Both Jordan and Lebanon are making efforts to address the deep, structural gender inequalities that persist in their countries. Jordan has pledged to close the gender equality gap by 2030 and, in 2022, it revised its Constitution to explicitly say that both men and women are equal before the law. Lebanon accords women equal political rights and has gender focal points in all ministries and public institutions. In 2020, it enacted legislation to criminalize sexual harassment against women in work places. However, turning policy into action remains a challenge.
The training will enrol approximately 50 officials with experience in gender equality and women’s empowerment, nominated by their national council/commission of women. Over 10 weeks, participants will learn through self-paced online modules, webinars with experts, group discussions and peer reviews as well as mentoring and networking sessions. Working in country teams, they will develop a concrete plan to act on an existing gender-mainstreaming initiative in their ministry/country.
Jordan ranked 131st and Lebanon ranked 132nd out of 153 countries in the 2021 Global Gender Gap Index. This phase of the programme in 2022 will expand on the successful pilot phase held in 2021 and introduce participants to tools to operationalize gender indicators and guidelines. Officials who took part in the 2021 programme welcomed learning how to practically mainstream gender into their work to narrow the gender gap. Both phases of Gender Empowerment Now! are funded by the Cypriot Government. The project supports Sustainable Development Goal 5: Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls.
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) provides innovative learning solutions to enhance global and country-level action for a better future. Located in Hiroshima, the Division for Prosperity trains present and future change-makers from developing countries, particularly youth and women, so they may shape a more inclusive, sustainable and prosperous world. https://www.unitar.org/sustainable-development-goals/prosperity
