Gender Equality Policies

A historic step forward for justice and equality in #Lebanon The appointment of 50% women to the Judicial Council (مجلس عدلي) is more than just a symbolic milestone, it is a concrete reflection of the reality within our judicial corps, where women already make up over half of its members. This decision marks real progress toward genuine #GenderEquality in #Leadership, ensuring that women’s voices and perspectives are represented at the highest levels of justice. It also stands as recognition of the dedication, competence, and professionalism that women have consistently brought to the judiciary, along with the efforts of gender-sensitive advisors like Lara Saade, who have worked to advance gender mainstreaming within our institutions. While this is a significant achievement, it must be only the beginning. Hoping that this momentum continues, paving the way for greater representation of women across all levels of leadership in Lebanon: in the judiciary, in public institutions, and in decision-making positions that shape the future of our country. Equality in leadership is not just fairness, it is strength. #WomenonBoards National Commission for Lebanese Women NCLW

As I read through the "Women, Business and the Law 2024" report, I couldn't help but be moved (thought not surprised) by its findings. Despite the advances we see or some privileged ones like me feel, the gap between men's and women's legal rights and their practical implementation is startling. It's clear that achieving gender equality requires more than just legal reforms; it demands a societal shift towards recognizing and valuing women's contributions in all spheres of life, especially #safety and #childcare. Reflecting on my journey, I recognize that I couldn't have reached where I am today without safety and childcare support. The assurance of a #safeenvironment, #free from #violence and #harassment, has allowed me to focus and thrive professionally without #fear. Simultaneously, access to reliable childcare solutions has been a game-changer, enabling me to #balance the demands of #career and #family with confidence. These supports not only enabled my personal growth but also underscored the vital role of societal structures in #empowering #women to pursue their aspirations without compromise. The “Women, Business and the Law 2024” report The World Bank underscores significant legal and practical #barriers to women’s #economicparticipation and highlights the need for comprehensive reforms to ensure #genderequality in the #workplace and beyond. This year’s edition introduces these two critical indicators, #Safety and #Childcare, to better assess the global landscape of #womensrights. Here are the key findings: 1. Legal Frameworks vs. Reality: Women on average have two-thirds the legal rights of men, revealing a glaring gap between legal provisions and their practical implementation. Economies have established less than two-fifths of the supportive frameworks necessary for full implementation. 2. Safety and Childcare: The report for the first time measures the legal protections women need from domestic violence, sexual harassment, child marriage, and femicide, finding that women globally have only a third of the necessary legal protection. Additionally, it highlights the lack of laws regulating childcare, with women spending significantly more time on unpaid care work than men. 3. Economic Consequences: The absence of gender equality in law and practice not only hampers women’s economic empowerment but also stifles overall economic growth. Closing gender gaps could significantly boost the global economy. 4. Call to Action: The findings call for urgent and comprehensive legal reforms, implementation mechanisms, and societal changes to eliminate gender disparities and ensure women’s full economic participation. #GenderEquality #EconomicEmpowerment #imdimpact

During his address at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos, Argentinian President Javier Milei announced his government’s intention to remove femicide from the penal code. Milei dismissed femicide laws as a product of “woke” culture and called “radical feminism” a distortion of the concept of equality. ⚠️ This announcement is deeply concerning. At least 18 countries worldwide – including several in Latin America such as Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia – have enacted specific femicide laws. These laws are not about privilege; they are about justice, recognition, data collection and safety. While challenges remain in implementation and enforcement, femicide laws have delivered critical benefits. 🌏 To repeal such legislation in Argentina would represent a dangerous regression, undermining global efforts to track gender-related killings and weakening the justice system’s response to violence against women. If these reforms proceed, the ripple effect across Latin America could be devastating. 💔 In 2023 alone, an estimated 85,000 women and girls were intentionally killed worldwide. Of these, 60% (51,100 women and girls) were killed by intimate partners or family members. This equates to 140 lives lost every day—one every 10 minutes—at the hands of someone they knew and trusted. ➖ Now is not the time to step backward. The fight to end violence against women and girls must remain a priority— in Argentina and globally. 👉 Read more in my article for The Conversation Australia + NZ: https://lnkd.in/gtjA2F2d

