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policy that brings women together to raise theirawareness of their rights and provide a spacefor critical reflection and discussion; training inmale-dominated occupations that can challengegender-based segmentations in the labourmarket and provide work that is better paid;and childcare services that enable them to takepart in the training sessions. 153 The challengeis to take the transformative approach ofprogrammes such as Chapéu de Palha Mulher toscale—providing resources, services and spacesthat respond to women’s immediate needswhile disrupting the structures that reinforcetheir subordination and constrain the practicalenjoyment of their rights.As subsequent chapters will show, moreof the same is not enough for women andgirls. Substantive equality requires thefundamental transformation of economic andsocial institutions at every level of society,from households to labour markets and fromcommunities to local, national and globalgovernance institutions. Rather than simplyadding paid work or poverty reduction towomen’s already long `to-do’ lists, responsibilitiesfor income-earning, caregiving and domesticwork need to be redistributed more equally.Male-biased employment structures must betransformed in ways that work for both womenand men and benefit society at large (see Chapter2); social protection and social services must notonly aim to equalize access, but also need to beredesigned with women’s rights at their heart (seeChapter 3); and existing macroeconomic policiesshould be significantly reoriented to supportrather than constrain the realization of rights (seeChapter 4).CONCLUSIONSLaws that establish equal rights for women andmen provide a solid foundation, and indeed apre-condition, for demanding and achievinggender equality. However, the achievementof gender equality in practice, especially forpoorer women and those who are marginalized,requires the dismantling of structural barriersas well as of discriminatory social norms andstereotypes. International human rights standardsand principles set out clear obligations for goingbeyond formal equality and the provision of ‘sametreatment’ by recognizing that different treatmentmight be required to achieve equality of outcomes.Under their commitments to human rights treaties,including CEDAW and the ICESCR, States haveobligations to take positive steps to eliminate allforms of discrimination against women, includingstructural and indirect discrimination that may occurwhen laws, policies and programmes based onseemingly gender-neutral criteria have a detrimentalimpact on women. Women’s collective actionhas been critical to bringing gender equality intothe human rights system and remains vital to therealization of their substantive equality. In the processof claiming rights, women’s collective action cancontribute to building state accountability to women.The framework outlined in this chapter cansupport governments to meet their obligations torespect, protect and fulfil human rights and it canalso galvanize women’s rights advocates to holdgovernments and other duty-bearers to account fortheir commitments.