Plan International - Girls' Rights Platform - Girls' rights are human rights: Positioning girls at the heart of the international agenda

In relation to its focus on times of political transition, the Working Group will look at countries that are presently going through processes of political transition, as well as countries with lessons learned from past political transitions, particularly since the entry into force of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1981. The Working Group is attentive to the fact that while political transitions provide a unique opportunity to improve respect for women's civil and political rights, including their participation in the political system, and women's status in the legal and social systems, there is also a danger of regression on women's human rights.

The Working Group will also incorporate into its review the fact that women participating in political change and public life are often exposed to violence. The Working Group takes note of reports that women defenders are more at risk than men of suffering from certain forms of violence and other violations, due to the perception that they are challenging accepted sociocultural norms, traditions, perceptions and stereotypes about femininity, sexual orientation, the family and the role and status of women in society.

The Working Group intends to examine measures taken by States in political transition to improve women's constitutional and political position and their status in society and protect them from all forms of violence. It recognizes the agency of women, including as conducted through international and regional institutions and networks, in influencing positive change at the national level. Recommendations will be made on improving legislation and the implementation of laws to empower women and to secure women's right to a full and equal political and public life.

In order to develop its research on this thematic priority, the Working Group sent letters to all States Members of the United Nations on 8 December 2011 seeking information on: constitutional and other legislative initiatives and reforms put in place to promote women's rights and gender equality; the framework of State institutions, machineries and mechanisms to implement actions in order to fight against all forms of discrimination and violence against women; women's political participation, on equal terms with men, in the transitional and post-transitional process at all levels of decision-making; and women's access to justice, including transitional justice mechanisms. The Working Group takes this opportunity to thank the 40 States that had responded to the call for information at the time of submission of the document.

The democratic deficit undermines women's substantive participation in political and public life. Patronage politics, corruption, and undemocratic local government reduce women's effectiveness in the political arena, as they prevent transparency and accountability in decision-making and in the distribution of resources. Gender discriminatory policies and regulations have been applied by autonomous local governments even when national or federal laws mandate gender equality. Empowering women's participation in political and public life from the community level up helps build a culture of accountability, as it broadens the constituency for democratic decision-making, and is crucial to the effective application of good governance at all levels.

Since the introduction of the Convention, the world's political landscape has gone through substantial changes. These have been marked, variously in different regions and States, by the dismantling of long-standing totalitarian regimes, democratization and the emergence of new forms of authoritarianism. This period has also witnessed armed conflicts both between and within States, the creation of refugee populations and international involvement in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. Technological leaps in the field of information and communications, particularly the Internet, have created a new public and political space, with revolutionary impact on the development and the exercise of human rights, allowing new forms of political expression and mobilization, and facilitating political communication and organization for men and women globally.

In the judicial branch, women account for only 27 per cent of judges worldwide. There is wide divergence among States as regards the numbers of women in the judiciary, with some States in the Eastern European region having a majority of women judges. Even in countries that have a higher representation of women in the judiciary, the numbers of women decrease at higher levels. There are few women in the highest courts, including supreme courts, and rarely are the presidents women. In most religious courts women are excluded from holding office. There is, however, good practice in the Asia-Pacific region: in one country, women judges have been part of the religious courts since the institution was created in the 1950s, reaching a participation rate of 20 per cent in 2011; in another, female judges were appointed to the Sharia court pursuant to the removal of its reservation to article 7 (b) of the Convention.

The focus of the Working Group on political transition has been carried out through its communications, country visits and regional and global expert input. Experience in countries in transition has varied greatly. In the Russian Federation and Eastern Europe during the 1990s, as in some of the recent political transitions in the Middle East and North Africa, there was backsliding on key gains for gender equality and/or the numerical representation of women was reduced. In contrast, in some political transitions in various countries in many regions, the introduction of quotas facilitated a significant rise in representation of women, producing, for instance in sub-Saharan Africa, some of the highest percentages of women members of parliament. Good practice in these States included the active engagement with the international community in the peacebuilding process and an emphasis on democracy, human rights and women's rights as human rights.

Economic governance is generated not only de jure by political decision-making, but also de facto by the activities of economic and financial institutions, enterprises and corporations at international, transnational and national levels. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, regional development banks and the World Trade Organization (WTO) constrain national economic policies. In the year 2000, the top 200 companies surpassed the economies of 182 countries; they exercise significant power in determining policy. The private sector creates and defines jobs, produces growth, sets parameters of income distribution and affects the social and environmental conditions of the communities in which they function.

There are barriers to women's access to leadership and decision-making positions in these economic and financial institutions, which generate policies that determine the quality of life of women, men, children and communities. Furthermore, in the emerging area of corporate responsibility, the gendered harm to women resulting from transnational business and trade policies has been largely invisible. There is a need to address these issues and develop tools for gender responsiveness in economic leadership and corporate responsibility.

