17. The Commission expresses its deep concern about slow or stagnant economic growth and development, the rising inequalities within and among countries, volatile food and energy prices, continuing food and energy insecurity, the remaining effects of the world financial and economic crises, water scarcity, epidemics, demographic changes, unplanned and rapid urbanization of populations, insufficient investment in development, unsustainable fisheries practices and use of marine resources, natural hazards, natural disasters and environmental degradation, and the increasing challenges caused by humanitarian emergencies, displacement, armed conflicts and the adverse impacts of climate change, all of which are exacerbating disadvantages, vulnerabilities and inequalities that women and men, girls and boys and their families face in accessing social protection systems, public services and sustainable infrastructure.
18. The Commission expresses concern that the feminization of poverty persists and emphasizes that the eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is indispensable for women’s economic empowerment and sustainable development. It recognizes that parents, including young parents, who live in poverty may not have access to health and education for their children, perpetuating the cycle of intergenerational poverty. The Commission acknowledges the need to elaborate and implement, where appropriate, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, comprehensive, participatory, gender-sensitive poverty eradication strategies that address social, structural and macroeconomic issues in order to ensure an adequate standard of living for women and girls, including through social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure.
19. The Commission expresses its concern about the continuing significant gender gaps in labour force participation and leadership, wages, income, pensions and social protection, as well as access to economic and productive resources. It is further concerned about the undervaluation of femaledominated industries, unequal working conditions, limited opportunities for career advancement, as well as the growing high incidence of informal and non-standard forms of employment where women are overrepresented. It also expresses concern that these factors can restrict women’s access to social protection when entitlements are tied closely to formal employment, which can perpetuate women’s economic insecurity and poverty. The Commission recognizes that investments in and the provision of equitable, inclusive, quality, accessible and affordable early childhood education and care services are crucial in enabling women to enter and remain in the labour market.
20. The Commission is deeply concerned that climate change poses challenges for poverty eradication and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, social protection, public services and sustainable infrastructure and sustainable development, and women and girls, especially in developing countries, including small island developing States, are often disproportionately affected by the adverse impacts of climate change, extreme weather events and natural disasters and other environmental issues, including land degradation, desertification, deforestation, sand and dust storms, persistent drought, sea level rise, coastal erosion and ocean acidification. Furthermore, the Commission recalls the Paris Agreement and that the Parties thereto acknowledged that they should, when taking action to address climate change, respect, promote and consider gender
Advanced Unedited Version equality, the empowerment of women and girls and intergenerational equity and, in this context, also recalls the adoption of a gender action plan by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at its twenty-third session. It acknowledges the necessity for every person, including women and girls, of present and future generations to have access to an environment adequate to their health, well-being and the critical importance of ensuring such access for the empowerment of women and girls and the sustainable development and resilience of communities. The Commission recognizes the important role of sustainable development in averting the loss and damage associated with the effects of climate change, and of reducing the risk of loss and damage, especially for women and girls in vulnerable situations, as well as the active role of women as agents of change in safeguarding the environment.
21. The Commission emphasizes that social protection systems, public services and sustainable infrastructure are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. It stresses the need for coordinated approaches, financing and policy coherence at all levels to ensure that social protection systems, public services and infrastructure policies complement one another.
22. The Commission stresses the need for integrated approaches to the design, implementation and evaluation of social protection systems, public services and sustainable infrastructure that respond to the needs of women and girls and recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work, enable the mobility of women and girls, strengthen women’s participation in public and political life as well as their economic opportunities, in particular their full and productive employment and decent work and equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, and strengthen their resilience to shocks.
23. The Commission recognizes that social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure have not adequately addressed the needs of caregivers and care recipients. It further recognizes that women and girls often undertake a disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work, including caring for children, older persons, persons with disabilities and persons living with HIV and AIDS which continues to be undervalued and underrecognized. Such uneven distribution of responsibilities between women and men is a significant constraint for women’s completion of, or progress in, education and training, on entry and re-entry and advancement in the paid labour market and on their economic opportunities and entrepreneurial activities, and can result in gaps in social protection, pay and pensions. It also recognizes that creating an enabling environment for the social and economic empowerment of all women and girls, requires addressing attitudes and negative social norms by which women and girls are regarded as subordinate to men and boys at the household and community levels. The Commission stresses the need to recognize and adopt measures to reduce and redistribute the disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work by promoting the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men within the household and by prioritizing, inter alia, sustainable infrastructure, nationally appropriate social protection policies and accessible, affordable and quality social services, including care services, child care, maternity, paternity or parental leave.
