KEY FINDINGS

Women’s empowerment means women gaining more power and control over their own lives.

According to UN World Survey on the Role of Women in Development 2014, there are proven synergies between women’s empowerment and economic, social and environmental sustainability. The chronic underinvestment in gender equality has been aggravated by the austerity measures adopted in many countries in the post-crisis context.

The aim of the present note is to provide background information for the Members of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) of the European Parliament attending the 60th session of the CSW, as regards the priority theme of the session:

Women’s empowerment and the link to sustainable development. It gives an overview on the role of women’s empowerment in the context of the Sustainable Development Agenda, clarifies some basic concepts relating to empowerment and sustainable development and examines the means of implementing, financing and monitoring of the activities related to the new Sustainable Development Goal 5 entitled “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT CELL MEMBERS