Gender equality for people and nature in the Mediterranean
In the Mediterranean, the region that I have the privilege to serve as the Coordinator of the UNEP/MAP- Barcelona Convention Secretariat, there is no shortage of women leadership and creativity. As we strive to implement the UNEP/MAP Medium-Term Strategy (MTS 2022-2027), we must find ways to harness the potential of all women to achieve progress towards healthy marine and coastal ecosystems, and to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals.
How can we ensure that the potential of women is fully tapped to achieve these important goals? On 9 December 2021 we pondered the question at a roundtable with women Heads of delegations during the 22nd Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention and its Protocols. The discussion chaired by Ms. Emine Erdoğan, the First Lady of Turkey, and attended by the then UNEP Deputy Executive Director Joyce Msuya, underscored the need to remove gender-related obstacles that hinder the ability of women and girls to fulfill their potential.
Based on the Global Gender Gap Index, the State of the Environment and Development in the Mediterranean (SoED), a report released by UNEP/MAP and its Regional Activity Centre Plan Bleu in October 2020, indicates that Mediterranean countries score particularly well in educational attainment.