003 Substantive Equality for Women: Making Social Policy Work for Women—Panel III

UNRISD Podcasts

In this podcast human rights and policy specialists quit their silos and dialogue productively across disciplines in the second panel, entitled Transforming work for women’s rights, of the research-advocacy-policy workshop Substantive Equality for Women: Connecting Human Rights and Public Policy organized by UNRISD, UNWomen and OHCHR on 15 June 2015. The speakers in this panel argue that: - austerity has worsened women’s living conditions, both social and economic. - gender parity should be promoted and implemented in economic and business areas in the same way as it has been promoted in politics. - unpaid care work is a barrier which prevents women from choosing how to spend their lives, however there is resistance from many states to take action to remove this barrier. - social policies often still discriminate against women and lack gender awareness; gender stereotypes frequently still inform social policy. - women have to be key stakeholders in the social policy-making process - four key variables that make social policy work for women are: i) putting women’s individual rights (and not as dependants) at the centre of social policy; ii) making care work a crucial component of social policy; iii) providing universal access to social services; iv) enabling voice and participation of (especially poor) women in social policy making. - there is a tendency to underinvest in social policy, hence fewer and poor quality social services. - we need to invest in infrastructure for people’s well-being and livelihoods. - social policy is a major site of conflict between states that are reducing social policy expenditure and civil society which is mobilizing more and more demand for social welfare and public services. This panel took place during the research-advocacy-policy workshop Substantive Equality for Women: Connecting Human Rights and Public Policy organized by UNRISD, UNWomen and OHCHR on 15 June 2015. Inspired by the UN Women Report on the Progress of the World’s Women Transforming Economies, Realizing Rights, the workshop connected the normative content of human rights to policy design and implementation, integrating gender equality considerations more strongly into the work on economic and social rights, and ensuring that issues like employment, macroeconomic policy and social protection are given greater prominence in work on women’s rights. The workshop was an opportunity for a dialogue between members of human rights bodies, OHCHR staff and policy analysts to creatively explore how collaboration between specialists and across silos can be enhanced to advance women’s economic and social rights within the UN system and beyond. For more information on the workshop go to: http://goo.gl/5gytjY