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Twenty years after the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, and at a time when the global community is defining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the post-2015 era, the global consensus on the need to achieve gender equality seems stronger than ever before. Empowering women and girls is among the goals aspired to by all, from grassroots organizations, trade unions and corporations, to Member States and intergovernmental bodies. But how far has this consensus been translated into tangible progress on the ground, and what more is needed to bridge the gaps between rhetoric and reality?
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Across the world, 53 million people, over 80 per cent of them women, are employed as domestic workers. Their work helps economies grow, advances the participation of women in the workplace and provides crucial care for millions of dependents. Every day they cook, clean, look after the elderly, help children with homework, performing vital roles in keeping households and communities running.
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Women’s empowerment is at the heart of the Egyptian Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme. Born in a turbulent political climate, the programme has survived the upheaval of the Arab Spring revolution and subsequent political turmoil, and delivered results for some of Egypt’s most marginalized women.
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Across a sweeping range of issues, women’s movements, working with other key actors, have succeeded in bringing about significant change in the recognition of women’s equal rights in laws as well as in policies. In a majority of countries today, there are no legal barriers to prevent women from getting a job or pursuing a trade or profession in the same way as men, from owning and inheriting land and housing in their own name, from receiving a pension or from having access to a wide range of services, including education and health care.
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