Gender equality as a prerequisite for sustainable development

GENDER EQUALITY AS A PREREQUISITE FOR SUSTAINABLE       DEVELOPMENT

Gender equality and sustainable development are two goals that are gaining more and more importance within social and representative policy in all developing world. Sustainable development requires the full and equal participation of women at all levels [4]. Women’s rights are universal rights and are protected by international human rights conventions.       Gender inequality is a problem faced by all regions of the developing world. In only four countries – Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden - women have legal social and economic rights roughly equal to those man.     To consider this problem, first of all need to stay on the very definition of the term ‘gender equality’. The free encyclopedia tells us that gender equality (also known as gender equity, gender egalitarianism, or sexual equality) is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality [3].           . Men and women are physically different but it is the social, economic, political and legal interpretation of these differences that lead to inequality between them.  Let s us consider some examples       Social inequality:          Women and men usually have different roles and responsibilities in their daily work. Men's work tends to have a higher status than the work done by women, who have the main responsibility for doing housework. Women often have unequal access to education and health services.       There are high levels of violence against women in all countries around the world. This may be within families where it may be accepted as ‘normal'. Economic inequality          Nearly 70% of the world's poor are female, and the number of women living in poverty has increased disproportionately in recent years compared with the number of men. Females have unequal access to education and training opportunities, which leads to low literacy levels and employment in unskilled, low status jobs[1].            Political and legal inequality:         Women are very poorly represented at all levels of formal decision making in society, but particularly regional and national levels.      The legal system in many countries discriminates against women in the areas of family law, inheritance, property and land ownership, citizenship and criminal law. The prosecution of cases involving violence against women is particularly difficult.            Addressing inequality:         The equality of men and women has been accepted as a fundamental principle of human rights since the adoption of the United Nations Charter in 1945. Many international agreements, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), the World Conference on Human Rights (1993) and the Millennium Development Goals (2000) have highlighted the need for countries to take action against discriminatory practices [5].     To confirm my words suggest to consider such issues as women's representation in parliaments by country. The first table shows which parts of the world the percentage of women in parliament equal to men. In the first position expected Scandinavian countries they are leaders with sustainable development of gender policies in all spheres of life without exception. These countries are Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden. It is for these countries are States of America and Europe. This suggests that states that are most economically and socially developed in the world community become successful, and on gender. 

The second table shows the figures in detail world ranking by country. The most unexpected is the first place ranking, which is Rwanda. But it does not indicate that the country is on the path of sustainable development? In recent years, living in this country has improved, it was possible to improve working conditions, reduce unemployment, the economy improved and become more able to compete. Other countries have more or less predictable. Among the leaders again found itself Scandinavia, States which in recent years begun to rise rapidly and the top of the world rankings.          To sum up, gender policy is an important component of sustainable development of any country. It provides equality and balance in the state.