It's not the pipeline, It's the System. June 23rd is celebrated as 'International Women in Engineering Day" #INWED Sadly the harsh reality, engineering colleges in India produce the highest number of women in STEM graduates/engineers and many of them actually do make it to the workforce. The real challenge is their retention and progression. With 2+ decades in tech and now consulting for tech companies on their Gender Equity Strategy, I’ve seen this challenge firsthand. The issue isn’t talent availability, it’s systemic. In most households, a woman’s career is still seen as optional. That mindset and bias bleeds into workplaces, shaping how women are hired, retained, and promoted. So what can organisations do, 1. Relook at org culture and design. Are your systems, policies, and leadership norms built equitably to support who stays, rises and how. 2. Representation matters, especially in especially in mid and senior levels, invest in retention and have hiring goals across grades. 3. Move from gendered to gender neutral policies. Eg. Maternity to Parental Leave Policy that supports all care-givers. Reframe workplace policies from “women-centric benefits” to equitable caregiving support that normalise shared responsibility and reduce bias. 4. Women in Tech Returnee programs - I've seen immense success in these programs, that offer companies experienced tech talent with a little investment. #Vapasi from Thoughtworks, #Spring from Publicis Sapient are two examples 5. Conduct Stay Interviews, Not Exit Interviews. Understand why women leave and what it takes for them to stay and grow and act on the inputs. 3. A Clear Career Progression Path with mentorship and sponsorship - Bias in growth opportunity for #WIT is real, if there is no intentional support to overcome these bias, talent walks away. 4. I Need to See More Like Me! There is a lack of role models. Accelerated Women in tech leadership programs, fast-tracking the leadership journey of high potential women are some ways to address this. 5. Collective Ownership. Gender Diversity in tech is not a HR, leadership or DEI responsibility. Make it the very fabric of the org. to drive shared accountability. 6. Data is not just diagnostic, it's directional. It guides us on investments to be made, unseen bias and where and what needs to change, it's your mirror don't ignore it. #Inclusion is a organisational capability and leaders are it's torch bearers. Their actions, direction and decisions every single day, signal what truly matters. The Women in tech, talent pool exists. The question is, are you ready to retain, grow, and lead with them? #WomenInTech #WIT #GenderEquity #DiversityInTech Diversity Simplified Image description: A newspaper article titled “It’s Not the Pipeline, It’s the System” from Times of India, Bangalore edition which highlights the gender gap in engineering.

Today United Nations OCHA briefed the United Nations Security Council on the grave humanitarian situation in #Afghanistan, as it enters its fourth year under the Taliban de-facto authority. We reiterate that “no one has felt the impact more profoundly than women and girls” with girls banned from education beyond sixth grade education for over 1000 days now - which must feel like a lifetime for a girl child deprived of her basic human right. Over 54 edicts of 80 issued by the taliban target women and girls specifically, limiting their legal rights, access to education and employment, freedom of movement, clothing and much more. The situation is so depressing that it has fueled an increase in child marriage, early childbearing, and attempted suicides by women and girls. The gender discrimination is severe. The impact is felt by over 15 million million #Afghanwomen and girls. The long terms impacts on the whole population cannot be underscored. At the same time, Afghan women have called for all political and development efforts to include Afghan women. That political processes and development must not be negotiated without women. Well, the men continue to negotiate, knowing that it is at the cost of women's rights, and at the cost of lasting peace and sustainable development. Read the numerous reports, analysis, and calls to action by Afghan women, Human Rights Watch, NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security (https://lnkd.in/gKX_WkSn) and the latest country profile by UN Women (https://lnkd.in/g3f88jVG) The UN Secretary General António Guterres recently issued a new UN Gender Equality Acceleration Plan that calls the UN to step up efforts on #genderequality and #womensrights, asking its leaders to be bold, to keep women's rights central to our work. It also calls for women's participation and leadership. Perhaps the UN meeting in Doha on Afghanistan at the end of the month will be a test of whether the UN's gender equality plan has any teeth. UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) GWL Voices International Rescue Committee PassBlue The New Humanitarian ODI Global Fund for WomenWomen for Women International Women for Afghan Women (WAW) Women's International League for Peace and Freedom - WILPF Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) UNDP Volker Türk https://lnkd.in/gtvtRdNy

