UNDP and UN/DESA E-Discussion on Women and Poverty

The UNDP Gender Team and the Office for ECOSOC Support and Coordination would like to invite you to participate in an e-discussion on Women and Poverty to be held from 11 January to 12 February 2010, organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN/DESA).

2010 will be a watershed year for the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment. In March, the Commission on the Status of Women will undertake a 15 year review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. In late June, the ECOSOC Annual Ministerial Review will examine the implementation of the internationally agreed development goals on gender equality and women’s empowerment. In September, the UN General Assembly will undertake the 2010 review of implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and propose policy measures to accelerate implementation over the period to 2015.

This e-discussion presents a unique opportunity to make your voice heard, and to influence the deliberations of the above events by formulating critical policy messages and action agenda to the UN intergovernmental processes. We invite you to bring new thoughts and ideas to the policy debate, drawing on your experiences, and help make a difference in the fight against poverty.

The e-discussion will address the following topics:
• What are the new understandings of poverty and its gender dimensions that have evolved since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action? What are good practices in gender-responsive poverty analysis and poverty reduction activities?
• How can the institutional and policy environment for addressing the gender dimensions of poverty be strengthened, building on the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Declaration? How can national poverty reduction strategies and programmes as well as international support more effectively address the gender dimensions of poverty in the build-up to 2015?
• What are the core policy messages for leaders participating in the 2010 CSW, ECOSOC, and the High-level Plenary Meeting on MDGs? What are the most critical actions required to tackle “gender and poverty”, in light of new obstacles and challenges, such as climate change and the impact of the global economic and financial crisis? How financing for gender equality could be strengthened in order to alleviate the gender dimensions of poverty?
We hope you will make use of this opportunity to contribute to the United Nations intergovernmental processes, and more broadly, help create a more equal world. We also encourage you to forward this invitation to colleagues who may be interested in following or participating in the discussion. If you are not already a member of the UNDP Gender-Net, MDG-Net or Poverty-Net, please register for the e-discussion at http://www.undp.org/women/sign_up.shtml