Check against delivery

Let me begin by congratulating the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Kelaniya for bringing together the International Conference on Gender Disparities 2023. It is timely to host such an event at a critical time for Sri Lanka, as it continues to recover from the unprecedented poly-crisis.

For the last few years, the global community has together faced a confluence of crisis, characterized by the climate emergency, rising cost of food and energy, the war in Ukraine, to name a few. With this, we have seen a fast-shrinking space for feminist activism during the COVID-19 pandemic, while women have experienced the pandemic and cascading crisis disproportionately. 

It is indeed time for us to reclaim the space with data, evidence and focused and impactful policies and programmes. 

While we have come a long way as the global community, we know that the gender bias persists, well into the 21st century.

It casts a shadow over our beliefs and how we act on them. No matter where women live, women are paid less, shoulder more unpaid housework and childcare, and are wildly under-represented in leadership roles both in the public and private sectors. Men make the laws, lead most governments, and run the largest companies. In 59 countries where women are now more educated than men, their income is still on average a staggering 39 percent less. Women are better educated than ever before, but this has not been enough to close the income gender gap.

I hear a similar pattern in Sri Lanka – the law college graduates are predominantly women, but when it comes to women’s representation in the roles of senior advocates, judges and prosecutors, or in the corporate world, it remains limited. 

So, what happens after completing education during a woman’s career?  

As you know, gender equality is the 5^th Sustainable Development Goal, and its principle is the foundation for all 17 Goals. It is because inequality hurts, and a sustained development process is not possible by leaving half of the global population behind in decision making processes. 

A recent UN study estimated, that if we continue with the current pace, we will need another 300 years to achieve gender equality. 

We have completely transformed the way we communicate through the advancement of technology in the last decade – yet it takes 3 centuries to make the world an even-level playing field for men and women?

UNDP believes the key lies in understanding the mental models that shape our behaviors and designing policies that reflect these norms. 

Therefore, UNDP undertakes regular assessment of the attitudes people have towards men’s and women’s societal roles, and the most recent Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) 2023, quantifies biases against women, capturing people’s attitudes on women’s roles along four key dimensions: political, educational, economic and physical integrity. 

The report shows that biases remain persistent. Around 90 percent of men and 87 percent of women hold internal biases against women—roughly the same numbers as a decade ago.

The gender-based biases, which we carry into voting booths, board meetings, interview panels are barriers to women achieving their full potential. 

Let me now turn to one theme that cuts across all nine areas of today’s Conference, which is “Gender, Technology & Innovation”. According to the University Grants Commission's statistics division, although female participation rates surpassed male percentages in areas such as law, arts, and commerce, it is vice versa in fields such as science, computer science, and engineering. The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the significant gender gap in the digital world – be it access, literacy or professional engagement. 

Digital literacy in rural Sri Lanka stands at 47.6% compared to 65% of urban women, with the worst form present in the estate sector at an appalling 23%. We know from global experience that bringing women and other marginalized groups into technology results in more creative and sustainable solutions and has greater potential for promoting solutions that meet women’s particular needs. On the other hand, the Internet, while offering significant opportunities for narrowing the information gaps, can expose women and girls to online harassment and abuse. 

We have been working with national stakeholders in Sri Lanka to fight hate speech in the online space, and I have been alarmed by the overwhelming amount of hate speech towards women, particularly women in leadership. It confirms the biases and discriminations that are deep rooted in our minds. To  move the needle, UNDP works with young boys and girls, and their parents, to nurture the culture of respect towards women in societies. We need more programmes like this to address, not only the tip of the ice-burg, but what is not visible under water, which is how our biases are constructed. 

Before I end, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the recent milestones made by the Government in adopting the Gender Equality Policy and the National Action Plan on Women in Peace and Security. While operationalizing the aspirations outlined in these documents, we must ensure public policies incorporate these gender norms. This change requires policies, regulations and institutions to reflect the necessary shifts in attitudes and behavior. It also entails strengthening social protection and care systems, combating hate speech, and gender disinformation, and expanding social space for women’s leadership and participation can all help the gender gap.

We at UNDP, have made a pledge to ensure all panels we support have a gender parity. This is a small symbolic gesture but an important start, because unless women are given a seat, we will never have a chance to get our voices heard. 

Being consciously aware of the biases and designing policy measures that intentionally address discriminatory norms is a choice we must make now.

All of us have an important role to play. UNDP stands firmly committed to walking this journey along with you all. Thank you again for the opportunity to be present with you.