf 7 see eg A/RES/58/142; United Nations Development Programme, (2014). Gender Equality in Public Administration. [online] United Nations Development Programme. Available at: http://www.undp.org/ content/dam/undp/library/Democratic%20Governance/Women-s%20Empowerment/GEPA%20Global%2 0Report%20May%202014.pdf

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Prague Model United Nations 2016 major differences between separate regions and countries, for instance with the Nordic countries leading the rankings and the Pacific region on the other side of the spectrum8. Although the numbers of women in politics and national decision-making bodies are increasing, many countries are still far from meeting the target thresholds for women´s representation. As the UN Women Call for Action states, 20 years after the landmark Beijing Declaration, “no country has achieved gender equality across all areas of public and private life”, and further, in the current pace of change it will take 30 years until women are equally represented in decision-making9. According to the 2015 Women in Politics Report developed by the Inter-Parliamentary Union and UN Women, only 41 single or lower houses met the 30 per cent threshold of inclusion of women, which is generally understood as the key benchmark for women´ inclusion10. Less than a quarter of all parliamentarians worldwide are women, and as of August 2015, only 12 out of almost 200 national governments were led by female Heads of Governments. Furthermore, only roughly 17 per cent of minister positions are occupied by women, with the majority in sectors such as social, gender, and family affairs. This clearly shows that women are still excluded from many decisionmaking sectors.

Important Resolutions, Documents and International Conventions The global agenda concerning women´s political representation and participation in decisionmaking is based on the Beijing Platform for Action established on the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. Chapter IV of the Declaration includes two strategic objectives that are to be taken by various parties, including national governments, political parties and the United Nations, in concern of the political representation of women. Those are:  

Strategic Objective G1: Take measures to ensure women´s equal access to and full participation in power structures and decision-making. Strategic Objective G2: Increase women´s capacity to participate in decision-making and leadership.

8 UN Women, (2015). Facts and Figures: Leadership and Political Participation. [online] Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures 9 UN Women, (2015). Women Leaders: Time to Step it up for Gender Equality, Call for Action. Santiago: UN Women. 10 UN Women, (2015). Facts and Figures: Leadership and Political Participation. [online] Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures

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UN Women: Topic A These two objectives were further reiterated by the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), particularly its Articles 7 and 8, stating that all states should take measures to ensure women´s rights to vote and be eligible for elections, to be eligible to participate in the formulation of national policies as well as to hold public office, and have equal opportunities to participate in NGOs and other associations (Article 7), and lastly to have the possibility to represent national governments or organizations at the international level (Article 8). Building up on these Conventions, many resolutions have been passed by the United Nations General Assembly in regard to women´s participation in political affairs and decisionmaking, among them resolutions in 200311 and 201112 respectively. Both resolutions reiterate the importance of the CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action, and urge faster implementation of the commitments by the international community. Both resolutions also demonstrate the most prominent difficulty which women are facing in regard to their participation in decision-making. Although Member States often adapt their legislation to meet the standards of gender equality in national power structures and decision-making institutions, the reality is often a different story. Despite their legal parity with men, women often face non-institutionalized discrimination, barriers that make coping family life and holding a public office or a decisionmaking position extremely difficult, and a lack of education and training required for a career in leadership or political decision-making13. This connotes the difference between achieving formal and substantial equality between men and women, which is encapsulated in the 2015 UN Women Progress Report. According to the report, “While formal equality refers to the adoption of laws and policies that treat women and men equally, substantive equality is concerned with the results and outcomes of these, ensuring that they do not maintain, but rather alleviate, the inherent disadvantage that particular experience”14. As confirmed by several other reports, it is rather social structures, cultural practices, stereotypes and “gendered perceptions of leadership and the phenomena of the ‘glass ceiling’ and the ‘glass cliff”15 that pose the biggest challenge to women today.

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United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/58/142 United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/66/130 United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/66/130 UN Women, (2015). Progress of the World´s Women 2015-2016: Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights. [online] Available at: http://progress.unwomen.org/en/2015/pdf/UNW_progressreport.pdf European Institute for Gender Equality, (2015). Gender Equality in Power and Decision-Making Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States. [online] Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Available at: http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/ mh0215090enn.pdf

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Women in Political Decision-Making Undoubtedly, representation of women in national parliaments and governments is one of the most important indicators influencing women´s political empowerment. Since the inclusion in political parties and election into national parliaments is considered a fundamental step towards a potential election into a governmental position, political parties are a key platform for gender streamlining. Even though the global number of female parliamentarians has steadily increased in the last 20 years, by almost 12 per cent in total, women still only account for less than a quarter of all national parliaments worldwide16. In terms of membership in political parties, women are considered to account for around 40-50 per cent worldwide, although this reflects broader problematics that women are in fact over-represented at low levels of the political or party hierarchy and underrepresented in leadership or more senior positions17. This demonstrates the existence of either formal or informal barriers which prevent women from advancing to political leadership positions. Indeed, according to a report published by IDEA, not even 10 per cent of all presidency positions over the parliament or one of its chambers are held by women. The inclusion of female candidates in political parties and parliamentary elections cannot be overstated thought. The lack of female candidates represents a lack of female representatives, which means that women in the population are marginalized and their right to vote is in fact limited because the majority of candidates are male18. This in consequence means that gender equality can benefit political parties since its candidates represent and therefore attract a larger part of the electorate19. Although the number of female Head of State and/or Government has reached a peak of 19 in 2015, this is in reality still a very little number20. Furthermore, the number of female ministers is also considerably small and way below the desirable 30 per cent threshold of gender equality. 16

