A standalone goal around gender equality and the rights of women should be included in the sustainable development goals — and gender equality should be mainstreamed across all other goals.
That is according to Voluntary Services Overseas International, which has also joined with U.N. Women in calling for clear targets to increase levels of female political participation and women’s influence in decision-making processes at all levels, underpinned by indicators to measure progress on both fronts.
The call was made at a high-profile Women in Power reception last week, organized by VSO and U.N. Women at the Irish Embassy in London. The event was jointly hosted by the Irish and Kenyan governments, which have been appointed to lead negotiations at the U.N. around the post-2015 framework.
About the author
Corinne Podger
Corinne Podger is a media development practitioner with more than 20 years' experience reporting for high-profile news outlets including the BBC World Service, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Economist. She works part time for BBC Media Action, the international charity of the BBC. Separately, as an independent consultant, she runs media skills training for a range of clients in her areas of expertise — social and multimedia, international news, science, health, climate change and religion.
