The sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will take place in New York from March 6 to 17 2023. Representatives of Member States, UN entities, and ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from all regions of the world are invited to participate. Founded in 1946, the Commission on the Status of Women, also known as CSW, is the biggest global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women, as the Secretariat, supports all aspects of the Commission’s work.
As well, NGO CSW/NY organizes the civil society side of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The NGO CSW Forum runs parallel to the official session taking place at the UN Headquarters. This provides civil society the opportunity to engage in the processes and CSW sessions without ECOSOC-accreditation or a UN grounds pass.
Participating in UNCSW is an amazing opportunity for IIWR-MB to contribute to the global dialogue regarding the status of women within the United Nations framework. As an organization (NGO) with ECOSOC status, IIWR-MB can participate in the formal proceedings, the NGO Caucus and the negotiation of the final document, called The Agreed Conclusions.
It is also provides a platform for meeting with international partners and an opportunity to influence domestic policy as Canada’s Federal Ministers participate at the session.
Commission on the Status of Women 67 Themes
Priority theme: Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls
Review theme: Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls (agreed conclusions of the sixty-second session)
Ways to be Involved
NGO CSW Forum
The NGO CSW67 Forum will take place in a hybrid format for the first time ever! There will be both in-person and virtual events throughout the Forum.
Registration for the NGO CSW67 Forum is free and open to all! Registration will open in mid-November. For more information click here.
Delegation for the UN CSW Forum
CSW 67 is a great opportunity to build community, share ideas and bring people together. The Delegation application process is closed. To learn more about ways to be involved, please contact international@iiwrmb.ca.
Statement submitted to CSW by IIWR-MB, in preparation for the official Meeting
The Institute for International Women’s Rights – Manitoba (IIWR-MB) acknowledges that innovation and technical change are instrumental to the development and achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Though new technologies are constantly emerging, digital literacy on a global scale continues to be thwarted by inequitable access to technology. Further, access to digital technology is a democratic right, wherein individuals and groups can access and share information, participate in civic engagement and expression, and connect with others. Digital technology is also a crucial link for education, especially in rural and remote areas. However, access to digital technology and digital literacy is barred by a gender divide, in which women are disadvantaged by fewer opportunities to educate themselves and engage in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. We must build, support, and create platforms that allow women and girls opportunities to receive equitable access to digital technology, which is an essential component to overcoming gender inequality. We must amplify spaces that provide safe and affordable access to digital literacy and engage with stakeholders that empower women and girls’ full participation in the digital economy. Through systems of free, prior, and informed consent and self-determination, our work must support women and girls to not only have equitable access to technology and digital literacy, but to amplify their voices and empower them to drive change. Finally, the digital inequity experienced by Indigenous Peoples is mostly due to the long legacy of colonial practices and policies that fail to recognize and respect Indigenous rights. It is essential to understand that due to the wide-reach and influence technology has on our lives, digital inequity has the ability to increase the existing socio-economic gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people that persists in every sector from housing, to education, to child welfare, to economic and food security, and more. Technology weaves through nearly every aspect of our lives. Indigenous Peoples must have influence over the design and future of technology and must be at the decision-making table. To date, they have been largely excluded, this has prevented them from equitably engaging with technology or from participating in the technology sector.
Recommendations
Equip and train women and girls with the skills needed to participate and thrive in the digital transformation and to curb socio-cultural norms that discriminate against women and girls questioning their ability to perform STEM and ICT-related jobs.
Create awareness campaign that will convey the message that female leadership and presence is as “normal” as male leadership and presence in STEM and ICR-related jobs and digital transformation.
Foster private-public partnerships, including between academia and the private sector, to identify and develop the skills that are demanded by the labor market in the digital era, including STEM skills.
Increase online safety for the full participation of women and girls in the digital economy, by prohibiting gender-based violence in digital spaces and protecting women and girls’ rights to participate in an environment free from violence.
Promote diversity in entrepreneurship for girls and women providing them with the skills, financial support and network to develop innovative ideas which can represent an important step towards greater gender equity and justice.
Collect gender-disaggregated data to inform digital policy. This will allow policy makers to assess the situation and develop appropriate, evidence-based responses and policies. It is vital to tailor any analysis to the local context, including by analyzing local data. This can be done by involving national or local gender experts, consulting civil society organizations – especially women’s organizations – making use of national research, and triangulating information.
Ensure digital equity to all Indigenous Peoples. Digital equity is defined as a state in which every Indigenous person, community and Nation is fully equipped to access and effectively use technology to contribute, thrive, and succeed in today’s digital society while preserving self-determination. IIWR-MB knows that digital equity is more than just access to computers and the internet, it is about influence over the trajectory of technology and its impacts on society. Digital equity is a prerequisite for innovation, self-governance, entrepreneurship, education, economic and cultural wellbeing, and nearly all aspects of rights implementation in the digital age