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Engaging philanthropy to promote gender equality
Mary Quinn (Avon) and Geena Davis Prominent women from the entertainment and business fields came together at the United Nations on Monday. They urged philanthropists to focus on women's empowerment as an effective way to boost development around the world. Bissera Kostova has the story.
Davis: Real change happens when you reach the tipping point, and it will take all of us, working together, to get there.
NARR: Academy-award winning actress Geena Davis is working with UNIFEM, the the UN Development Fund for Women, to change the way the media represents women and girls. She shared research conducted by the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, and its programming arm, See Jane, on how women are represented in children's films.
Davis: For every one female character, there are three male characters, across all film ratings -- including G-rated films, aimed toward our youngest children. And the vast majority of female characters that are there are highly stereotyped and hypersexualized. Consider this: female characters in G-rated films wear virtually the same amount of sexually revealing clothing as female characters in R-rated films. What message are we sending both boys and girls about women's role in society?
NARR: Inés Alberdi the Executive Director of UNIFEM said the UN wants to work hand-in-hand with the private sector and share its expertise on how to move the gender equality agenda.
Alberdi: It is well recognized that women and women's leadership are essential to build strong economies, more stable societies and achieve internationally agreed goals for human rights and development.
NARR: Ms. Alberdi said that in March a UN symposium called "Equality Means Business", will launch the Women's Empowerment Principles -- seven steps companies could take to empower women "from the boardroom to each link on the supply chain". She added that UNIFEM's work on the ground has already shown the benefits of bringing together the private sector, Governments and civil society.
Alberdi: In Kenya this approach is helping Maasai women to step into the paid world of work and gain economic rights. In Egypt it galvanizes companies, the Government, and employees around a business recognition initiative that will lead to a Gender Equality Seal for qualifying companies.
NARR: Another UNIFEM partner is the Avon Foundation for Women. Its Senior Manager, Mary Quinn, said the foundation has contributed 1 million dollars to the UNIFEM Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women, the single largest private donation to the Fund. She announced a second gift to the Fund in the amount of 250,000 dollars.
Quinn: This additional gift will support development of a holistic model to prevent gender-based violence in local communities in Mexico. The model will target girls, boys and adolescents at an age when their gender identities are being developed, which also is an ideal time to address the root causes of gender-based violence.
NARR: Ms. Quinn credited the 5 million Avon representatives in 50 countries around the world for raising and donating funds to help end the cycle of violence.
Quinn: Being a women company and a beauty business, it's part of our DNA to help and support women - that's what we're all about. And I think, by helping to improve women's lives, you help the children and the families, so it is the right thing to do and an important philanthropy.
NARR: A key note speaker at the UN event, which coincided with International Corporate Philanthropy Day, was Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. Through the Sarah Ferguson Foundation, she supports the UN's Millennium Development Goals, especially the ones on gender equality and maternal health.
Ferguson: I think if you get the mothering right in the world, then you get all the other Millennium Development Goals right. And I sit here as a mother and I speak from the heart about this subject. I think that a mother can enhance and support the fact that their children need education and I believe it's education, education, education.
NARR: Sarah Ferguson went on to say that governments must realize that by supporting women's rights to education and employment, they will help their economies grow.
Ferguson: I think by education and by the mother being right, you strengthen families, you strengthen communities and you talk about the welfare of the village. You provide good jobs, you provide women a chance to actually go out there and do something.
NARR: Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. For UN Radio, I'm Bissera Kostova.
duration: 4'22"
