ODUMUNC 2021 Issue Brief UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Enhancing Gender Equality in Global Education by Anna Glass, Matthias Lugand and Petra Szonyegi ODU United Nations Society Introduction 2020 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Education is widely regarded as essential for Fourth Conference on Women and adoption of improving women’s rights and their contribution the Beijing Declaration for action. 2021 is the to society (United Nations Economic and Social seventy-fifth anniversary year of the Commission for Asia and the Pacific, 2015). Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Significant progress toward gender quality in education ha been made in recent years, but The CSW is the UN’s premier body for setting these accomplishments are fragile. For example, goals and policies to achieve fully gender the coronavirus epidemic threatens to undermine equality and address special problems of women much that has been accomplished, by everywhere. The CSW is not an operational endangering funding, and reinforcing stay-at- body—it does not manage programs and it home roles.5 cannot tell its Member States what to do—rather its sets goals and principles to guide all 193 UN Member States.1 Education is a central element of the UN’s highest priorities, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment is integral to each of the 17 goals.2 The goal is specifically emphasized in SDG no. 4, Inclusive and 3 equitable quality education. Despite progress toward gender quality in recent years, as many Meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women as 48 per cent of girls remain out of school in (CSW) at the UN General Assembly Hall, New York. some regions. Gender gaps in primary and secondary enrolment rates have nearly closed, The education of women leads to a plethora of on average. Yet 15 million girls are not in positive outcomes for women and their primary school right now, compared to 10 communities. Women who have received a basic million boys.4 education are more likely to get married and have children later in life, which results in healthier pregnancies and reduces the risk of 1 ‘Commission on the Status of Women’, UN opportunities for all. New York, UN Women, 2020, Women, n.d., https://www.unwomen.org/en/csw https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women- 2 UN Women. Women and the Sustainable and-the-sdgs/sdg-4-quality-education Development Goals (SDGs). New York, UN Women, 4 Ibid. 2020, https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in- 5 UN News. ‘Generations of progress for women and focus/women-and-the-sdgs girls could be lost to COVID pandemic, UN chief 3 UN Women. SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable warns’, UN News Centre, 31 August 2020 quality education and promote lifelong learning https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/08/1071372 Enhancing Gender Equality in Global Education domestic violence (Verveer, 2011). Educated funding, and the unwillingness of many Member women have better nutrition and are more likely States to accept international intrusion into their to be aware of their human rights and healthcare domestic affairs. For the CSW, the biggest opportunities. Educating girls results in high question is how to advance education of women, rates of return economically as well as socially. without antagonizing skeptical interests and views? The CSW traditional avoids such But in international institutions, the issue can be issues.6But this approach may be obsolete and in controversial. It runs in traditional views of need of change.7 women’s subordination, prominent in many Member States. It also raises difficult issues of (Ortiz-Ospina, & Roser, 2018) 6 For example, see the CSW’s 2020 resolution, 7 Dulcie Leimbach, ‘Battle lines are drawn on Political declaration on the occasion of the twenty- women’s rights before #CSW64 even begins’, fifth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on PassBlue, 27 February 2020, Women, E/CN.6/2020/L.1. New York: Commission https://www.passblue.com/2020/02/27/as-the-un- on the Status of Women, 20 March 2020, womens-forum-looms-the-us-and-friends-hack-away- https://undocs.org/en/E/CN.6/2020/L.1 at-certain-rights/ 2 ODUMUNC 2021 Issue Brief UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Enhancing Gender Equality in Global Education by Anna Glass, Matthias Lugand and Petra Szonyegi ODU United Nations Society Data obtained by the UN Commission on the Status of Women reports that “an extra year of When aid money is involved, the key question primary school increases girls’ future wages by usually is control. Donor governments want all an estimated 10 to 20 percent, and an extra year assistance to conform to their standards, of secondary school increases future wages by eliminate corruption and misuse, and be 15 to 25 percent.”(Verveer, 2011). Quality distributed fairly. But recipient governments education for women reduces gender inequality often need to maximize their own sovereign in every respect by increasing the representation control and serve their own political purposes, of women in the political and economic spheres such as rewarding their supporters. The result and teaching values of equality to young can be a stalemate, with donors hesitant to give, children. and sometimes recipients resistant to accepting. Even aid channeled through independent For UN Member States, education issues pose organizations like the World Bank Group or tricky issues of standards and sovereignty, and none-governmental organizations (NGOs) is when aid is involved, a difficult gap between vulnerable to these quarrels. Such practical donor and recipient counties. All countries seek problems always must be navigated, even by the to improve their educational systems, but many best-intended plans. want to maximize their sovereign freedom to make decisions and protect local decision- making. To advocates of international normative principles, however, such national sovereignty Background often is thin veneer to protect established interests and block change. This is clearly seen The education of women and girls is a major among some Non-Aligned Member states point of discussion amongst social activists and especially in parts of the Middle East, Southeast policy-makers. The Member States of the United Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, but increasingly in Nations have reached a consensus that women’s government sin Europe and North America education is a vital aspect for promoting under the rule of strong-men governments. economic development and enhancing human Many accept or even support reform, but rights. In 2000, The Dakar Framework for demand it be under their personal control and Action, Education for All established six service their political interests, including aiding development goals to be completed by a 2015 favored groups of political supporters. deadline (UNESCO, 2017). ODUMUNC 2021 Issue Brief UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) Enhancing Gender Equality in Global Education by Anna Glass, Matthias Lugand and Petra Szonyegi ODU United Nations Society Source: World Bank Indicators in Haarthi Sadasivam, Kelly Payne & Mildred Koch, Data of Women: education and literacy around the world, 8 May 2018 These goals aimed at creating accessible world school was 11% higher than boys (UNESCO, education and improving literacy with an 2015). Access to resources such as new school emphasis on extending these improvements to buildings and reduced cost of education were education for women as well as men. Although less likely to positively affect women because of these goals were not achieved by the 2015 cultural hostility towards women (UNESCO, deadline, UNESCO succeeded in increasing 2015). According to estimates from UNESCO, enrollment in primary education by two and a 130 million girls were out of school in 2017 half times in South and West Asia and sub- (The World Bank, 2017). In response to this, Saharan Africa. Despite improvements in The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative accessibility to primary education, in 2015, the (UNGEI), overseen by UNICEF, and the Global majority of out of school children were girls. Partnership for Education published the “Guidance for Developing Gender-Responsive In addition to this, the percentage of out-of- Education Sector Plans,” in January 2017 in school girls who were likely to never enroll in order to inform national governments of the Enhancing Gender Equality in Global Education gender disparity issues within education and the school and reaching their full potential means by which they and the development of learning. Gender-based violence in community could work to analyze these factors schools is most prominent in regions and instigate plans for development (World with male dominated societies and Bank, 2017). cultural stigmas against educated and financially independent women. Current Situation Environments that are demoralizing towards women and girls distract female students from learning and Major actors in the fight for the enhancement of achieving their academic goals women’s education, namely the Education For because they are struggling with the All (EFA) Steering Committee, UNESCO, additional burden of combatting UNICEF, UNGEI, and individual state hostile students and teachers that favor governments have reached a consensus that male students (UNESCO, 2016). education for women and girls is key for achieving current Sustainable Development • Obtaining funding for and reducing Goals, enforcing human rights, and reducing the cost of women’s education in violence (UNESCO, 2016). The major issues