UN Women, (2015). Facts and Figures: Leadership and Political Participation. [online] Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures 17 United Nations Development Programme and National Democratic Institute, (2012). Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Guidebook to Promote Women´s Political Participation. [online] Available at: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/gender/gender%20and%20governance/EmpoweringW omenFor%20StrongerPoliticalParties.pdf 18 Shvedova, N. (2005). Obstacles To Women´s Participation in Parliament. In: J. Ballington and A. Karam, ed., Women in Parliament:Beyond Numbers, 2nd ed. International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, pp.33-50. 19 United Nations Development Programme and National Democratic Institute, (2012). Empowering Women for Stronger Political Parties: A Guidebook to Promote Women´s Political Participation. [online] Available at: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/gender/gender%20and%20governance/EmpoweringW omenFor%20StrongerPoliticalParties.pdf 20 UN News Center, (2015). Launched at UN, latest ‘Women in Politics’ map reflects sluggish progress in gender equality. [online] Available at: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=50294#.VnIIS1KrlB7

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UN Women: Topic A Most recently, only one country in the world, Canada, has formed a cabinet with gender parity, indicating 50/50 representation, among the ministers. As mentioned above, it is often also the case that gender equality strongly varies across topical areas, as women are often put into positions in the areas such as social and family affairs or education but other areas such as foreign affairs, security or defence are dominated by men21. Nevertheless, participation of women in areas such as foreign affairs and security is just as important, as male and female agendas often contain different perspectives, focus points and strategies, and inclusion of women in affairs such as negotiations, conflict prevention and conflict resolution are considered a crucial contribution to global efforts to promote peace and security22.

Women in Economic Decision-Making In corporate and business sectors, the advancement of women into decision-making or leadership levels has been particularly slow. Even though the number of women working in companies is increasing, a very little proportion of corporate or economic decision-makers are women. In 2013, women only accounted for roughly 14-16 per cent of boards of European companies and economic organizations. In OECD countries, only about 5 per cent on average of the executive bodies are women23. Nevertheless, in economic just as in political decision-making, diversity in terms of gender is extremely important, as it contributes different opinions and perspectives to the formulation of policies and agendas. Research indicates that companies sometimes profit more when they are led by women CEOs or women on their boards24. However, according to Sheryl Sandberg, the real problem lies in social attitudes towards women that pursue success, because “success and likability is positively correlated for men and negatively correlated for women which means as a woman becomes more successful she is less liked”25. Furthermore, even though women currently account for around 60 per cent of university graduates, they tend to be employed in worse positions in

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European Institute for Gender Equality, (2015). Gender Equality in Power and Decision-Making Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States. [online] Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Available at: http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/files/documents/mh0215 090enn.pdf see for example United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/66/130 Davos 2013 - Women in Economic Decision-making. (2013). [video] youtube.com: World Economic Forum. http://wappp.hks.harvard.edu/files/wappp/files/gender_diversity.pdf?m=1407423790 Dilek, E. (2013). Women in Economic Decision Making. [online] The Progressive Press. Available at: http://www.progressivepress.net/women-in-economic-decision-making/

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Prague Model United Nations 2016 companies26. In less developed countries, the most important obstacle is the gender gap in education, as many sectors of education are not available to women27.

Fundamental challenges The structural and socio-cultural obstacles for women that prevent them from holding senior positions in political and economic decision-making are vast. Politics, as well as economics, are traditionally understood as the areas of men and specifically numerous national political structures and cultural stereotypes pose significant challenges to women wishing to run for a public office. Shvedova argues that women in parliamentary elections and structural procedures are often marginalized due to lack of financial support for political campaigns of female candidates, the lack of a supportive working environment for female Parliamentarians and the obstacles posed by culturally and socially “prescribed nurturing roles of mother, wife, sister and grandmother”, which can often not be coped with work in political decision-making28. Other obstacles which fall more into the cultural spectrum are posed by societal systems themselves, characterized by patriarchal or gender-hierarchical structures of the society. This is self-explanatory in the sense that in societies or communities in which women are fundamentally excluded from political affairs and are culturally assigned tasks of house holding and child and family care, their participation in decision-making is severely hindered and a change in gender equality in decision-making in the quantitative sense would require a change in the broader cultural or socio-structural sense29. This can be particularly problematic in patriarchal societies such as in many of the Arab countries, in which men are often considered to be in control of the women´s public life, because men are responsible for the protection and safety of the women. In connection to conservative religious traditions, women are therefore often fundamentally excluded from the public sphere and their positions in society may be limited to the private sphere and family environment. Needless to say that some political Islamic parties have supported female candidates in the past, in many countries and societies the political sphere is also

