he equal sharing of
T
responsibilities between
women and men, including
caregiving in the context
of HIV/AIDS
5. The Commission duly notes the Workers with Family
Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (Convention No.
156) of the International Labour Organization and
its corresponding Recommendation (No. 165), which
provide a framework for reconciling work and family
responsibilities.
6. The Commission recognizes that gender inequal-
ities still exist and are reflected in imbalances of
power between women and men in all spheres of
society. The Commission further recognizes that
everyone benefits from gender equality and that
the negative impacts of gender inequality are borne
by society as a whole, and emphasizes, therefore,
that men and boys, through taking responsibility
themselves and working jointly in partnership with
women and girls, are essential to achieving the
goals of gender equality, development and peace.
The Commission recognizes the capacity of men
and boys in bringing about changes in attitudes,
relationships and access to resources and decision-making which are critical for the promotion
of gender equality and the full enjoyment of all
human rights by women.
1. The Commission on the Status of Women reaffirms
the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the
outcome documents of the twenty-third special
session of the General Assembly, and the declaration adopted by the Commission on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Fourth World
Conference on Women.
2. The Commission reaffirms the outcomes of the
1994 International Conference on Population and
Development, the 1995 World Summit for Social
Development, the 2000 Millennium Summit,
the 2002 World Summit on Children and the
2002 Monterrey Consensus on Financing for
Development, recalls the 2005 World Summit,
and recognizes that their full and effective implementation is essential to achieve the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men,
including caregiving in the context of HIV/AIDS.
7. The Commission recognizes that the full integration
of women into the formal economy, in particular,
into economic decision-making, means changing
the current gender-based division of labour into
new economic structures where women and men
enjoy equal treatment, pay and power, including
sharing of paid and unpaid work.
3. The Commission reiterates that the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women and the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, and the Optional Protocols thereto, as
well as other conventions and treaties, provide a
legal framework and a comprehensive set of measures for the promotion of equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men.
8. The Commission notes that the costs of unequal
sharing of responsibilities include weaker labour
market attachment for women (forgone jobs,
shorter working hours, confinement to informal
work, and lower wages), weaker access to social
security benefits, and less time for education/training, leisure and self-care, and political activities.
4. The Commission reiterates the 2001 Declaration
of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the 2006
Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS, which, inter alia,
expressed concern that gender inequality increases
women’s vulnerability to HIV/AIDS and the overall
expansion and feminization of the pandemic, and
also acknowledges that women and girls bear the
disproportionate burden of caring for and supporting those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
9. The Commission recognizes that caregiving work at
the household, family and community levels includes
the support and care of children, older persons, the
sick, persons with disabilities, and caring associated
with family kinship and community responsibilities, which is affected by factors such as size of
household and number and age of children, with
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