Democracy and human rights are mutually reinforcing. Women's rights are human rights and hence are an integral element of the democracy and human rights axis. The General Assembly, in its resolution 59/201 (para. 1), declared the "essential elements of democracy" to consist of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, inter alia, freedom of association and peaceful assembly and of expression and opinion; the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs, directly or through freely chosen representatives; to vote and to be a candidate in free elections by universal and equal suffrage; a pluralistic system of political parties and organizations; respect for the rule of law; the separation of powers; the independence of the judiciary; transparency and accountability in public administration; and free, independent and pluralistic media.

There is growing recognition of the Internet as a key means by which individuals can exercise their right to freedom of opinion and expression (A/HRC/17/27, para. 20). Through initiatives on e-government and e-democracy and the innovative use of information and communications technologies (ICTs) by civil society, there is also a rising awareness of the Internet's role in expanding the concept of citizenship online. The Working Group welcomes the work by the International Telecommunication Union, the World Bank and civil society organizations, and encourages them to continue such work so as to deepen the knowledge on gender differences in the use of the Internet and other ICTs.

For women to have the capacity to participate in political and public life on equal footing with men, including to build autonomous movements for their own empowerment, they must be able to exercise their rights to freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, movement and association. It is imperative to recognize and secure these rights as individual rights for women's effective participation in political and public life, in the light of the complex tensions between collective rights and women's rights.

Research suggests that in general men have more economic security to weather an economic crisis, having higher paying jobs with benefits such as health care and pensions, unemployment insurance coverage, and owning more property. Furthermore, in many crisis countries, women are disparately made redundant by a reduction in public service jobs. In times of financial crisis, social security guarantees are often undermined by austerity measures. The reduction of budgets for care facilities, unemployment benefits, income maintenance and pensions all disparately impact women, who are usually responsible for unpaid care functions and who constitute a majority of the poor. The Bachelet Report and reports by the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights emphasize the role of social protection in cushioning the impact of the economic crisis, particularly for women.

Alternatives to austerity have been applied successfully in some countries. Counter-cyclical approaches in general have helped reduce the depth and duration of the impact and leverage a more rapid recovery. The Swedish recovery programme focused on avoiding labour market exclusion, particularly for women, and maintaining paid parental leave and day-care subsidies, recognized as particularly beneficial to women workers. Iceland stands out as a pioneer in adopting policies to protect women in the recent crisis, mainstreaming gender in its recovery measures, and appointing a working group to evaluate the impact of the economic crisis from a gender perspective and ensure that gender equality principles are reflected in State-led initiatives to restore the economy.

The lessons learned from the economic crisis and the impact of macroeconomic policies on women's economic opportunities can and should inform the post-2015 agenda. Grounding development priorities in women's human rights is not only a legal and moral imperative, but can also enhance effectiveness and accountability. In accordance with the proposal of UN-Women that gender equality must both be mainstreamed into all development goals and also remain a stand-alone goal, the Working Group recommends that transformative structural change as regards unpaid care functions be duly taken into account in a stand-alone goal of gender equality.

The right mix of special measures, both temporary and permanent, is required to address reported stagnation in the rise in women's participation in public office. Partial and selective application of gender quotas and other temporary special measures must be replaced by a comprehensive system-wide approach, in permanent as well as ad hoc institutions of governance, peace, development and human rights, at the local, national and global levels. The emerging framework for global governance of information and communications technologies (ICTs) is particularly important, considering the crucial role that ICTs are playing in the political and public life of women.

Most countries only track enrolment and not completion rates, yet enrolment is an inherently flawed measure of girls' access to education. Attendance is a better measure, as girls' attendance may be cut short due to domestic responsibilities such as cooking, fetching water and firewood, and childcare; lack of adequate sanitation in schools to meet the needs of menstruating girls; early marriage or pregnancy; and gender-based violence and harassment, including in schools. In situations of economic contraction, as households cope with declining household income, girls are more vulnerable to being pulled out of school, with girls experiencing a 29 per cent decrease in primary school completion rates versus 22 per cent for boys.

Nevertheless, there is not full equality of results in any labour market. Discrimination in hiring, promotion, conditions and wages and dismissal exists in all countries. In many high- and middle-income countries, gender gaps in unemployment have worsened since the economic crisis. Furthermore, cultural and structural barriers close opportunities for women in the labour force. Maternity is a focus for discrimination for women in most countries. Women's hours of workforce participation are, generally, reduced by motherhood, while men's are increased by fatherhood.

Women make important contributions to business around the world as business owners and entrepreneurs, with 224 million women globally operating businesses. Women tend to be concentrated in small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which account for a significant share of employment generation and economic growth potential, with full or partial female ownership representing 31-38 per cent of SMEs in emerging markets. Women informal traders contribute significantly to national gross domestic product, accounting for between 40 and 65 per cent of value added in trade in some African countries. Research shows that companies with female board membership and diversity outperform others in return on sales, invested capital and equity. Furthermore, during the financial crisis, companies with women in the leadership had a better record of financial and employment sustainability.