26 Davos 2013 - Women in Economic Decision-making. (2013). [video] youtube.com: World Economic Forum. 27 Davos 2013 - Women in Economic Decision-making. (2013). [video] youtube.com: World Economic Forum. 28 Shvedova, N. (2005). Obstacles To Women´s Participation in Parliament. In: J. Ballington and A. Karam, ed., Women in Parliament:Beyond Numbers, 2nd ed. [online] International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, pp.33-50. 29 Overseas Development Institute, (2015). Women’s voice and leadership in decision-making: Assessing the evidence. [online] London: Overseas Development Institute. Available at: http://www.odi.org/sites/ odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9627.pdf

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UN Women: Topic A considered “not a safe and secure place” for women30. The difficulty of many Arab societies to cope with the notion of female empowerment and participation of women in political affairs and decision-making has also been demonstrated through the difficulty of many countries in coping their national legislations with International Conventions such as CEDAW, and the failure of many policies in addressing gender inequality and in fact striving towards maintaining the “status quo” of traditional patriarchy and gender hierarchy in society31 32. Lastly, especially in developing and less-developed countries, the lack of education or skills training is a crucial challenge for women and girls. There is enough evidence which indicates that empowerment of women in society results from the combination of increasing economic as well as social and cultural capital, such as education, awareness raising and collective action, as well as legal and technological skills and knowledge33.

Country and Blocs Positions The following section provides an overview on the main position of either regional blocks or particular countries on the topic. In relation to the regional blocs, it is relevant to mention the disparities among countries within the bloc itself, which should be taken into consideration by the delegates.

European Union: The European Union (EU) has, already for a certain period of time, taken key steps in promoting balanced participation of women in decision making processes. Their focus is on participation in both private and public sectors. However, a deeper examination on the situation of the EU itself shows that women are still underrepresented in decision making positions, and “while the European institutions have given special attention to recruitment and promotion policies, the

30 Sabbagh, A. (2005). The Arab States: Enhancing Women´s Political Participation. In: J. Ballington and A. Karam, ed., Women in Parliament:Beyond Numbers, 2nd ed. [online] International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, pp.52-71. 31 Said-Foqahaa, N. and Maziad, M. (2011). Arab Women: Duality of Deprivation in Decision-making under Patriarchal Authority. Hawwa, 9(1), pp.234-272. 32 Sabbagh, A. (2005). The Arab States: Enhancing Women´s Political Participation. In: J. Ballington and A. Karam, ed., Women in Parliament:Beyond Numbers, 2nd ed. [online] International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, pp.52-71. Available at: http://www.idea.int/publications/wip2/upload/Arab_World.pdf 33 Overseas Development Institute, (2015). Women’s voice and leadership in decision-making: Assessing the evidence. [online] London: Overseas Development Institute. Available at: http://www.odi.org/sites/ odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9627.pdf

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Prague Model United Nations 2016 gender balance has not been met either in the committees or in bodies at all levels in the Member States”34

Latin America The beginning of the decade was marked by female leadership in Latin America with Dilma Rousseff in Brazil, Michele Bachelet in Chile, and Christina Kirchner in Argentina. The political leadership in high posts, yet, does not reflect accurately the reality of those countries and of many other countries in Latin America, in which “pervasive structural factors still hinder or limit the full exercise of women’s political rights in the region”35. Regarding this region, an interesting topic can also be on how to engage indigenous women in the decision making processes.

Saudi Arabia Women in Saudi Arabia can, since 2015, be an active actor in the decision making process. On August 2015 women in Saudi Arabia were allowed for the first time in history to start registering for voting; on December 2015 women were allowed to vote for the first time. They are now also allowed to run for elections. This is considered a step forward in a country very criticized by the way women are treated.

Somalia and the Sub-Saharan Region In Somalia women are still lacking protection and are not guaranteed basic rights, a result of a patriarchal society, deeply rooted in cultural and religious limitations which hamper the access of women to main roles in the society, as well as their possibility to play a relevant role in decision making processes. The UN Women has been working to help to change this situation, such as for instance through the program “Women lead and participate in decision making at all levels”, whose aim is to increase “opportunities for women’s leadership by tracking representation and participation of women in political parties and political decision making (…) [and] to influence peace talks, recovery/peacebuilding planning processes and the 2016 election processes”36. According to a report organized by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in cooperation with the E-Network of National Gender Equality Machineries 34 EU- Lex. Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:c10920 35 UN Women (2014): Political Empowerment of Women – Framework for Strategic, Latin America and the Caribbean. pp. 10 36 UN Women Africa (2015) Somalia. Available at: http://africa.unwomen.org/en/where-we-are/eastern-andsouthern-africa/somalia

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UN Women: Topic A in “more than 20 Africa countries have adopted mandatory or voluntary quotas”37 and “women –particularly young women and women from marginalized groups– report that they have difficulty engaging in or influencing the policy process in their countries”38. For more information about key countries in the Africa continent, the reported cited is strongly recommended.

