Reflections on the opening session of UNCSW.

While the opening session of the UNCSW was quite interesting yesterday – in particular Michelle Bachelet, the new UN Under-Secretary General of UN Women – it seems important to remember whose voices are part of the official proceedings and whose voices are absent.

Canadian Government seats on the
 floor of the UN

Yesterday I listened to several countries talk about the amazing work they are doing to eliminate violence against women and girls, ensure equal access to adequate health care, education and social services, and to generally work towards gender equality – the reports all sounded amazing. And yet I know that later this week Canada also will give a glowing report, likely similar to last year when then minister Helena Guergis extolled the work of the Harper government around women’s equality. Those of us on the ground knew that what was reported to the UN was an incredible misrepresentation of the reality for women in Canada. In many ways the official proceedings are a bit of a PR campaign where countries work hard to show they are doing what they have committed to do.

In New York at these meetings there are over 2000 delegates representing NGO’s who are on the ground pushing and challenging governments to live up to their commitments around gender equality – labour groups among them. The side events here at the UNCSW meetings, hosted by NGO’s, provide a clearer picture of what is actually happening in countries around gender equality and provide inspiration for others in our work for economic, political and social equality for women and girls.

In sisterhood,