What changed

B90091/2024

P9_TA(2024)0074

European Parliament resolution on theThe EU priorities for the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

(2023/2973(RSP))

PE756.218

European Parliament resolution of 8 February 2024 on the EU priorities for the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (2023/2973(RSP))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to the EU gender equality strategy for 2020-2025 of 5 March 2020,

– having regard to its resolution of 225 JuneJuly 2022 on a common European action on care,

– having regard to its resolution of 24 June 2022 on women’s poverty in Europe,

– having regard to Article 157(4) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to the questions to the Council and to the Commission on the EU priorities for the 68th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (O-000056/2023 – B9-0000/2024B9-0005/2024 and O-000057/2023 – B9-0000/2024)),B9-0006/2024)),

– having regard to Rules 136(5) and 132(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

E. whereas the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action stressed that gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and the fulfilment of their human rights, are critical factors in the eradication of poverty; whereas there is a strong mutual interdependence between poverty, and social and political exclusion; whereas women’s poverty is a complex, multidimensional problem, with origins in both the national and international domains; whereas for this reason, combating all root causes and manifestations of women’s poverty is key; whereas these limit their ability to realise their full potential and enjoy their rights in society in order to lead sustainable livelihoods;

F. whereas women and girls continue to be disproportionately affected by poverty and the risk of social exclusion compared to men, in particular women and girls who experience intersectional forms of discrimination, based on sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics; whereas, globally, 383 million women and girls are estimated to live on less than USD 1.901,90 a day, compared with 368 million men and boys; whereas the female poverty rate is higher than that of men (12.8(12,8 vs 12.312,3 %);

G. whereas women’s poverty and the pay and pension gaps are the results of the accumulation of systemic and structural inequalities and discrimination; whereas harmful gender stereotypes and social norms still influence the division of labour at home, in education, in the workplace and in society and access to power, resources including access to finance or credit through various sources such as venture capital including women’s investment networks, land ownership and inheritance, and decision-making; whereas unpaid care and domestic work impose a disproportionate burden on women and girls, and those domestic and care responsibilities are not appropriately recognised;

P. whereas women’s economic independence and empowerment, ensuring equal pay for equal work and work of equal value, and the ability to participate equally in the labour market and in economic decision-making, are not only central to achieving gender equality, guaranteeing the realisation of women’s rights and ending poverty, but also beneficial to the economy and society as a whole; whereas equal pay for equal work and work of equal value, and the ability to participate equally in the labour market and in economic decision-making are prerequisites for equal economies and societies; whereas the promotion of economic independence requires, among other things, boosting women’s entrepreneurship and self-employment and should be accompanied by appropriate measures;

Q. whereas gender equality in the labour market is an important instrument in eliminating women’s poverty that benefits not only women but the economy as a whole, with a positive impact on GDP, employment levels and productivity; whereas improving gender equality would lead to an increase in the EU’s GDP per capita between 6.16,1 and 9.69,6 % and an additional 10.510,5 million jobs, by 2050;

R. whereas crises, including climate change and all associated consequences including biodiversity loss, natural disasters, pandemics and armed conflicts, disproportionately affect women; whereas women and girls in vulnerable situations have less access to or control over resources needed to cope with and overcome crises; whereas crises are not-gender neutral and worsen social and gender inequalities; whereas parental and, in particular, maternal poverty often leads to child poverty;

(aa) to accelerate the implementation of international commitments already made, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Istanbul Convention, ILO Convention 190 and UNSCR 1325; to support new measures to empower women and girls and thus combat their poverty and social exclusion;

(bb)(ab) to work to promote the concept of combating multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, throughout all UN bodies and the EU and its Member States;

(cc)(ac) to reiterate the need for the EU to play a leading role at multilateral level in promoting feminist diplomacy in order to implement international agreements pertaining to the rights and empowerment of women and girls; calls for the EU, its Member States, the Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) to commit to advancing towards a feminist foreign, security and development policy that entails a gender-transformative vision and to make gender equality a core part of their external actions and priorities;

(dd)(ad) to take into account the need to strengthen gender mainstreaming and to utilise the principles of gender budgeting more effectively, also in EU external policies, to address gender inequality worldwide;

(ee)(ae) to fully implement the EU Gender Action Plan III and ensure that 85 % of all new actions throughout external relations by 2025 will contribute to gender equality and women’s empowerment; to apply the holistic and sustainable approach of a feminist foreign policy in all its external actions and policies;

(ff)(af) to ensure comparable and age, sex, gender disaggregated data capturing of the situation of people facing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination so as to improve data analysis and to inform the design and implementation of policies since less than half of the data required to monitor SDG 5 is currently available;

2. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and the EU Special Representative for Human Rights.