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Gabriela Ramos (Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO) opened the discussion and presented UNESCO’s new Flagship Programme against Gender Stereotypes. She stressed the importance to advance legislation  and strengthen institutions and investments to counter gender gaps. However, this needs to be accompanied by the examination and elimination of harmfuls norms and stereotypes at the roots of gender inequalities and discrimination, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.

 

The consultation welcomed more than 221 participants from Afghanistan, Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Colombia, Comoros, Croatia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Gambia, Germany, Greece, Guyana, Hungary, Iceland, India, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Palestine, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Thailand, the Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America.

It was moderated by Tim Shand, Co-founder and Director of ShandClarke Consulting Ltd, expert in women’s empowerment, masculinities, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and consultant for UNESCO’s new Flagship Programme.

Dubravka Å imonovic (UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences) highlighted the significance of standard international frameworks such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women  (CEDAW) and the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention) in addressing harmful gender stereotypes. She emphasized the need to harmonize existing legal frameworks with international standards while underlining the need to adopt human-rights based approaches integrated into education.

Elsa Dorlin (Professor of Philosophy, University of Paris 8) emphasized the paradox of the reality of a lack of prevention and awareness of gender-based violence despite the existence of laws aimed to address it. She discussed the unprecedented increase of domestic violence due to the COVID-19 pandemic while also noting an increase of 21% of the rates of femicides in France.  She advocated for solidarity and action on the ground as well as for role models to fight the effects of patriarchy.

Hélène Molinier (UN Women, Generation Equality Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation) stressed how women are missing from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics  (STEM). She explained that women comprise less than 20% of experts talking about COVID-19 on key media platforms. She then presented the Generation Equality Forum as a strong framework for the implementation of multi-stakeholder approaches to generate collective action, commitment and accountability.

Ilayda Eskitaşçıoğlu (Human rights lawyer, Research fellow at the UNESCO Chair for Gender Equality and Sustainable Development, Founder of the NGO We Need to Talk, Member of the Beijing 25+ Generation Equality Youth Taskforce) underlined how gender stereotypes have contributed to the increase of domestic and mental workloads for women and girls during lockdowns. For instance, women academics have published substantially less during the COVID-19 pandemic. She emphasized the need to harness the dynamic energy and enthusiasm of diverse young activists as role models.

Jan Lundius (Author, Professor, Gender specialist) underscored the importance of discussing gender roles from cultural standpoints. He emphasized the need to open our minds, to recognize the polarization in culture and to move beyond the box of ‘men and women’ and their cultural roles. He also acknowledged the key impact that international organizations, such as UNESCO, have had on advancing the agenda of gender equality and advocated for more human compassion.

Lesia Radelicki (Member of the Cabinet of Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli, European Commission) stressed the significance of understanding intersectionality and recognizing the full spectrum of life when addressing gender stereotyping and the harms that accompany it.  She highlighted how the COVID-19 crisis served as a means of achieving social transformation through concrete action in determining what has worked or not, and called attention to the need to ensure perspectives through a lens of equality in drafting policies and to involve women in decision-making processes.    

As part of UNESCO’s Flagship Programme against Gender Stereotypes, this is the third in a series of six regional expert consultations that aim to take stock of the current challenges and solutions and develop a roadmap for UNESCO’s upcoming efforts to address the issue of gender stereotyping. This series targets decision-makers, the academic and scientific communities, NGO communities, international civil society, media and private sector.