Transformative Equality: Making the Sustainable Development Goals Work for Women. Issue 2 (2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Fredman, Sandra; Kuosmanen, Jaakko; Campbell, Meghan
• Is Part Of: Ethics & international affairs. Volume 30:Issue 2(2016)
• Page Start: 177
• Page End: 187
• Publication Date: 2016
• Subjects: International relations -- Moral and ethical aspects -- Periodicals; 172.405
• DOI: 10.1017/S089267941600006X
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0892-6794

Abstract

Abstract : It is generally agreed by most observers that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have fallen short of achieving gender equality and women's empowerment. Today, women continue to be more likely than men to live in poverty, and more than 18 million girls in sub-Saharan Africa are out of school. One of the crucial reasons for the failure of the MDGs in relation to women was their inability to address the deeply entrenched and interlocking factors that perpetuate women's disadvantage. The new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as articulated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, constitute an improvement over the MDGs. Goal 5, which enshrines the stand-alone goal on gender equality, is comprised of nine specific targets, including the elimination of gender-based violence and access to reproductive health. In addition, gender equality is mainstreamed into numerous others goals. Given that the global community is now poised to implement the SDGs, the challenge is how best to integrate a transformative approach into the planning, implementation, and delivery of the specific targets so that the SDGs contribute to achieving gender equality and women's empowerment.