Taking action: achieving gender equality and empowering women

Summary of e-discussion facilitated by ActionAid International, United Kingdom
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Defining “progress”
Participants reminded the task force that the devil is in the details, and aggregate
figures mask vast regional and socioeconomic disparities. Progress has not
been universal. Even in countries where there have been advances, pockets of
poverty and inequality continue to exist and even widen.
While there has been progress in literacy levels and primary school enrollment
in the past decade, aggregate figures hide low educational achievement in
rural hamlets and urban slums. In addition, access and quality issues become
far more pronounced as one goes down the social and economic pyramid.
According to a report by one of the participants that was shared in the discussion,
there are wide discrepancies between the percentage of boys and girls
completing primary school in India. According to data, all enrolled children in
Kerala and 82 percent in Maharashtra completed primary school, as compared
to 28 percent in Bihar and 26 percent in West Bengal. For girls, socially disadvantaged
groups, and those in rural areas, completion rates are even lower.
Educational statistics further reveal that 59 million children in the 6–14 age
group are still out of school, of whom 35 million, or 59 percent, are girls (V.
Ramachandran, India). 5
In countries and regions where progress on the target for Goal 3 was
achieved, participants still cautioned that “access should be accompanied with
quality because quality is the essence of equity” (V. Ramachandran, India).
When the quality of education and the schooling experience remains troublesome
and alarming (sexual violence against girls in Zambia), it is difficult to
conclude that progress has been made. Drastic changes must take place to
ensure children acquire reading, writing, and cognitive skills appropriate for
each level of education. This necessitates a multipronged approach of changing
curriculum, classroom teaching practices, teacher training, classroom environment,
teacher attitudes, and school-community linkages.
Week 2: the task force’s strategic priorities to achieve gender equality
and women’s empowerment
The report outlines six essential strategies for empowering women and meeting
the gender equality Goal:
• Improving secondary education.
• Ensuring adequate reproductive health information and services.
• Investing in infrastructure designed to reduce women’s and girls’ time
burdens.
• Guaranteeing inheritance and property rights for women.
• Adopting gender quotas and reservations to increase women’s political
participation.
• Combating violence against women.
Although comments on all six actions were welcomed, the task force
expressed the desire for feedback and project examples on secondary education,