Very recently, the Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld the right of a married female civil servant to change her domicile once during service for the purpose of direct recruitment. In a judgment grounded in constitutional values and gender equality, the Court held that a woman’s legal identity is not automatically tied to that of her husband. The Court powerfully observed: “A married woman retains the legal discretion, choice or agency to either adopt her husband’s domicile or retain her own.” Rejecting outdated doctrines of dependency, the Court interpreted service law through a gender-sensitive and purposive lens, aligning its reasoning with Pakistan’s constitutional guarantees under Articles 25(3), 34, and 35 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 and its international obligations. Crucially, the judgment reaffirms the Supreme Court’s role as the conscience of the Constitution, not merely a forum for legal adjudication, but a living institution that must respond to the realities and aspirations of society. Its judges are not passive interpreters of text, but custodians of liberty, equality, and institutional independence. Honoured to have assisted Hon'ble Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah in advancing a more equitable and inclusive interpretation of service law, one that recognizes women as full constitutional citizens, endowed with agency, dignity and choice.

Gender Transformative Approaches (GTAs) refer to strategies and interventions that go beyond addressing the symptoms of gender inequality and instead seek to challenge and change the underlying power dynamics, structures, norms, and behaviours that perpetuate gender-based discrimination and inequality. Key Features of Gender Transformative Approaches: 1. Challenge Unequal Gender Norms and Roles: GTAs confront and aim to shift societal expectations and cultural norms that reinforce gender inequalities (e.g., traditional roles that restrict women's decision-making power). 2. Promote Gender Equality and Equity: These approaches actively promote equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities for all genders, recognising that equity (fairness) may sometimes require unequal inputs to achieve equal outcomes. 3. Empower Marginalised Groups: GTAs prioritise the empowerment of women, girls, and other marginalised gender groups by building their skills, voice, agency, and access to resources. 4. Engage Men and Boys: They involve men and boys as allies in challenging harmful masculinities and promoting equitable relationships. 5. Systemic Change: GTAs aim for long-term transformation at multiple levels—individual, interpersonal, institutional, and societal. 6. Context-Specific: These approaches are informed by context-sensitive gender analyses to ensure they are culturally relevant and locally owned. Examples of Gender Transformative Interventions: Education: Curriculum reform to challenge gender stereotypes and promote critical thinking about gender roles. Health: Programs addressing gender-based violence (GBV) that involve both survivors and perpetrators in understanding power and gender dynamics. Agriculture and Livelihoods: Ensuring women have equal access to land, inputs, and markets, while promoting joint decision-making in households. Policy: Developing and enforcing gender-equitable laws and institutional policies. Gender Equity Policy Institute (GEPI), Gender at Work India, Gender, Work & Organization, HBS Race, Gender & Equity Initiative, CGIAR Gender Equality and Inclusion, ADB Gender, Gender DEI, Gender & Health Hub, Gender Unit | Ministry of Planning Development and Special Initiatives, Gender Justice & Women’s Rights Division - PJ&RI, Gender, Adolescent Transitions & Environment (GATE) Program, Grow. Gender and Work., Gender Equitable and Transformative Social Policy for Africa, Institute for Gender and the Economy, Africa & Middle East Gender Mainstreaming Awards, Gender Initiative For Change and Social Tranformation, Military Gender Trainers, Institute for Faith and Gender Empowerment (IFAGE), Gender and Environment Data Alliance (GEDA), Gender Justice Fund, Gender Mainstreaming Research Association, Gender Mainstreaming Governance & Leadership at OECD

