Talking Points for the High Level Youth Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Development Goals

Held at UN Complex from 19th August to 21st August 2014

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By Jack Onyisi Abebe- UN Women ESARO Theme: “Prioritizing an Investment in Youth Development in the Post-2015 era” 19th-21st August 2014, Nairobi, Kenya UN Women Panel Theme- ‘Young people and Inequalities’ with a particular focus on young women empowerment Talking Points Thank you for inviting me to be a panelist at this important event. There are about 1.8 billion adolescents in the world and they make up the largest youth generation in history. With 200 million people aged between 15 and 24 (the youth bracket), Africa has the youngest population in the world. The current trend indicates that this figure will double by 2045, according to the 2012 African Economic Outlook report According to the African Economic Outlook, on average, more than 70% of Africa’s youth live on less than US$2 per day, the internationally defined poverty threshold. Statistics

1.8 billion people are aged 10-24 - a quarter of the world’s population

87% of young people aged 15-24 live in a developing context

13% of 15-24 year-olds are unemployed, next to 4.6% for all adults

2.6 million young people aged 10-24 die each year; mostly preventable deaths Situational Analysis

Grounded in the vision of equality, UN Women works for the elimination of discrimination against women and girls; the empowerment of women; and the achievement of equality between women and men as partners and beneficiaries of development, human rights, humanitarian action and peace and security

Placing women’s rights at the center of all its efforts, UN Women is committed to gender equality and gender mainstreaming which translates into action throughout the world.

There is a high degree of inequalities found in the power relations between the male and female despite the many decades of the rise of the women’s movement; all the institutions of society from the home to the school, workplaces and political framework perpetrate the system. Against this backdrop, only a multi-prong approach that targets men and women of different classes, policy makers at different levels and the custodians of our traditional institutions in our communities can effectively dismantle the system

Civil society organizations over the five past decades in Africa have made great efforts but a lot still needs to be done.

Talking Points for the High Level Youth Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Development Goals

Held at UN Complex from 19th August to 21st August 2014

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Selected Inequalities Inequalities in employment

Youth account for 60% of all African unemployed, according to the World Bank. In North Africa, the youth unemployment rate is an eyebrow-raising 30%. It is even worse in Botswana, the Republic of the Congo, Senegal, South Africa and several other countries.

Labor force composition- young women are excluded from employment opportunities. Management positions are also a position of only older women at the detriment of young women

In the current economic climate young people are finding it harder to access jobs and opportunities, leading to wider inequalities and divides. Schools, NGOs, businesses and governments all have a role to play in ensuring that young people are given the skills needed to enter the job market, and that opportunities are there and accessible to all.

Inequalities in Education

71M adolescent girls are not yet in schools. Inequalities in education are a pressing issue among young women. Not only access to school, but completion rate but also transition and conducive environment to ensure school completion. Better education at younger ages could increase employment opportunities for youth. Education is asserted to contribute to 12% cut down in poverty levels amongst girls and youths.

Inequalities in participation and governance

There are low representation of youths, especially women, in political parties and processes

Decision-makers’ unwillingness to engage young people, persisting levels of stigma and discrimination. Women are few in managerial positions- if any, the uptake of their recommendations is still scanty.

UN Women started an African Centre for Transformative and Inclusive Leadership- ACTIL, to increase spaces for women’s participation in leadership and governance. The Centre if hosted by Kenyatta University.

Recognize young people as active (rather than passive) actors in development; Youth participation matters - systematic inclusion of young people and girls as a cross-cutting issue in the post-2015 framework is essential to integrating human rights principles into the global development agenda and strengthening poverty reduction policies.

In Africa and globally, women still have unequal access to productive resources such as land, inputs, extension, financial resources, information about markets and appropriate technologies, and this has hampered their capacity to take advantage of emerging economic opportunities in trade, agriculture and emerging sectors like mining and gas.

There is need to change the narrative on women’s economic empowerment and this requires urgent and collective action from all stakeholders including Government, Civil Society, UN Agencies, Private Sector and other key partners. Affirmative action has not sufficiently addressed these issues.

Talking Points for the High Level Youth Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Development Goals

Held at UN Complex from 19th August to 21st August 2014

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Inequalities in accessing financial markets

There are evident inequalities in accessing financial markets and products by young women due to policies that are gender blind.

Promote women’s financial literacy and entrepreneurship development. UN Women has entered into a strategic partnership with Equity Group Foundation to promote women’s financial inclusion and enhance their entrepreneurial capacities. The two partners will also jointly undertake research on issues around women’s financial inclusion.

