It is a man’s world; Let us do more to advance women's all-round development

Delivering a keynote address during the opening ceremony of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women, held in October in Beijing, President Xi rallied the international community to work towards fostering conditions that allow women to realise their dreams in society.

The Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women renders more impetus to the spirit of the 1995 World Conference on Women, also held in China, which adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Coming just under five years before the lapse of the UN Agenda 2030, and the failure of many countries to meet the SDG target on gender equality, the meeting was crucial in rebooting the attention of world leaders to the societal role of women, their often-overlooked agency, and the continuous struggles they face in living a self-fulfilling life with minimal societal barriers.

Women constitute more than half the global human population. Many women struggle with balancing work and family responsibilities, sometimes worsened by gender-based bias in the workplace and in society. With only four years left for the world to fulfil the promises made to girls and women under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, a report by UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs highlights that many countries may not be able to meet their commitments toward gender equality.

 Despite significant progress in the advancement of women in various sectors, including education, business, and political leadership, most women continue to be marginalised, disproportionately bearing the brunt of domestic work while their male counterparts negotiate their career prospects with minimal societal obstacles.

Women face structural, cultural, and societal barriers that inhibit their prospects to take leading roles in society, including gender-based violence, discrimination, and the gender pay gap. Other challenges include underrepresentation in business and political leadership, the burden of unpaid care work, and a lack of adequate healthcare and reproductive rights, which aggravate poverty among women and girls. 

The 2023 edition of “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot,” which tracks gender equality across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, highlights 11 key roadblocks counteracting the progress of women.

According to the snapshot, there is still a lack of women in leadership, poverty and lack of economic opportunities, workplace discrimination and inequalities, and an imbalance in unpaid care work.

The report also records harmful social norms and cultural practices, inadequate access to education and health care, food insecurity, violence against women and girls, inadequate funding for gender equality initiatives, legal barriers and poorly enforced legislation, and lack of access to clean energy and sanitation.

The Gender Snapshot 2023 further says that a global lack of diverse perspectives in decision-making processes hinders comprehensive policy formulation that would improve the conditions of women.

It further states that there are only 27 percent of parliamentary seats, 36 percent of local government seats, and 28 percent of management positions held by women. 8 percent of the global female population survives on less than USD 2.15 a day, while more than 340 million women and girls are projected to live in extreme poverty by 2030. Income disparities and access to the labour market continued to be skewed in favour of men.

Close to 110 million girls and young women may remain out of school, while nearly 24 percent of women and girls are expected to experience moderate to severe food insecurity, and an estimated 341 million women and girls are projected to lack electricity or universal access to energy.

Even countries like South Africa, a signatory to many international conventions relating to gender equality and the protection of women, face a plethora of challenges in providing equal opportunities for women. The South Africa Commission for Gender Equality identifies the feminisation of poverty, feminisation and impact of HIV and AIDS, violence against women and the alleged reemergence of xenophobic attacks as some of the pervasive ongoing challenges.

Given this context, President Xi’s speech at the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women, enunciating a portfolio of measures for the upliftment of women in society, resonated with many in the Global South and beyond. There is an urgent need to foster an environment that respects women, upholding gender equality as a code of conduct that is universally embraced to universally uplift the conditions of women.

Xi rallied the international community to focus on generating dynamic momentum towards high-quality development of women to address the imbalance and inadequacy of women's development around the world, enabling all women to share the benefits of economic globalisation.

He highlighted the need for a new chapter in promoting global cooperation on women's issues, supportive of their substantial participation in global governance and its benefits. Xi also voiced support for the central role of the UN, urging the organisation to redouble its attention and efforts towards the needs of women in developing countries, including creating broad cooperation platforms for women in all countries.

China is committed to donating $10 million to UN Women and providing $100 million from the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund for cooperation with international organisations on projects to promote women's and girls' development.

China will also support 1,000 "small and beautiful" livelihood projects for women and girls as the priority beneficiaries. Beijing will further establish a centre focused on cooperation with relevant countries and international organisations to provide capacity-building initiatives for outstanding female professionals. About 50,000 women and girls will be invited to visit China for exchange and training programs.

Xi’s speech located scientific and technological innovation as catalysts for women's empowerment towards high-quality development. Science and tech-innovation could broaden and deepen inclusive women's participation in smart green development centred on governance frameworks that protect women's rights and interests. Inclusive enabling institutions and laws with supportive tangible and accessible policy measures are important for the provision of quality health and educational resources for the upliftment of all women.

The president also emphasised the importance of promoting an inclusive and harmonious social environment free from discrimination and bias against women and the need to broaden the channels for women to participate in and deliberate on political affairs, supportive of women’s extensive engagement in the affairs of states and social governance.

He emphasised the need to sustain momentum for the high-quality development of women. Xi called for the enhancement of protection measures in regions struck by war, conflict, poverty, and natural disasters and supported the vital role of women in preventing conflict and the need to create a favourable environment, remove barriers, and provide conditions for women's all-round development, fostering a positive culture in which women are respected.

 China has made significant domestic and international progress in women's development under Xi's leadership. The country has achieved higher levels of social and economic participation by women, transforming their status while boosting social productivity in ways that strengthen the economy.

China has lifted more than 800 million people out of poverty, a figure that represents about 75% of global poverty reduction between 1981 and 2020. As the second largest economy in the world and a major power in the world, its contribution towards the upliftment of women sets a significant precedent and leadership in the world.

Gideon H Chitanga is a Political Science and international relations analyst.