During the 63rd session of the Commission for the Status of Women, I was one of the youth from over 100 countries selected to participate in “Take the Hot Seat, a High-level Intergenerational Dialogue” on 13 March 2019 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Other PPSEAWA Youth Representatives attended from Japan, as well as Connie Chien of PPSEAWA Taiwan and Pakchanun Rerngprasertvita of PPSEAWA Thailand.
Among the keynote speakers included Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka- UN Women Executive Director, and Jayathma Wickramanayake- UN Secretary-General’s Envoy. The youth presented the CSW63 Common Minimum Standards: recommendations created collaboratively by the youth as a call for governments to ensure that their efforts towards achieving the SDGs, primarily relating to public services, social protection, and sustainable infrastructures meet the youth needs.
This event primarily focused on SDG11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure). Some of the issues and recommendations identified by the youth referenced these goals.
Challenges
- Unequal power dynamics/unequal division of unpaid care work disproportionately affecting women hence their restricted access to social protection services
- Gender stereotyping in the provision of public services
- Limited mobility due to the lack of access to adequate infrastructure
Recommendations. Governments and nongovernmental organizations should aim to invest in the following:
- Youth employment
- Subsidized childcare
- Support services to teenage mothers
- Sustainable infrastructure Public awareness campaigns addressing gender-power relations