As we commemorate International Women's Day, we take a moment to reflect on the strides made towards gender equality and the empowerment of women globally. We celebrate the remarkable resilience, strength, and contributions of women everywhere, acknowledging their pivotal role in driving sustainable development and shaping the future.

Highlighting this special day, our Executive Director, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, will share her insights at the 55th session of the Human Rights Council. Her participation in the panel discussion on “Challenges and Good Practices to Realise the Right to Social Security and to Provide Quality Public Services” will spotlight the evolution of social security from a foundational principle in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to an internationally recognised right that is essential for development and alleviating poverty.

In addition, Magdalena has penned an influential op-ed addressing the intersection of gender inequality and climate change. This piece, translated into multiple languages, underscores the need for targeted policies to address the disproportionate impact of climate change on women. Through the narrative of Ana and Rosa, sisters from Valparaíso, Chile, who suffered immense losses in devastating forest fires, the article illustrates the broader challenges women face due to structural discrimination, traditional roles, and limited access to economic and political power:

• Addressing gender inequality in climate response
• Taxing the super-rich: a tool to close the gender gap
• IWD: Taxing the super-rich to close the gender gap
• L’impôt sur les super-riches, un outil indispensable
• L'impôt sur les super-riches, un outil pour combler les écarts entre les hommes et les femmes
• Journée internationale de la femme : l’impôt sur les super-riches, un outil pour combler les écarts entre les hommes et les femmes
• Verbrannte Hoffnung
• Tassare i super-ricchi per dare alle donne
• El impuesto a los superricos, herramienta para cerrar brechas de género

The article illustrates the profound impact of climate change-induced disasters on women, using the story of Ana and Rosa, elderly sisters and domestic workers in Valparaíso, Chile, who lost everything in the deadliest forest fires in the region's history. This incident underscores a broader trend where women worldwide face disproportionate risks from climate-related disasters due to structural discrimination, traditional roles, and limited economic and political power.

At the upcoming 68th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, GI-ESCR is set to play a significant role by contributing to discussions on three crucial topics that align with our thematic priorities:

• Advocating for a just transition to sustainable societies to eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities
• Advancing progressive and green tax policies to finance women's rights and achieve substantive gender equality
• Promoting gender-inclusive public services to address the root causes of gender inequality

These issues will be discussed at the event 'A Care-Led Transition Towards a Sustainable Future - Pathways to Address Poverty and the Climate Crisis with a Gender Lens', which we have organised. It will feature a high-level panel of experts and activists and explore how environmental policy can support the development of robust gender-responsive social security systems, combat women's time poverty, enhance women’s climate resilience, and ensure sufficient and adequate funding for these initiatives.

Further insights into these topics can be provided by our briefing paper ‘A Care-led Transition Towards a Sustainable Future’, which you can access here. This publication delves into the intersection of gender equality, women's rights, and the just transition toward sustainable development. It underscores the critical role of care work—often undervalued and predominantly undertaken by women—in achieving gender justice and addressing climate change impacts. The document emphasises that care work, both paid and unpaid, significantly contributes to economic development and societal well-being but is frequently overlooked in policy-making processes.

We will also be co-hosting the event “Rebuilding the Social Organisation of Care: A Key to Dismantling Womxn’s Poverty “ in collaboration with key partners. This event will address the unjust social organisation of care and its impact on caregivers and care receivers, envisioning the transformation of care systems. It will be an opportunity to learn, strategise and imagine feminist alternative futures with activists and experts from all over the world. 

On International Women's Day, we recommit to fostering an inclusive, equitable world where every woman's contribution is valued, and her rights are fully realised.