“Equality is Investment”:Addressing Women’s FinancialInequality at the CSW68

girlupqueens1
Mar 27, 2024
4 min read

From March 11th to 22nd, the U.N. held the 68th Commission on the Status

of Women. This year’s theme focused on the role of economics in gender equality

and women’s empowerment. Countries were encouraged to address the financial

divide “by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a

gender perspective.” [1] Several members drew attention to the growing challenges women continue to face across the globe, with U.N. Secretary-General António

Guterres asserting that the patriarchy is “regaining ground”[2] and Afghan activist

Mahbouba Seraj urging that the mistreatment of women has gotten to a point where

“[girls] have been erased — absolutely, completely erased. We don’t even exist

anymore.”[3]

What are the issues?

Between 2021 and 2022, approximately $64 billion of development money

went towards programs that include gender equality as one of their missions.[4]

While this is a significant amount of money, it can be hard to track how much goes towards initiatives that enhance women’s lives. For instance, Anna Gawl reports that “only 4% of bilateral allocable aid is focused primarily on gender.”[5] We are also seeing decreases in the

amount of money spent on women's rights organizations [6] despite growing violations of women’s rights. Thus, CSW68 brought up several important areas where women need to see financial support.

One area is digital technology, where women are disproportionately impacted by the digital skills gap and the growing threats of AI. Considering women are affected by AI’s ability to develop deep fakes and reinforce gender biases, they need to have a role in developing and managing technologies. Careers in technology also tend to pay better, with their salary being twice as large as the salary of all careers in the US.[7] In addition, technology can act as a “lifeline” [8] for accessing important information when women face barriers to education. Thus, a significant initiative was introduced at the Commission to address these gaps. The Women in the Digital Economy Fund will invest $60.5 million over five years to combat the gender digital divide.[9]

Another area that needs improvement is care work. Not only are women-dominated careersundervalued and underpaid, but the work that women do at home, such as raising children, cleaning, taking children to activities, and feeding family members, is unpaid. This can lead to financial setbacks as access to state benefits and pension funds is often limited to those who work paid full-time jobs.[10] As a result, $4.8 million is being given to care workers in Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, and the Philippines across two years to help them push for better wages and working conditions.[11] A third area mentioned is education. Women in developing countries still face barriers to their education in achieving equal funding. Not only is there a large funding gap between low-income countries and high-income countries, but the majority of funding favours male students.[12]

Finally, the CSW68 raised the issue of period poverty.[13] With the ongoing

gender wage gap, the prices of menstrual products continue to keep women

financially behind. There are also emotional barriers to this issue. A lack of access

to period products can bring up feelings of shame and embarrassment, and the

continued stigmatization of menstruation can discourage women from asking for

help.

What needs to be done?

An important solution raised is an increase in gender-responsiveness budgeting, which seeks to account for the inequalities and barriers different genders face in society and the economic realms of their lives.[14] This ensures resources and opportunities are available to those who need them most. This is important for addressing women’s financial inequality

because women’s issues are often not

accounted for in policies, especially financial policies.

Why is financial equality for women important?

From a young age, women endure financial setbacks, with boys reportedly

earning more spending money than girls.[15] This has normalized financial

inequality, which is essential for women’s empowerment and even the success of

businesses. When women have access to financial resources and opportunities, they are more likely to be promoted to executive and leadership positions.[16] Studies

have shown that having a diverse team can benefit businesses as they can provide

unique perspectives and experiences that can aid in developing solutions and

addressing issues.[17]

Increasing the amount of financially empowered women also sets a

precedent for the future treatment of women. Asking for money and getting career

advancements can be difficult for women as socialization and media have led many

women to undermine their abilities. If women have financially successful role

models, they will be more confident in advocating for better wages and addressing

their economic concerns. Thus, as the UN chief said, “Equality requires

investment.”[18]

Bibliography

Coursera. “10 Best Paying Technology Jobs in 2024,” March 8, 2024.