24. The Commission notes that universal access to social protection plays a central role in reducing inequality, eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, and promoting inclusive growth. It reiterates that everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being
of themselves and their families, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services and that motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. The Commission, however, is concerned that coverage gaps remain, especially for women and girls. It recognizes that social protection systems can make a critical contribution to the fulfilment of human rights for all, in particular for those who are trapped in poverty and those who are marginalized or in vulnerable situations and subject to discrimination.
25. The Commission notes the vital importance of birth registration for the realization of all human rights, including the right to social security, as well as access to social protection systems and expresses concern at the low levels of birth registration amongst some indigenous women and girls, women and girls with disabilities, migrant women and girls, and those women and girls in rural areas, and expresses further concern that all persons without birth registration may be more vulnerable to marginalization, exclusion, discrimination, violence, statelessness, exploitation and abuse.
26. The Commission reaffirms the right of every human being to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, without distinction of any kind, and recognizes that its full realization is vital for women’s and girls’ lives and well-being and for their ability to participate in public and private life, and that it is crucial for achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. It recognizes that targeting and eliminating the root causes of gender inequality, discrimination, stigma and violence in health-care services, including the unequal and limited access to public health services, is important for all women and girls.
27. The Commission emphasizes the need to accelerate progress towards the goal of universal health coverage that comprises universal and equitable access to gender-responsive, quality health services and quality, essential, affordable and effective medicines for all, and that it is critical to promote physical and mental health and well-being, especially through primary health care, health services and social protection mechanisms, including the promotion thereof through community outreach and private sector engagement and with the support of the international community. It stresses the importance of strengthening health systems in terms of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality in order to better respond to the needs of all women and girls, including those living in rural areas, and enabling the active participation of women in the design and implementation of health systems.
28. The Commission expresses its deep concern that, as a result of the lack of or limited access to essential health-care services and information and limited agency over their own lives, rural women experience significant disparities in health, including reproductive health outcomes, such as higher rates of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity and obstetric fistula, as well as more limited options for family planning, than women in urban areas. It expresses further concern that those disparities are exacerbated by multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.
29. The Commission recognizes that despite gains in providing access to education, girls are still more likely than boys to remain excluded from education. It also recognizes that among the genderspecific barriers to girls’ equal enjoyment of their right to education are the feminization of poverty, child labour undertaken by girls, child, early and forced marriage, female genital mutilation, early and repeat pregnancies, all forms of gender-based violence, including sexual violence and harassment on the way to and from, and at school, in their technology mediated environment, the lack of safe and adequate sanitation facilities, including menstrual hygiene, the disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work performed by girls, and gender stereotypes and negative social norms that lead families and communities to place less value on the education of girls than that of boys and may influence the decision of parents to allow girls to attend school.
30. The Commission recognizes that women public service workers are underrepresented in leadership and decision-making roles, and overrepresented in front-line service delivery roles. The Commission further recognizes the need to provide workers with decent work and just and favourable conditions of work, including living wages, especially for women engaged in the delivery of public services.
31. The Commission recognizes that transport systems, when planned, should take into account the needs of women and girls, and that certain features, including inaccessible platforms, overcrowded carriages, or poorly lit stops can create barriers for women’s and girls’ access to public services. The Commission reaffirms the importance of safe, affordable, accessible, age-, gender- and disability-sensitive and sustainable land and water transport systems and roadways that meet the needs of women and girls, and the commitment to enable meaningful participation of women and girls in social and economic activities, by integrating transport and mobility plans into overall rural, urban and territorial plans and promoting a wide range of transport and mobility options.
32. The Commission expresses deep concern that women and girls face particular barriers in accessing safe and affordable drinking water and adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene, especially those living in isolated and remote communities, including in post-disaster settings, evacuation and refugee camps, and in informal urban and rural settlements. It is also concerned that women and girls are particularly affected by water scarcity, unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene, and that they shoulder the main burden of collecting household water and care responsibilities arising from water-borne diseases in many parts of the world, restricting their time for other activities, such as education and leisure, or for earning a livelihood. 33. The Commission recognizes the potential benefits and challenges of new forms of information and communication technology, including artificial intelligence, for the use and delivery of public services, in fields such as social protection, public services and infrastructure while more attention needs to be paid to the impacts of this technology on women and girls.
34. The Commission acknowledges the benefit of implementing family-oriented policies aimed at, inter alia, achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, the full participation of women in society, work-family balance and the self-sufficiency of the family unit and recognizes the need to ensure that all social and economic development policies including social protection policies, as well as public services and sustainable infrastructure, are responsive to the changing needs and expectations of families in fulfilling their numerous functions and that the rights, capabilities and responsibilities of all family members are respected.
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