Nevertheless, there is a significant gender gap in top leadership in decision-making bodies in business, finance and trade, including in international institutions such as the IMF and the WTO. Out of the world's 2,000 top performing companies, just 29, or 1.5 per cent, had female chief executive officers in 2009. Women account for 4 per cent of chief executive officers in Fortune 500 companies and 4 per cent in information technology and telecommunications companies. In 2012, women had only 16.6 per cent of Fortune 500 Board seats, of which only 0.6 per cent were women of colour. Only 17 out of 177 governors of central banks were women in 2012 (less than 10 per cent). Women are also greatly underrepresented in the leadership of cooperatives and trade unions.

However, reports suggest that rates of women in senior management are slowly increasing globally, currently reaching 24 per cent. The economies of the Group of Seven are at the bottom of the list, with just 21 per cent of senior roles occupied by women, and with only 7 per cent in one of these countries. This compares to 28 per cent in the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies, 32 per cent in South East Asia and 40 per cent in the Baltic States, while in China, 51 per cent of senior management positions are currently held by women.

A number of countries have adopted temporary special measures specifically directed at accelerating de facto equality for women in corporate leadership, entrepreneurship and trade. Legislation with gender quotas for membership of corporate boards has been adopted in 13 countries. Most of the countries with quota requirements belong to the Western European and other States Group, but some are in Africa and Asia. The quota requirements, varying between a minimum of 1 and 40 per cent, apply to government companies and publicly listed companies. In some States, failing to fulfil quota requirements results in sanctions. Quotas have also been applied by local government to boards of directors of cooperatives. On the evidence, it seems that mandatory and not voluntary quotas are the most effective way to get women onto boards.

Preliminary good practices for promotion of women's entrepreneurship include the ILO Job Creation in Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Recommendation 1998 (No. 189) and Women's Entrepreneurship Development and Gender Equality programme, the Canadian Business Women in International Trade programme and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation special programme for women exporters. The International Trade Centre has encouraged States to devise gender-sensitive national export strategies. Two countries also focused on female entrepreneurs, in response to the economic crisis, cutting interest rates on loans to micro- and small enterprises targeted at women-headed households or introducing special credit lines for female artisans.

Procurement policies that target women can be a tool to advance women's businesses. In developing countries, governments are the largest buyer of goods and services, accounting for 15-20 per cent of gross domestic product, and yet spend only 1 per cent on sourcing from women-owned businesses. Some countries have begun to tackle the issue. One country from the Western European and other States Group set a mandatory goal of 5 per cent of federal contract spending on women-owned small businesses. An African country put in place Public Procurement and Disposal (Preference and Reservations) Regulations to ensure access to government contracts by enterprises owned by women, youth and persons with disabilities.

There is an emerging business and human rights agenda focusing on corporate responsibility for human rights violations. The Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights establish three pillars of corporate responsibility: the duty of the State to protect against human rights abuses by private actors; corporate responsibility to respect human rights; and the duty of both to provide remedies for rights violations. While the Principles acknowledge that guidance to business should take into account gender considerations, there is significant work to be done to elaborate upon this and address the gendered impact of corporate activities on women.

Corporate governance has produced a dramatic increase in resources and income inequalities, with harsh implications for women, given their concentration lower on the value chain and in poverty. Furthermore, the increased mobility of corporations and free trade agreements have resulted in the amassing of political power vis-à-vis host States and can contribute to a lack of accountability and insurmountable barriers for women to access justice. The move of production by transnational corporations to export processing zones, the reliance on home and sweatshop sectors, and land dispossession by extractives industries are a locus for corporate abuse and violation of human rights, and most of the victims are women.

Export processing zones are delineated industrial estates with special incentives set up to attract foreign business and trade. They are feminized work enclaves in which women make up the majority of workers, up to 100 per cent in some cases. Women workers face particularly harsh employment conditions. Normal labour laws are usually not applied. Whether de jure or de facto, there is a lack of union organization and, typically, women's wages are 20-50 per cent lower than men's. Furthermore, these zones are a health hazard for women, with overextended working hours, rights violations relating to pregnancy protection, maternity leave or childcare, and sexual harassment.

Sweatshop and home work sectors exploit cheap, informal labour, largely from female workers. Businesses subcontract more than 300 million home workers in developing countries, hired to work at home in textiles, electronics, packaging and processing, for a piece rate without labour rights protections. A cut of earnings is also taken by middlemen. Women make up 85-90 per cent of sweatshop workers. Employers often force them to take pregnancy tests to avoid supporting maternity leave. Thousands of women work in garment factories, with the constant threat of fatal sweatshop fires largely because of corporate cost-saving decisions.

Extractive industries, as well as, increasingly, biofuel, agribusiness and real estate projects, are land intensive, and land dispossession has disproportionately displaced women. Women, who make up 70-80 per cent of the world's small-scale farmers, lose their livelihood, often do not receive compensation paid to landowners, who are male, and are the last in line for formal employment in the industries. As primary carers, they are deprived of shelter and the ability to feed their families. The arrival of a transient, largely male workforce also increases prostitution, sexual violence and sexually transmitted disease. Mismanagement of extractive projects can also lead to severe violations of human rights that are manifested in unique ways for women, including murder, torture, rape and sexual violence at the hands of security forces brought in to impose order.