37 Organized by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2007). REPORT - Online discussion on Women, political participation and decision-making in Africa. Available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/TechnicalCooperation/docs/Online%20 Discussion%20Report%20Africa%20FINAL.pdf 38 Ibid

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Topic B: Burden of Poverty on Women Introduction The fact that gender equality and poverty eradication affect and influence each other is a commonly accepted fact: Over the last few decades, a phenomenon generally known as “feminization of poverty” has developed, connoting the disproportionate suffering of women and girls under the burden of poverty. Globally, today more than 800 million people live in extreme poverty, and estimates show that women and girls could account for almost three quarters of this number, despite the enormous reduction of extreme poverty since the 1990s and specifically since the introduction of the Millennium Development Goals39. The vulnerability of women effected by poverty, malnutrition, but also lack of access to health care and education, effectively prevents women from becoming economically and politically empowered, and hinders their efforts for equality. On reverse, the lack of education and skills training, cultural and social structures cause that women are, more likely to remain under the poverty line; not being able to find employment and support their families. This creates a “cycle of poverty”, in which “women lack access to resources and services to change their situation”, they are more vulnerable and exposed to economic disturbances, and their fundamental rights are violated. According to Valentine M. Moghadam, “if poverty is to be seen as a denial of human rights, it should be recognized that women among the poor suffer doubly, from the denial of their human rights – first on account of gender inequality, and second on account of poverty”40. The concept of poverty has changed in the course of the last century, but in the sense in which poverty is often conceptualized today, it entails more than just the lack of purchasing power, household income or consumption, but stretches to indicator such as work intensity, literacy, level of education, access to land, employment opportunities, wage differentials, age at 39 United Nations, (2015). The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. Available at: http://www.un.org/ millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July%201).pdf [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. 40 Moghadam, V. (2005). The 'Feminisation of Poverty' and Women's Human Rights. Gender Equality and Development Section. [online] Available at: http://www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cpadocs/Feminization_of_ Poverty.pdf [Accessed 18 Dec. 2015].

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UN Women: Topic B first marriage, fertility rates, mortality and morbidity rates from illness, homelessness and inadequate housing, and social discrimination and exclusion(2)4142. This widened definition of poverty is captured in the concept of “human poverty”, which is, according to UNEP, defined as “lack of basic human capabilities: illiteracy, malnutrition, abbreviated life span, poor maternal health, illness from preventable diseases”43. Lastly, it has been globally recognized that there is a gender dimension of poverty that has to be specifically addressed within the framework of global development efforts.

The Beijing Platform for Action, MDGs and SDGs The Beijing Platform for Action (PfA) has already been introduced above. On the 40th session of the UN Committee on the Status of Women, the governments of countries all over the world committed, among eleven other areas, to enhance their efforts to alleviate the burden of poverty that women and girls have to carry and have been disproportionately sharing over the decades following up to the conference. The document in particular recognizes the extent to which women in developing countries have been affected by poverty as a result of structural changes in the global economy as well as national macro-economic policies, and “the process of political, economic and social transformation” in general44. Furthermore, as the Declaration stresses, social and cultural biases and discrimination of women from certain economic and public sectors and the “rigidity of socially ascribed gender roles” is a significant factor affecting women’s welfare. The PfA introduced four strategic objectives that states as well as non-state actors pledged to enhance and incorporate in their agendas. These included the review and adoption of “macroeconomic policies and development strategies that address the needs and efforts of women in poverty”, the revision of legal and administrative practices to “ensure women’s equal rights and access to economic resources”, the provision of savings and credit mechanisms to 41

United Nations, (1995). Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Available at: http://beijing20.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/pfa_e_final_web.pdf# page=39 [Accessed 23 Dec. 2015]. 42 Eapn.eu, (2015). How is poverty measured?. Available at: http://www.eapn.eu/en/what-is-poverty/how-ispoverty-measured [Accessed 19 Dec. 2015]. 43 unep.org, (n.d.). Some Basic Poverty Definitions. [online] Available at: http://www.unep.org/training/ programmes/Instructor%20Version/Part_2/Activities/Dimensions_of_Human_Well-Being/Poverty/Core/ Some_Basic_Poverty_Definitions.pdf [Accessed 18 Dec. 2015]. 44 United Nations, (1995). Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. [online] United Nations. Available at: http://beijing20.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/pfa_e_final_web.pdf# page=39 [Accessed 23 Dec. 2015].

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Prague Model United Nations 2016 facilitate women’s access to financial resources and institutions, and the development of “genderbased methodologies”. The introduction of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the Millennium Development Declaration in 2000 has marked a great success in global efforts to eradicate poverty as well as improve the situation of women worldwide and specifically in less developed and developing countries. Despite these positive developments, 15 years after the introduction of the MDGs, women still fall victims to extreme poverty more likely than men. Although the situation of women strongly varies across regions, for example in the Caribbean, the likelihood of women to live in poverty in contrast to their male counterparts has increased since 1997 until 2012 from a 108 to 100, 117 to 100 ratio, meaning that per 100 men there are now 117 women in poor households45. Women furthermore remain disadvantaged on labour markets as well as in education in many regions in the world such as Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. According to the UNDP, women with the same level of education as men continue to have higher unemployment rates in most of the countries where specific data is available. Lastly, especially in developing countries women suffer greater risks in terms of health and illness prevention, especially in terms of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and maternal and pregnancy health care. Whereas the MDGs have been criticized by many for not including gender perspectives and gender-specific targets and measures, gender has been included to a much larger extent in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, embedded in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which has been adopted by the UN General Assembly last year as a follow-up agenda on the MDGs, and includes 169 integrated targets for global sustainable development46. The most relevant of the SDGs for this Topic, Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere, includes several points that include the spectrum of gender inequality. Specifically, SDG 1.4 describes that “By 2030, ensure that all men and women, in particular the poor and the vulnerable, have equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to basic services, ownership and control over land and other forms of property, inheritance, natural resources, appropriate new technology and financial services, including microfinance”47. Reiterating the Beijing PfA, Target 45 United Nations, (2015). The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. [online] New York: United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July %201).pdf [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. 46 See UN General Assembly A/RES/70/1 47 Sustainabledevelopment.un.org, (2015). Sustainable Development Goals:Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. [online] Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300 [Accessed 19 Dec. 2015].