A momentous day in the Egyptian history: August 26, 2025. The dream that finally came true. Since Jan 2014, and for years leading to this day, Her Honor Setting The Bar began its work of litigation, legal advocacy, and community mobilization, campaigning, raising awareness about the cause and its implications. Congratulations to Egyptian society at large, to Egyptian women in particular, and to female law graduates most specifically. It took me 12 years of relentless effort by Her Honor Setting The Bar—with over 23 lawsuits filed by Her Honor Setting The Bar on behalf of other female graduates from different Egyptian cities—to witness the Constitution and the law applied and to end one form of discrimination in the Egyptian society. This was preceded by attempts since the fourties of the last century (1949) to demand the right of Egyptian women to assume judicial positions. These efforts contributed to breaking down the formidable wall of discrimination that had blatantly disregarded international treaties, the Constitution, and the law; overthrown the principle of the rule of law, legality; and prevailed societal considerations, personal preferneces and interests, considerations of suitability, and discretionary power without any legitimate basis, trampling on the rule of law and citizenship. But in the end, truth prevails. This brings the total number of female judges to date to 183 in the State Council and 128 in the ordinary judiciary (a total of 311 sitting female judges), along with 168 female public prosecutors (standing judiciary), making a total of 479 women out of approximately 22,000 judges, according to the latest statements in 2021—a proportion of just 2.1% to date. For the first time in history, Egyptian women will assume judicial roles and ascend the bench through the natural path of appointment, not the exceptional/abnormal/ceserean path—being transferred from the Administrative Prosecution or the State Litigation Authority—which entrenched other forms of discrimination more than it resolved. Even after this decision, the percentage of female judges in Egyptian courts remains at 2%, a token figure rather than true representation of women on the judicial bench. This explains Egypt's continued lag in international annual reports, including the Global Gender Gap Report, Women, Business and Law Report, and others. Despite unprecedented steps, these victories remain ineffective on a macro level, unorchestrated, and it is still difficult to measure the impact of Egyptian female judges on society or the judiciary "because their percentage is negligible/more of an image than actual appointment. No right is ever lost since someone strives to claim it, and no nation is lost that holds its constitution and the rights of its citizens in high regard. #HerHonorSettingTheBar ‎#المنصة_حقها

In the aftermath of the gut-wrenching Kolkata Doctor case there has been a lot of discussion on punishment of the perpetrator. While reducing delays in judicial system is vital, let's look at the whole system. As Peter Senge said, “System thinking is a discipline for seeing wholes. It is a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing patterns of change rather than static snapshots.” To answer: How can we make our country safer for women? Some different aspects are: 1. Legal and Judicial : stricter penalties for sexual crimes; Train judges, lawyers, and police on gender sensitivity and the unique trauma experienced by survivors; fast-track courts for sexual assault cases ; provide free legal aid and counselling services for survivors. 2. Police and Law Enforcement Reforms: Continuous gender-sensitivity training to handle sexual violence with care and empathy; accountability mechanisms to ensure cases are not dismissed or mishandled; Promote community policing initiatives. 3. Education and Awareness: sex education in schools that includes discussions on consent, respect, and gender equality; public awareness campaigns to challenge rape myths and promote gender equality; empower women with knowledge and skills to recognize and resist potential threats. 4. Social and Cultural Norms: Address deeply entrenched patriarchal norms that perpetuate gender inequality and the devaluation of women; Change narratives around gender equality in media, literature, and public discourse; Encourage men and boys to become allies in the fight against sexual violence by challenging toxic masculinity and promoting healthy expressions of masculinity. 5. Economic Empowerment: Increase access to job opportunities and economic resources for women, reducing economic dependency and vulnerability. 7. Political Will and Leadership: through policies, resources, and public advocacy. 8. Strengthen Work place policies: strict policies ; response mechanisms;  robust monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess the effectiveness of interventions and adjust strategies as needed. How can we as  social investigators, continue to explore how are we are impacted by these forces? How can we Influence at micro levels, (even in drawing room conversations ), while we do our bits in the myriad roles above with awareness and courage.