Thank you, Madam Chair,
Dear Commissioners,
The presentation of the Beijing +20 report has given the Italian Government the opportunity to carefully consider the results obtained, the critical areas that still persist and the future scenarios.
We believe that twenty years after the adoption [of Beijing +20] and all of the movements for emancipation and the affirmation of the value of gender diversity, we must launch a new movement – capable of building a truly fair and equal democracy. Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon himself, opening the work of this session of the CSW, called our attention to this point: it is no longer only about looking with favor to the advancement of individual women who have reached top positions and are very successful, or about guaranteeing the protection of vulnerable women, but also about building a “collective” pathway that all women can access in a society that invests more and more in the capabilities of everyone – men and women.
The violation of women’s rights is fully recognized as a human rights violation. There are also patriarchal models and imbalances still widespread in many countries. For years, the Italian Government has enacted various initiatives to prevent and fight every form of violence against women and girls at the national and international levels.
Because it is only through the eradication of this phenomenon at the global level that it will be possible to draw up a roadmap for social empowerment. With this, the Italian Government has initiated a great reform process that touches employment – women’s employment, women’s protagonism in social and political life. The International Monetary Fund, on sexism, was very clear: discrimination of women makes us lose a lot of potential wealth, and on this the reform program of the Italian Government has invested 40 million euros out of a guarantee fund to initiate women’s entrepreneurship in Italy. We believe that this is a strategic objective also for the post-2015 development agenda.
In a global society that is constantly changing like the one we live in, the great challenge of the future is to envision strategies that can adapt to future economic demands, through innovative tools for the promotion of women’s self-employment, the strengthening of childcare services, and support for pay equality.
Thank you.