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UN Women: Topic B 1.b further stresses the need for gender-sensitive development strategies to “support accelerated investment in poverty eradication actions”. SDG 5 further focuses on gender equality across all areas of private and public life. Most importantly in connection to the topic of poverty, Target 5.a stresses all parties to “Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws”. This is particularly important in consideration of the fact that despite the high participation rate of women in agriculture as general workforce, women remain to be far less likely to own or inherit land than men. According to UN Women, only 20 per cent of landowners globally are women48. This and many other cultural, social and structural challenges continue to prevent the improvement of the welfare, health and safety of women in both developed and developing countries.

Main challenges Although the level of women’s empowerment worldwide has been significantly improved over the last few decades, women nowadays still face gender-specific challenges that make them more vulnerable to poverty, hunger and disease, as well as more likely to remain in poverty in contrast to their male counterparts. As Valentine Moghadam notes, “for men poverty is often the consequence of unemployment, and a job is generally an effective remedy, while female poverty often exists even when a woman works full time”49. This stipulates firstly that the fact that wage gaps are still a significant obstacle for many countries, societies and economies worldwide, secondly that it is often women’s social needs and circumstances that are not taken into account by national economic policies and social security systems, and in connection to that also the fact that often women’s non-institutionalized labour, such as family and child care, remains unremunerated and not included in national income measurements. Since the 1970s, a defining trend in the process of “feminization of poverty” has been the growing number of female headed households, in short FHHs50. As numerous empirical studies suggest, FHHs are generally more vulnerable to poverty. This puts women and girls of not just the affected family, but entire generations at risk, since evidence also proves a so called 48 UN Women, (2015). Sustainable Development Goal 1: No poverty. [online] Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-1-no-poverty [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. 49 Moghadam, V. (2005). The 'Feminisation of Poverty' and Women's Human Rights. Gender Equality and Development Section. [online] Available at: http://www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cpadocs/Feminization_of_ Poverty.pdf [Accessed 18 Dec. 2015]. 50 Ibid.

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Prague Model United Nations 2016 ‘intergenerational transmission of poverty’, as single mothers face a greater likelihood of poverty, and poor women are empirically more likely to be single mothers. In countries with developed market economies, women are still proven to be economically disadvantaged before men, as for example only 15 years ago women earned “on average slightly more than 50 per cent of what men earn”51, even though the gap has significantly narrowed since 2000 and is now considered to be around 25 per cent globally, according to the UN52. Even in developed countries with highly competitive economies, women remain disadvantaged when it comes to employment and career development. As briefly discussed in the section on Topic A, even though women account for around 60% of university graduates, their chances for employment and promotions are below those of men53. Furthermore, many welfare and social security systems in the world continue to disregard women’s needs in terms of child care, just as many women are discriminated against in the private and corporate sectors given their potentiality of pregnancy. Often women are therefore overrepresented in part-time and low-level jobs, which of course puts them in a significant economic disadvantage, especially when it comes to FHHs. Lastly, even in welfare states with developed market economies, women in retirement age keep facing a greater likelihood of poverty, often due to the fact that national welfare and social security systems are based on the “principle of continuous remunerated employment”54. In consequence, in many countries discrimination against women in the labour market also leads to their disadvantagement in retirement age and their significantly lower economic empowerment and autonomy in contrast to men. In developing countries, the obstacles for women are just as, if not more, severe, due to several reasons. Firstly, in many countries women are at risk to be not only disadvantaged, but completely excluded from certain sectors of or the entire labour market, which makes them and their families suffer greatly, especially in cases in which men migrate from rural areas to cities or other countries to find employment, or in conflict and war-prone areas in which many families are left with no means of support55. Women and girls further continue to be disadvantaged in

51 52 53 54 55

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UN Women, (2000). Beijing +5 - Women 2000:Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the 21st CenturyTwenty-third special session of the General Assembly, 5-9 June 2000. [online] Available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/followup/session/presskit/fs1.htm [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. United Nations, (2015). The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. [online] New York: United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July %201).pdf [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. Davos 2013 - Women in Economic Decision-making. (2013). [video] youtube.com: World Economic Forum. United Nations, (1995). Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. [online] United Nations. Available at: http://beijing20.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/pfa_e_final_web.pdf# page=39 [Accessed 23 Dec. 2015]. Ibid

