What is Generation Equality?
Generation Equality is a multi-stakeholder platform launched by UN Women in partnership with civil society, young women, governments, private sector representatives and philanthropists. The initiative aims to mobilise partners, increase investments, accelerate results and accelerate the full and effective implementation of the Beijing Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goals. The UN Decade of Action represents a 10-year strategic effort by the United Nations to focus on a specific issue and address problems in that area. "Generation Equality" is a global movement that focuses on equal opportunities and women's rights as part of this effort. So, Generation Equality is based on the UN Decade of Action. This is a crucial initiative for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality) on equal opportunities.
· UN Beijing Declaration: The Beijing Declaration is an important document adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. This conference was organised to make progress on women's rights and equal opportunities worldwide. The Beijing Declaration aims to ensure women's full and effective enjoyment of their human rights by establishing a global framework for equal opportunities.
What is the Generation Equality Accountability Report, What is its Purpose and Focus?
The Generation Equality Accountability Report is part of the "Generation Equality" initiative led by UN Women. The purpose of this report is to assess the progress made in the field of equal opportunities and to monitor the realisation of committed actions.
The report analyses the progress and obstacles in achieving the objectives of the "Generation Equality" initiative. It also aims to hold stakeholders accountable for fulfilling their commitments on equal opportunities. This means encouraging governments, civil society, the private sector and other participants to take action in line with the provisions of the Beijing Declaration and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The focus is often on measuring progress on equal opportunities, highlighting achievements as well as identifying gaps. These reports provide guidance to policy-makers, decision-makers and society at large on how to raise greater awareness of equal opportunities and increase efforts in this area.
Localising Generation Equality - From a Global Initiative to Local Action
One of the main goals of Generation Equality is to ensure that the initiatives launched by the UN on a global scale spread to the local or national level and serve social equality of opportunity. In this context, it is indispensable for the success of Generation Equality that the work carried out reflects on the dynamics of different societies at the micro level and even transforms these dynamics.
Generation Equality encourages joint ownership of planning, implementation and commitments by state and non-state actors. Localisation removes barriers and increases ownership, collaboration and coordination.
If an example should be given, in Burkina Faso, decisions in the National Steering Committee are made in consensus with civil society organisations. Workshops are also organised to prepare joint project proposals to secure national or international funding for sexual and reproductive health. Generation Equality has established a mutually beneficial accountability and information sharing framework for state and non-state actors.
Countries have established regional, national and sub-national monitoring frameworks to track the progress of state and non-state actors in implementing their commitments, to learn, collaborate and make adjustments where necessary. Burkina Faso is reviewing national action plans as part of the Regional Steering Committee, monitoring the implementation of the Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) Action Coalition plan and discussing the progress of actions and programmes among key countries in West Africa. In the United Republic of Tanzania, youth-led civil society organisations participate in planning and decision-making processes in both national and local steering committees, basing joint actions on local needs and priorities.
Kenya - Women's Empowerment Programmes: In Kenya, women's empowerment programmes under Generation Equality have been a great success. These programmes focus on various objectives such as increasing women's economic participation, strengthening their access to education and health services, and combating violence against women. In this way, Kenyan women are able to lead more effectively in their communities and improve their lives.
Sweden - Gender-Responsive Budgeting: Sweden has successfully implemented gender-responsive budgeting practices within the framework of Generation Equality. This approach involves assessing how government expenditure is planned and allocated to promote equal opportunities. Sweden's policy has increased women's participation in the labour force, increased investment in education and health services, and reduced gender-based discrimination.
Ghana - Girls' Education Initiatives: In Ghana, girls' education initiatives carried out within the framework of Generation Equality have increased the school attendance rates of female students. In this context, policy changes and community-based programmes were successfully implemented to ensure equal opportunities in education. These initiatives, which combat early marriage and discrimination against girls, have had a positive impact on society at large by increasing educational opportunities.
The Importance of Institutions and Civil Society in Ensuring Social Equal Opportunities
It is critical for governments and local authorities to gain support from key political actors and local authorities in pursuit of the goal of extending equality of social opportunity to the micro level. Through Generation Equality, public commitments should be made at the highest possible level and national public funds should be dedicated to these important initiatives. This will be an effective way to increase local ownership and sustain equal opportunities efforts.
In this context, countries wishing to establish localised processes should learn from other Generation Equality stakeholders to build the necessary infrastructure to localise commitments and implement the international equal opportunities agenda at the micro level. This can be done through the establishment of local and regional steering committees or local monitoring groups. These committees and groups should reflect the multi-stakeholder partnerships active at the international level. Furthermore, involving local gender experts and activists from civil society organisations at all stages (planning, implementation, evaluation, etc.) is an important step in achieving this goal. These efforts will be an important step towards strengthening and mainstreaming equal social opportunities at the micro level.
Important local and grassroots perspectives of civil society can be highly effective agents of change. Civil society organisations and youth organisations should continuously communicate with national and local government institutions to ensure continued efforts to combat inequality of opportunity. This dialogue should be ongoing, including during periods of political change, and should also address women's needs and priorities at the grassroots level.
Funding and technical assistance are important areas to assist those making commitments. Collective action, supported by national budget and political ownership, is an important factor for success and should therefore be supported by donors.
Indicators should be developed to assess the success of localisation efforts. These indicators should be integrated into existing accountability frameworks and reporting methods. This is vital for more effective monitoring and evaluation of equal social opportunity efforts.
“Growing Stronger With Stakeholders”
“Growing Stronger With Stakeholders” is the key motto of Yıldız Holding's sustainability strategy. In this context, Yıldız Holding supports the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and contributes to the goals of equal opportunity, decent work and economic growth, and reducing inequalities. These activities are enabled by important events organised under the Yıldız Holding Women's Platform. Yıldız Holding is one of the signatories of the United Nations Women's Empowerment Principles, jointly established by UN Women and UN Global Compact.
Organised by UN Women, of which Yıldız Holding is a strategic partner, the panel titled "Empowering Women Entrepreneurs on a Global Scale" was held on 21 September as part of the United Nations General Assembly week in New York. In this organisation, which brought together many opinion leaders and institutions working on equal opportunities at the global level, Yıldız Holding's long-term practices, ambitious commitments and concrete steps were recognised as a significant achievement and a very valuable cooperation and were appreciated by UN Women.
With its Generation Equality approach, Yıldız Holding demonstrates the value it attaches to the principles of diversity, inclusion and equality at every opportunity. It will continue to work to spread equal opportunities to all segments of society and to build a brighter future for women.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Generation Equality Accountability Report 2023- ge-accountability-report-2023.pdf (generationequality.org)
Yıldız Holding Women’s Platform 2022 Report- shine-together.com/docs/17072023_13_04_31_yhkp_rapor_2022_ing_final.pdf