Get Guardian on GoogleAfrican gender development institutions have identified paid and unpaid care work, climate action and a gender-responsive green transition as priorities for advancing women’s rights, ahead of the 71st session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW71).
The priorities emerged from an African ministerial pre-consultation meeting held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as part of preparations for the global session.
The ECOWAS Gender Development Centre participated in the meeting, which was organised under the African Union’s Specialised Technical Committee on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (STC-GEWE).
Director of the ECOWAS Gender Development Centre, Sandra Oulaté Fattoh, led the regional body’s delegation to the consultation.
The meeting provided an opportunity for African stakeholders to define common priorities for the continent ahead of CSW71, with particular attention to the relationship between women’s rights, care responsibilities and environmental transitions.
The proposed priorities place paid and unpaid care work at the centre of discussions on gender equality, recognising the need to address the economic and social implications of care responsibilities.
Climate action and a gender-responsive green transition were also highlighted as essential areas for advancing women’s rights across the continent.
The African Union’s Specialised Technical Committee on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment serves as the bloc’s sectoral body for providing strategic direction and accountability on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The consultation was part of its 11th ordinary session.
However, the ECOWAS communication did not provide details of specific policy recommendations adopted, funding commitments or implementation measures arising from the meeting.
The priorities are expected to inform Africa’s engagement in preparations for CSW71, although further details of the continent’s formal position and proposed actions were not contained in the statement.