UN Women: Topic B educational and skills-training systems, especially in patriarchal societies and in cases in which the family cannot afford to send to school all children, and often boys are more often chosen to be educated before girls. Even though when we consider cultural aspects, the BRIDGE institute notes that female headed households can also have positive implications for women since “FHHs are likely to be less constrained by patriarchal authority at the domestic level”, if women are naturally excluded from educational institutions and in consequence from the labour market, FHHs are of course an incredible challenge to many societies56. Furthermore, as embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals, nutrition and food security remain an incredible challenge to millions of women and girls, as women can be “less likely to get the nutrients they need, including to manage the physical demands of pregnancy and breastfeeding”57. As the MDG Gender Chart from 2014 shows, insufficient access to basic health-care services could have caused up to 80 per cent of maternal deaths during the last year58. Furthermore, young women and girls are still significantly more likely to be affected by HIV or AIDS, especially in poor regions such as SubSaharan Africa. In 2014, data shows that girls and women were up to 50 per cent more likely to be infected, often due to the fact that they are less informed about the use of HIV prevention and the use of condoms59. Lastly, poor girls are more likely to be married in childhood and the risks of early pregnancy are also higher than for girls from wealthier families or societies with higher income and better education60. Lastly, in light of the recent global economic crisis, women are generally considered to be the ones hit the worst. As the UN Women website confirms, “in an economic downturn, poor women are less likely to have savings and abilities to make up for the lost income”61. Therefore, the vulnerability of women in economic recessions or crises is way higher than for men. In conclusion, the need to address gender equality and global poverty is pivotal to global development efforts, especially in light of the introduction of the Sustainable Development Goals 56 BRIDGE - Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex, (2001). Briefing paper on the ‘feminisation of poverty’. [online] Available at: http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/sites/bridge.ids.ac.uk/files/reports/ femofpov.pdf [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. 57 UN Women, (2015). Sustainable Development Goal 2: Zero hunger. [online] Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-2-zero-hunger [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. 58 UN Women, (2014). Millennium Development Goals Gender Chart. [online] United Nations Statistics Division. Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/7107C11333C046D8BBD0BE6BA5FD251A.ashx [Accessed 19 Dec. 2015]. 59 Ibid 60 UN Women, (2015). Sustainable Development Goal 1: No poverty. [online] Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-1-no-poverty [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. 61 Ibid

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Prague Model United Nations 2016 and the post-2015 global development agenda. The vulnerability of women to poverty has to be addressed not only through development agencies, but also through international cooperation on the development of macroeconomic policies and national regulations that prevent discrimination against women in public and private sectors, and social welfare systems that make life on an equal level of welfare possible for men and women all around the world.

Country and Blocs Positions United States of America According to the National Center for Law and Economic Justice “in 2012, 46.5 million people were living in poverty in the United States—the largest number in the 54 years the Census has measured poverty”62. Women, racial and ethnic minorities are also more affected by poverty. Therefore, one can observe that poverty effects on the lives of women are not an issue concentrated in the developing world. The Time magazine summarized the alerting findings from the 2014’s Maria Shriver’s annual report on Women in America, according to which 1 in 3 American women live in poverty; two third of minimum wage workers are women; and there is also a high number of unmarried mothers and among the unmarried mothers under 30, only 7% have completed tertiary education – the report hence confirms that single parenthood and a low level of education are strong indicators of poverty63.

Brazil Brazil is far from being a model on the protection of women’s rights. Data from the Brazilian Research Institute of Applied Economics (IPEA) between 2009 and 2011, Brazil recorded 16 900 femicides, - female deaths by gender conflict64. There is also a high rate of violence, not only against women, but which set limitations in all spheres of women’s lives. Furthermore, there are extensive reports from the World Bank and literature65 in place that establish the link between violence against women and poverty. Besides the problems still faced by women in Brazil 62 National Center for Law and Economic Justice (2012) Poverty in the United States: A Snapshot. Available at: http://www.nclej.org/poverty-in-the-us.php 63 The Time Magazine (2014) 11 Surprising Facts About Women and Poverty From the Shriver Report. available at: http://time.com/2026/11-surprising-facts-about-women-and-poverty-from-the-shriver-report/ 64 IPEA (2013) Ipea revela dados inéditos sobre violência contra a mulher. Available at: http://www.ipea.gov.br/ portal/index.php?option=com_content&id=19873 65 See Larry, G (2004) Poverty reduction and violence against women: exploring links, assessing impact. Development in Practice. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/096145204100016 86070

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UN Women: Topic B advancement was achieved in the past decade. Taking into consideration the link between violence, gender inequality, and poverty, for more than a decade Brazil has a program called Bolsa Familia (Family Grant) which provides cash transfer for families living in poverty. What is particular to this program is that the money is mainly transferred to the woman of the house, under the argument that women are more reliable66. This is a great step not only because the money transfer through Bolsa Familia has taken up to 36 million67 out of extreme poverty in Brazil, but also because it empowers women that previously were affected by poverty.