Inequalities in income distribution from the Extractive Industry

Women form the work force in the EI sector

Income from the EI sector rarely translates to actual financial benefits to women- land is in the name of men, women are excluded from equal financial benefits

UN Women is promoting Gender Equality in the Extractive Industries. UN Women has partnered with Publish What You Pay (PWYP) to work towards a gender responsive EI sector in the region. Key activities have included the formulation of an expert group for Gender Equality in the EI sector; development of a Policy Brief and Roadmap for UN Women’s engagement in the EI sector; the development of a training module for politicians and parliamentarians on GE in EI –in collaboration with the World Bank; and engaging in dialogue with AU and UNECA on engendering the Africa Mining Vision (AMV).

Inequalities in business access

Business opportunities are in favor of men than women.

UN Women ESAR has engaged in gender responsive procurement by country offices in Africa- Kenya country office is providing expansive spaces for women to access procurement opportunities by the government- the President of the Republic of Kenya, Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, directed in 2013 that government procurement apportions at least 30% of procurement opportunities to the youth, women and persons with disability.

UN Women KCO, in partnership with the PPOA, WEF, KISM and other stakeholders, have been working with women and youth enterprises to ensure that these opportunities are actualized, realized and expanded for actual gain and in a practical way

How UN Women Uses Technology to Close the Gap of Inequalities?

Recognizing the role of technology towards reducing the gap of inequalities amongst women, UN Women has been able to engage in various innovative technologies including development of the knowledge gateway for women’s economic empowerment, engaging with women on digital literacy and women in economic realms.

UN Women established the Knowledge Gateway for Women’s Economic Empowerment, www.EmpowerWomen.org, in September 2013. EmpowerWomen.org is an open global community for knowledge mobilization, innovation and partnerships for women’s economic empowerment.

The knowledge gateway has engaged in active participation of the review process in regard to Beijing+20. We are holding monthly discussions, google hangouts, webinars, face book chats on critical areas of interest in regard to Beijing+ 20. In June, e-discussion on women and environment, July- e.g e-discussion on women in leadership and decision making, August- videos

Talking Points for the High Level Youth Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Development Goals

Held at UN Complex from 19th August to 21st August 2014

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of voices of girls providing suggested solutions to their economic empowerment , October- online summit

The gateway also offers online knowledge library with publications and journals on women’s economic empowerment.

Promote rural women’s technologies for agricultural production and value addition. UN Women has partnered with WFP, IFAD and FAO and other partners to organize a regional share-fair to showcase innovative rural women's technologies to improve food security, nutrition and productive family farming. The fair is planned for 15-17 October 2014 to coincide with the International Day for Rural Women and the World Food Day and will bring rural smallholder women innovators from the region together to interact, share and learn, at the same time offering a platform bringing together policymakers, academicians, innovators, food producers, investors, and the smallholder farmers.

UN Women is also engaging in promoting women’s access to ICT and the Internet to accelerate gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

UN Women is implementing a “She Will Connect” program which seeks to reduce the digital gender gap through an innovative combination of: digital literacy training, online peer networks, and gender-relevant content.

This partnership with Intel is premised on UN Women’s recognition of the critical role that private sector actors such as Intel, can and have played in re-defining business perspectives, practices and strategies, to promote the rights and freedoms of women and girls whilst reducing inequalities evident among young women.

General directions to close the gap

There is need for an enabling policy and operating environment (actual implementation versus theory- what is on paper) and women should to be at the centre of decision-making on issues that affect their economic development. There is need also for specific measures to safeguard women’s property and inheritance rights.

There is need to avail affordable financial services which should be coupled with training and other related business development services and access to markets. There is also need to invest in labour and time saving technologies for women in agriculture.

The transparent and equitable management of revenues derived from the EI sector also offers the opportunity to provide quality public and social services including availing direct opportunities for women’s engagement.

There is need to create not only space but also listen to sufficient - views and act upon them. Crucially, young people facing inequalities in their daily lives need to hear their voices reflected in a new development framework

Talk about the link between VAW and EE- Violence against young girls namely early marriage/forced marriage affects their future productivity and economic empowerment

The youth are the future leaders and change agents -There is therefore a need to engage them at an early stage to reach a sustained development.

Cultural orientation to indoctrinate the community basing on the plural nature of the societies we live in. Create a cosmopolitan dimension whilst establishing a moral concern and embedding them upon the society.

Talking Points for the High Level Youth Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Development Goals

Held at UN Complex from 19th August to 21st August 2014

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For e.g. engaging young men and involving them in campaigns can be instrumental in changing existing mindsets and beliefs about women's roles and capacities especially in patriarchal societies

Key Issues

Private sector involvement in development- Recognize the critical role that private sector actors can and have played in re-defining business perspectives, practices and strategies, to promote the rights and freedoms of women and girls whilst reducing inequalities evident among young women.

Recognize young people as active (rather than passive) actors in development; Youth participation matters - systematic inclusion of young people and girls as a cross-cutting issue in the post-2015 framework is essential to integrating human rights principles into the global development agenda and strengthening poverty reduction policies.

Policy reforms- engagement on actual implementation vis a viz theory- what is on paper