Gender And The Millennium Development Goals

This book explores the issue of gender inequality through the lens of the Millennium Development Goals, particularly the first one of halving world poverty by 2015.

This collection focuses on the Millennium Development Goals from a gender perspective. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of this way of understanding and addressing poverty, and suggests ways of strengthening the approach by using key insights and approaches associated with the struggle to establish and uphold the rights of women.

Upon signing the Millennium Declaration in 2000, the international community committed itself to eight development goals with timebound targets and measurable indicators. The third of these eight goals was to 'promote gender equality and empower women'. The third Millennium Development Goal (MDG3) in the Millennium Declaration has spurred national and international efforts to improve women's situation around the globe. 'Equality for Women: Where Do We Stand on Millennium Goal 3?' tracks countries' progress with implementing and financing MDG3 by examining national experiences and successes with policies and programs. It also contains an assessment of the effectiveness of different strategies in achieving MDG3 and the financial requirements needed to attain MDG3 by 2015. 'Equality for Women' will be useful for gender analysts, policy makers, government officials, and others working to promote gender mainstreaming.

The Millennium Development Goals, adopted at the UN Millennium Summit in 2000, are the world's targets for dramatically reducing extreme poverty in its many dimensions by 2015 income poverty, hunger, disease, exclusion, lack of infrastructure and shelter while promoting gender equality, education, health and environmental sustainability. These bold goals can be met in all parts of the world if nations follow through on their commitments to work together to meet them. Achieving the Millennium Development Goals offers the prospect of a more secure, just, and prosperous world for all. The UN Millennium Project was commissioned by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to develop a practical plan of action to meet the Millennium Development Goals. As an independent advisory body directed by Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, the UN Millennium Project submitted its recommendations to the UN Secretary General in January 2005. The core of the UN Millennium Project's work has been carried out by 10 thematic Task Forces comprising more than 250 experts from around the world, including scientists, development practitioners, parliamentarians, policymakers, and representatives from civil society, UN agencies, the World Bank, the IMF, and the private sector. This report lays out the recommendations of the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality. The Task Force recommends seven strategic priorities: strengthen postprimary education for girls while ensuring universal primary education; guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights; reduce women's and girls' time burdens; guarantee property and inheritance rights; eliminate gender inequality in employment; increase women's participation in government; and significantly reduce violence against women. Action on these priorities will enable countries in every region of the world to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment by 2015.

In September 2000, representatives of 191 countries met at the United Nations and adopted the Millennium Declaration including a set of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) constituting a global agenda for development. Most countries that signed the Millennium Declaration prepare MDG reports which track country-level progress toward attaining these goals. Goal 3, "Promote gender equality and empowerment of women," affirms women's rights and gender equality as core values of development. This publication analyzes 13 published MDG reports for the extent to which gender issues have been recognized and incorporated into each country's progress toward the Millennium Development Goals.

This book brings together results of studies on progresses and challenges in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Lesotho, Kenya, Botswana, Madagascar, Tanzania, Ghana, Uganda and Nigeria. The authors focus on selected goals as cases; and the book presents resulting lessons that can inform the post-2015 development agenda. The studies are against the background that in September 2000, world leaders from 189 countries, including 147 Heads of State, gathered at the United Nations General Assembly to consider the challenges of the new millennium. They adopted the Millennium Declaration, which set out a vision for inclusive and sustainable globalization: UN 2000 (A/RES/55/2). The leaders pledged to work towards ensuring that conditions of extreme poverty are eradicated wherever they existed. To realise this declaration, the UN established eight MDGs to be achieved by 2015. The goals were broken down into 18 concrete targets and 48 indicators to track progresses in implementation. For the years lost 2000, countries in sub-Saharan Africa have been striving to achieve the goals. So far, some have achieved some of the goals, and the results toward the rest of the goals are also by and large positive, though off-target.

In the last decade of the 20th century, governments of the world committed themselves to advance gender equality & women's rights in a series of international conferences. These commitments were incorporated into the Millennium Development Goals adopted by UN Member States in 2000. It is significant that 189 nations adopted women's empowerment & gender equality as one of the 8 Millennium Development Goals. Sections of this report by the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) include: Introduction: Progress of the World's Women; Assessing Progress in Achieving Gender Equality; Innovations in Measuring & Monitoring; & Conclusion: Moving Forward. References. Charts & tables.