Malawi According to data from the World Bank68, Malawi is nowadays considered the poorest country in the world. Poverty is in Malawi also gender-based as “more female-headed households constitute the poor”69. Furthermore, in the country the burden of poverty on women also impacts on health. The high rate of infection with HIV among women also accentuates the gender inequality either at home, at the working place or in the social life70. The link between violence against women and poverty can also be noticed, once “various forms of gender-based violence significantly affect women’s health and have severe psychological impacts on women’s ability to participate in the social and economic activities of their community”71. Malawi women are constantly vulnerable to “sexual harassment and assault, girl-child defilement, marital rape, incest, femicide, and widowhood rates”72. Because of this situation, Malawi government has urged the help of the international community on tacking poverty, and therefore, improving the lives of Malawi women. On February 2015, the president Peter Mutharika requested the World Bank to consider resuming aid to the country, and stressed the necessity to increase the support coming from donors73

66 The Atlantic Magazine (2014) Brazil's Government Gives Money to Women Because 'They're More Reliable'. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/04/brazils-government-givesmoney-to-women-because-theyre-more-reliable/360336/ 67 Carta Maior (2013) Bolsa Família supera preconceitos e retira 36 milhões da miséria. Available at: http://www.cartamaior.com.br/?/Editoria/Politica/Bolsa-Familia-supera-preconceitos-e-retira-36milhoes-da-miseria-/4/29394 68 World Bank (2015) GDP per capita (current US$). Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/ NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?order=wbapi_data_value_2013+wbapi_data_value&sort=asc 69 Women and Law in Southern Africa Research and Educational Trust (2009) The Situation of Women In Malawi: A WLSA Malawi Perspective. Available at: https://wlsamw.wordpress.com/situation-of-women/ 70 Ibid 71 Ibid 72 Ibid 73 Nyasa Times (2015) Malawi now ranked poorest in the world: President talks of “desperate need for aid”. Available at: http://www.nyasatimes.com/2015/02/17/malawi-now-ranked-poorest-in-the-world-presiden t-talks-of-desperate-need-for-aid/

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South Africa The world has seen some improvement in reduction of extreme poverty. Some of these improvements are a reflection of the countries’ genuine efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) until the year 2015. However, the “Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in which the number of people living in extreme poverty continues to rise, from 290 million people in 1990 to 414 million in 2010”74. According to the South Africa report on the MDGs, women and children are among the most vulnerable group and are the most affected by poverty in the country and besides the efforts taken by the country, the impact of poverty on women is still a challenge to South Africa. Kehler points out that “in the South African context, standard of living, and therefore poverty and inequality, are among other things, closely related to race, class and gender”75. Furthermore, the country has a great concentration of population still in non-urban areas, and in the South African case, it can be identified that women in rural area are even in a worst position. They are the poorest among the poor. The issue of poverty among women in rural area affects other member states and must not be overlooked by delegates.

Members of UN Women in PragueMUN 2016 Algeria, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Malawi, Maldives, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of).

74 Millennium Development Goals – Country Report South Africa (2013), p. 21 75 Kehler, J. (2001). Women and Poverty: The South African Experience. Journal of International Women's Studies, 3(1), pp. 42.

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Further Readings 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

As mentioned in the guide, the most of the efforts that are to be taken by the international community during the next decade are to be connected with the recently adopted Sustainable Development Agenda. The topics covered by this committee can, definitely, be linked to the SDGs. Delegates are strongly encouraged to access the Resolution A/70/L.1 Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development available at: http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/1&Lang =E Here delegates can have an overview of the 12 critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action. “Women in power and decision-making” as well as “Women and Poverty” are two of critical areas. http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/csw/feature-stories Here delegates can find the current progress on main topics and an overview, as well to have access to main outcomes and documents of the fifty-ninth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. http://www.unwomen.org/en/csw/csw59-2015 “The Commission undertook a review of progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, 20 years after its adoption at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995” (Beijing 20+). Here you can find concrete member states’ commitments. http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/step-it-up/commitments The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/ headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/pfa_e_final_web.pdf?v=1&d=20150303T2341 53 Political Empowerment of Women – Framework for Strategic LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (2014 - 2017) is a very detailed report on the situation, challenges and further actions taken in order to empower women, also in the decision-making processes, in Latin America: http://www2.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/ library/publications/2014/strategy%20guide%20political%20empowerment%20of%20w omen%20lac.pdf?v=1&d=20150603T163948 In order to get update on the situation of women’s participation in decision-making processes check the Human Rights Watch’s article on the landmark elections held in December: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/11/saudi-arabia-landmark-electionswomen

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Prague Model United Nations 2016 8. UN Women Africa on the situation of Somalia: http://africa.unwomen.org/en/where-weare/eastern-and-southern-africa/somalia 9. An interview with Luis Henrique Paiva, Brazilian, he worked on Bolsa Família for five years. Here you can have an overview on how the program works: http://www.huffington post.com/sarah-illingworth/bolsa-familia-the-program_b_7545332.html 10. On the following link you can have access to a variety of UN documents and resolutions on different topics. Bear in mind that the topics discussed in UN Women Committee, PragueMUN 2016, can be linked to a diverse number of different issues (for example: the issue of burden of poverty on women can be linked to violence, the focus can be placed also on indigenous people, on women in rural areas, ect): http://www.un.org/en/ documents/index.html 11. UN Women presents and infographic with an overview of Women and Poverty: http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/infographic/poverty 12. For a closer overview on Women and Poverty, check also the webpage of the Beijing Platform for Action, section on poverty: http://beijing20.unwomen.org/en/infocus/poverty#facts

