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WFSF XXV World Conference. 50th Anniversary Celebration.

Exploring Liminalities.

Creating Spaces for Unlimited Futures

25-27 October, 1890 Paris, France

The role of women in public life in a troubled world

from the angle of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

Bernadett Szél, PhD �Annamária Ács, PhD-Student

Online Program

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Researcher, PhD degree in Sociology

2012-2022 Member of the Hungarian National Assembly

Bernadett Szél, PhD

As of 2021 PhD-Student at Doctoral School of Entrepreneurship and Business

2017-2022 Employee for the Member of the Hungarian National Assembly

Annamária Ács, PhD-student

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What year is it today?

2023

1890

to reach gender equality goals in political representation by 2030?

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What year is it today?

2023

1890

to reach gender equality goals in political representation by 2030?

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Paris, around1890

Source: https://www.pinterest.dk/pin/689050811718066230/

Source: https://fr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposition_universelle_de_1889

Source: https://hist259.web.unc.edu/henrik-ibsen-1828-1906-2-4/

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UN Sustainable Development Goals 5.

Where we are now?

1

2

3

Aim of the research

The role of women in political decision-making

Diverse perspectives do matter.

The future of a sustainable world if nothing changes.

What will our world look like without the voice of women?

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Futures Wheel

To identify the direct and indirect consequences of the trends.

Horizon Scanning

To identify current and emerging trends.

! Gender Data Gap

Methodology

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National Parliaments

26,5% is the global share of women

>>>annual increase of just 0.5%

14% have women had of State/government

Equal representation

140 years for women

to be equally represented

Gender-Related Political Environment

Local Levels

35,5% is the global share of women

.

(Main Source: United Nations, 2023)

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What year is it today?

2023

1890

What will our world look like without the representation

of women?

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Economic aspects

1

Text

Text

3

Social

aspects

2

Violance

related to women

3

Climate change

4

The role of women in public life in a troubled world from the angle of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

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Economic

aspects

1

Text

Text

What will our world look like without

the representation of women?

1. Women in managerial positions

Women' share is only 28.2% of management position >>> 30% (2030, forecast)

2. Working hours (paid AND unpaid) Globally 75% of unpaid work is done by women

>> less time for paid-work, careers, recreation>>> deepening disparities and less GDP

USA 1970-2009. <38 Million women joined the Labor Force >>> without this US GDP would be 25% smaller (McKinsey)

>>> Countries loose huge money on not having more women in paid jobs.

3. Gender Pay Gap and Gender Budgeting

The global gender pay gap is 23%.

2020: for each USD earned by a man, women earned 83 cents (U.S. Census Bureau)

>>> Unfair situation, plus research show that more cash in the hangs of women contributes to eliminating poverty, better education, nutrition and health outcomes for household members

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Text

Text

Social

2

1. Education

>>> Achieving equality in education boosts women employment and empowerment, add to economic growth and contribute to child well-being and development

2. Poverty

  • Poverty disproportionally threatens the two genders. In 89 countries with available data there are 4.4Million more women than men living on less than 1.90USD/day (Source: UN Women, 2018)

  • >>> trend extrapolation: 342.4 million women and girls (8% of the worlds female polulation) will still be living on less than 2.15USD/day (Source: United Nations, 2023)
  • >>> vicious circle: poverty >> more time on unpaid work >> poverty deepens

3. Stereotypes/psychological

  • Traditional gender stereotypes and roles exist: deeply routed and present across all contries

>>> gender-based discrimination threatnes to undermine the transformative potential of the 2030 Agenda in measurable ways

Social

aspects

2

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Text

Text

Violance

3

What will our world look like without

the representation of women?

Protecting women and girls: a huge dept for the future

    • Political Abusement

Female politicians receive more than twice as much abusive content than male.

Sexist abuse of female politicians online is a point of concern when considering whether to pursue a role in public life.

  • Domestic violance

  • Safe cities for women

    • Online harassment

    • War, Conflict violence

Homicide and other forms of violent crime increases significantly.

>>> Women’s role in politics and peace-processes is vital. Providing special protection is necessary if we want women in politics. Currently tendencies decline (virtual spaces)

Violence

related to women

3

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Text

Text

Climate change

4

(!) Women are „agents of change”

  • Climate change has a disproportionate impact on women and children
  • Women 14 times as likely as men to die during a disaster

  • Women in the worst situation in the present (i.e. poor rural women) will face the worst prospect for the future; droughts, floods, pollution, and deforestration put heavy burden on women

>>> Climate discussion

    • Women’s inclusion in climate discussions leads to improved outcomes of climate-related projects and policies (Source: UN Women, 2018)
    • Inclusion of women worths it: improved outcomes of climate-related projects and policies (specific knowledge about forests >>> forest conservation and regeneration; critical role in food production >>> agricultural productivity) (UN Women, 2018)

Climate change

4

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1. Uncertainty is the new certainty. We have good goals, but we are not there yet. The present looks devastating, but the goals are too important for both genders so we must not give up.

2. It costs money

Many sub-areas prove that involvement of women results in a better quality future for both genders.

Countries, companies, and families are better off with gender balance.

3. „There are more important problems, than gender equality: wars, hunger, poverty…” The desired future emerges with more chance with gender balance.

Transition period

Liminality

Old stereotypes

New challenges

Future-shaping power

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Thank you

for your attention!

Bernadett Szél, PhD

Annamária Ács, PhD-student

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References

12 critical areas. (n.d.). UN Women – Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/csw59/feature-stories

Criado-Perez, C. (2019). Invisible women: data bias in a world designed for men. [United States], Abrams. Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing 1995. (1995). https://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/platform/decision.htm

Progress on the sustainable development goals: The gender snapshot 2023. UN Women. (2023). https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2023-09/progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2023-references-notes-en.pdf

Progress on the sustainable development goals the gender snapshot 2022. UN Women. (2022). https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/Progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2022-en_0.pdf

SDG Monitoring | UN Women Data Hub. (n.d.). UN Women Data Hub. https://data.unwomen.org/sdg-monitoring

UN Women. (2018). Why gender equality matters across all SDGs. https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2018/SDG-report-Chapter-3-Why-gender-equality-matters-across-all-SDGs-2018-en.pdf

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (2022, July 7). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022. UN iLibrary. https://www.un-ilibrary.org/content/books/9789210018098

United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2023). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023: Special edition. WFP Library Catalog. https://wfp.tind.io/record/126752

Median earnings for women in 2022 were 83.0 percent of the median for men https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2023/median-earnings-for-women-in-2022-were-83-0-percent-of-the-median-for-men.htm

Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development | Department of Economic and Social Affairs. (n.d.). https://sdgs.un.org/2030agenda

Turning promises into action: Gender equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. (2023, September 7). UN Women – Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2018/2/gender-equality-in-the-2030-agenda-for-sustainable-development-2018#view