GenderInSITE Declaration and Statement of Intent
In January 2010 GenderInSITE founding members came together at UNESCO in Paris to assess and confirm the need for an international campaign to promote the gender lens in science, innovation, technology and engineering (SITE).
As a result, the GenderInSITE campaign was established to promote the awareness of decision makers at all levels that STI for development policy and programs will be more effective, equitable and sustainable when the gender lens is applied – that is, when they reflect the vision, aims, concerns, perspective, knowledge and abilities of both women and men.
Participants and supporters of the GenderInSITE campaign, from the public, private, university and civil society sectors, by signing this Declaration and Statement of Intent, commit to the goals, objectives and vision of GenderInSITE and pledge to spread its message in their activities, policy and communications.
Recognizing that
the world faces a range of global environment and development challenges and that many countries are not on track to meet the MDGs by 2015;
women’s activities in food production, community development, natural resources and biodiversity management, as well as their unpaid work in educating children, caring for the health needs of their families all put them at the centre of meeting development challenges;
women are owners of small and medium enterprises (SMEs),
women’s decision making and participation in political institutions at all levels is less than men’s
Increasing the contributions of women as scientists, technologists and innovators is an important resource for transforming development and meeting development challenges
and that science, technology and innovation can provide knowledge, tools and strategies to meet development challenges;
Recalling that
the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action included references to the role of S&T in relation to improving women's access to: technologies, information and technical assistance (as entrepreneurs, farmers, and fisheries producers); science education and technical training; non-traditional employment as well as improving recognition of women's indigenous knowledge; strengthening the position of women scientists and technologists; understanding the impact and potential of new technologies including information technologies and understanding women's role in natural resource management and the impact of environmental degradation on women's lives;
the Gender Working Group to the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (UNCSTD) proposed a set of eight “Transformative Actions” to help establish greater gender equity in science and technology and contribute to greater success in the application of science and technology for development
in: science and technology education; careers for women in science: technical change; ethical issues in the application of science and technology; sex disaggregated statistics; and innovation systems;
Paragraph 90 of the World Science Conference Framework for Action in Budapest in 1999 contains a comprehensive list of actions for governments and agencies to promote the participation of women in science in education, the workforce, and decision making, including research on best practices, and the collection of statistics;
the WCS Framework for Action in particular calls for the launch, in collaboration with UNESCO and UNIFEM, of "national, regional and global campaigns to raise awareness of the contribution of women to science and technology, in order to overcome existing gender stereotypes among scientists, policy-makers and the community at large";
gender equality and the empowerment of women is recognized as a cross-cutting goal and strategy to achieve all of the Millennium Development Goals;
the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) recognized the integral nature of women’s contributions to rural development, agriculture, nutrition and food security and stated the importance of transferring and disseminating technologies for safe water, sanitation and waste management, taking into account country-specific conditions and gender equality, including specific technology needs of women;
and the 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in 2010 agreed that equal access to education, training and science and technology empowers women and girls in the context of global economic and technological changes and promotes development, all human rights, human rights education and learning at all levels, as well as gender equality, the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls and the eradication of poverty.
Recognizing that
studies conducted over the past 20 years have led to the recognition that there is a strong gender dimension to the application of science and technology for development, and that women and men contribute in different ways to the creation of scientific and technological knowledge, and products, and that
there is an increase in the number of women in some of the natural science fields, but that they continue to be poorly represented at decision making and management levels in the SITE sector,
The signing organizations and institutions working in one ore more sectors of gender equality, SITE, and SITE for development
Acknowledge that
women are often affected in different ways when science and technology are applied to meet development objectives,
women and men often have different S&T priorities relating to their productive and reproductive responsibilities and activities, and that priorities for SITE do not always reflect the needs of women.
For example, in agriculture, men tend to produce mainly field and cash crops, while women grow and prepare food for the family in home gardens or small lots near the home; while in some regions girls and young women often leave school for marriage or to provide domestic help at home, and
that women’s contributions to STI are not always recognized or supported.
Participants and supporters of the GenderInSITE campaign believe that:
- Many policy and decision makers concerned with science, technology and innovation for development are not fully aware of the gender dimension to STI policy and programming. If they were completely aware, and acted on the basis of this awareness, we believe that their policies and decisions could have a major impact on development.
- STI for development policy and programs will be more effective, transformative, equitable and sustainable when the gender lens is applied – that is, when it reflects the vision, aims, concerns, perspective, knowledge and abilities of both women and men.
- A recognition of the different roles and responsibilities of women and men /boys and girls in family care, domestic chores, income earning, access to resources, health support and food, water and energy security will improve the effectiveness of STI for development.
GenderInSITE participants and supporters recognize the need to:
1. Recognize and support the capacity of women to advance and use STI globally, nationally and locally, recognizing that countries cannot achieve development goals and improve standards of living without empowering women.
2. Recognize the contributions of women to STI.
3. Mobilize STI systems and institutions to support women as agents of change in their societies.
4. Highlight the relevance of gender and STI to all development policies in all sectors, including sustainable development, globalization, and environmental sustainability.
To do this, GenderInSITE members commit to working to:
1. Raise the awareness of policy and decision makers in science institutions, academies and other decision making bodies about the gender dimension of science, technology and innovation for sustainable development.
2. Demonstrate in key issues and sectors how gender analysis of science and technology can lead to improved development.
3. Highlight women's transformative role in development and how it can be supported using science and technology;
4. Highlight the contributions of women to STI.
5. Promote the advancement and leadership of women in STI.
Actions
GenderInSITE members commit to taking action in two focus areas:
1. Gender equality in participation and advancement in SITE for a sustainable future by highlighting the need for a new generation of leaders, both men and women, to address issues of sustainability and technologies to change development, on the understanding that a) the gender dimension is critical and we need the active participation of women and girls to move this forward.
Key topics are:
- Strengthening leadership capabilities of women in SITE
- Institutional strategies to attract, retain and advance women and girls into science
- Lifelong learning outside of the classroom
- Plugging the leak between education and employment
- Getting women to the top in the public and private sectors
- Promoting women in SITE decision making
- Promoting SITE-based entrepreneurship for women.
2. Developing STI based development solutions with women and men by using STI to address development challenges identified by women and men; recognizing the key role that women play in development; building on the innovations and contributions of women as well as men; and ensuring equality of opportunity, resources and benefits.
- Agriculture and food security
- Water
- Energy
- Infrastructure
- Climate change
- Biodiversity and environmental management
- ICT
Actions will include:
- Development of speaking notes and communications materials for major conferences and events in GenderInSITE areas of focus;
- Policy briefs and fact sheets
- Regular press releases on key events, issues and knowledge
- Development and ongoing expansion of the GenderInSITE web portal
- Regular newsletters and e-bulletins
- Brochures and publicity documentation
- Audio-visual materials
- Research and dissemination on successful strategies to support the establishment and ongoing life of gender lens approaches to STI-based development
- Sharing and exchange of successful strategies and models for action
- Promotion of evidence-based policies and programming
- Development of partnerships among GenderInSITE members
Participating and Supporting Organizations:
Africa Centre for Technology Studies
African First Ladies Initiative, RAND Corporation
American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS)
Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Elsevier Foundation
Gender Advisory Board, UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development
Maplecroft
Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)
TWAS, the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World
UNESCO
UNESCO Chair on Women in S&T for Latin America
For more information or to sign the Declaration, contact:
Sophia Huyer, Senior Advisor, OWSD
shuyer@owsdw.org
Rita Lwanga, Communications and Branding, OWSD rlwanga@owsdw.org