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References 



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BRIDGE - Institute of Development Studies University of Sussex, (2001). Briefing paper on the ‘feminisation of poverty’. [online] Available at: http://www.bridge.ids.ac.uk/sites/bridge.ids.ac.uk/ files/reports/femofpov.pdf [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. Carta Maior (2013) Bolsa Família supera preconceitos e retira 36 milhões da miséria. Available at: http://www.cartamaior.com.br/?/Editoria/Politica/Bolsa-Familia-supera-preconceitos-e-retira-36milhoes-da-miseria-/4/29394 [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. Dilek, E. (2013). Women in Economic Decision Making. [online] The Progressive Press. Available at: http://www.progressivepress.net/women-in-economic-decision-making/ [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. EU- Lex. Available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=URISERV:c10920 [Accessed 12 Dec. 2015]. European Institute for Gender Equality, (2015). Gender Equality in Power and Decision-Making Review of the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in the EU Member States. [online] Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Available at: http://eige.europa.eu/sites/default/ files/documents/mh0215090enn.pdf [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. Eapn.eu, (2015). How is poverty measured?. [online] Available at: http://www.eapn.eu/en/what-ispoverty/how-is-poverty-measured [Accessed 19 Dec. 2015]. IPEA (2013) Ipea revela dados inéditos sobre violência contra a mulher. Available at: http://www.ipea.gov.br/portal/index.php?option=com_content&id=19873 [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. Kehler, J. (2001). Women and Poverty: The South African Experience. Journal of International Women's Studies, 3(1), 41-53. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol3/iss1/3 [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. Larry, G (2004) Poverty reduction and violence against women: exploring links, assessing impact. Development in Practice. Available at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/0961452041 0001686070 [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. Millennium Development Goals – Country Report South Africa (2013). Available at: http://www.statssa.gov.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/MDG_October-2013.pdf [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. Moghadam, V. (2005). The 'Feminisation of Poverty' and Women's Human Rights. Gender Equality and Development Section. [online] Available at: http://www.cpahq.org/cpahq/cpadocs/Feminization_of_ Poverty.pdf [Accessed 18 Dec. 2015]. National Center for Law and Economic Justice (2012) Poverty in the United States: A Snapshot. Available at: http://www.nclej.org/poverty-in-the-us.php [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. Nyasa Times (2015) Malawi now ranked poorest in the world: President talks of “desperate need for aid”. Available at: http://www.nyasatimes.com/2015/02/17/malawi-now-ranked-poorest-in-the-worldpresident-talks-of-desperate-need-for-aid/ [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. Organized by the Division for the Advancement of Women of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2007) REPORT - Online discussion on Women, political participation and

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decision-making in Africa. Available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/Technical Cooperation/docs/Online%20Discussion%20Report%20Africa%20FINAL.pdf [Accessed 18 Dec. 2015]. Overseas Development Institute, (2015). Women’s voice and leadership in decision-making: Assessing the evidence. [online] London: Overseas Development Institute. Available at: http://www.odi.org/sites/ odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/9627.pdf [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. Sabbagh, A. (2005). The Arab States: Enhancing Women´s Political Participation. In: J. Ballington and A. Karam, ed., Women in Parliament:Beyond Numbers, 2nd ed. [online] International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, pp.52-71. Available at: http://www.idea.int/publications/wip2/ upload/Arab_World.pdf [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. Said-Foqahaa, N. and Maziad, M. (2011). Arab Women: Duality of Deprivation in Decision-making under Patriarchal Authority. Hawwa, 9(1), pp.234-272. Shvedova, N. (2005). Obstacles To Women´s Participation in Parliament. In: J. Ballington and A. Karam, ed., Women in Parliament:Beyond Numbers, 2nd ed. [online] International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, pp.33-50. Available at: http://www.idea.int/publications/wip2/upload/2.%20 Obstacles_to_Women's_participation_in_Parliament.pdf [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. Sustainabledevelopment.un.org, (2015). Sustainable Development Goals:Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. [online] Available at: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300 [Accessed 19 Dec. 2015]. The Atlantic Magazine (2014) Brazil's Government Gives Money to Women Because 'They're More Reliable'. Available at: http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/04/brazilsgovernment-gives-money-to-women-because-theyre-more-reliable/360336/ [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. The Time Magazine (2014) 11 Surprising Facts About Women and Poverty From the Shriver Report. available at: http://time.com/2026/11-surprising-facts-about-women-and-poverty-from-the-shriver -report/ [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015]. United Nations, (2015). The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015. [online] New York: United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015% 20rev%20(July%201).pdf [Accessed 20 Dec. 2015].

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_____ (2015) Women Leaders: Time to Step it up for Gender Equality, Call for Action. Santiago: UN Women. _____ (2015) Facts and Figures: Leadership and Political Participation. [online] Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/what-we-do/leadership-and-political-participation/facts-and-figures [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. _____ (2015) Progress of the World´s Women 2015-2016:Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights. [online] Available at: http://progress.unwomen.org/en/2015/pdf/UNW_progressreport.pdf [Accessed 17 Dec. 2015]. _____ (2015) About UN Women. Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/en/about-us/about-unwomen [Accessed 12 Dec. 2015].

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UN News Centre: 







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