Belize's UN Resident Coordinator's Message on International Women's Day 2021

Whether its raising families or building a business, women find the courage and determination to inspire and achieve. This month, we celebrate Women’s History Month globally by showcasing those who have spoken up, challenged expectations and have been on the frontlines of change.

On March 8th we celebrate International Women’s Day under the theme “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” The theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

International Women’s Day is a time to reflect on progress made, to call for change and to celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women, who have played an extraordinary role in the history of their countries and communities. The world has made unprecedented advances, but no country has achieved gender equality. Fifty years ago, we landed on the moon; in the last decade, we discovered new human ancestors and photographed a black hole for the first time. In the meantime, legal restrictions have kept 2.7 billion women from accessing the same choice of jobs as men; less than 25 per cent of parliamentarians were women, and 1 in 3 women has or will experience gender-based violence.

 In Belize, women and girls make up over half the population, yet they face harsh inequities on income, access to reproductive health, political leadership, and gender-based violence. The unemployment rate in Belize is highest amongst women and, like many other countries, women who are in the labour force, earn less than men. Belize has slowly seen a rise in women leadership, especially in government, but are significantly behind when compared to others in the Caribbean region. Since 2016, over 2,000 cases of domestic violence are reported annually in the country and, in 2018, there were 70 cases of sexual violence reported to the Police with all-female victims ranging from 5 to 59 years old.

Women's full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, is critical for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. Women have the right to decision-making in all areas of life; equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work and health-care services that respond to their needs. Women stand at the front lines of the COVID-19 crisis, as health care workers, caregivers, innovators, community organizers and as some of the most exemplary and effective national leaders in combating the pandemic. The crisis has highlighted both the centrality of their contributions and the disproportionate burdens that women carry.

Women leaders and women’s organizations have demonstrated their skills, knowledge, and networks to effectively lead in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. Today, there is more acceptance than ever before that women bring different experiences, perspectives and skills to the table, and make irreplaceable contributions to decisions, policies and laws that work better for all.

Majority of the countries that have been more successful in stemming the tide of the COVID-19 pandemic and responding to its health and broader socio-economic impacts, are headed by women. For instance, Heads of Government in Denmark, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, New Zealand and Slovakia have been widely recognized for the rapidity, decisiveness and effectiveness of their national response to COVID-19, as well as the compassionate communication of fact-based public health information.

Yet, women are Heads of State and Government in only 20 countries worldwide.

In addition, to persistent pre-existing social and systemic barriers to women’s participation and leadership, new barriers have emerged with the COVID-19 pandemic. Across the world, women are facing increased domestic violence, unpaid care duties, unemployment and poverty. Despite women making up a majority of front-line workers, there is disproportionate and inadequate representation of women in national and global COVID-19 policy spaces.

To uphold women’s rights and fully leverage the potential of women’s leadership in pandemic preparedness and response, the perspectives of women and girls in all of their diversity must be integrated in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes in all spheres and at all stages of pandemic response and recovery.

I invite all of you this month to not only celebrate women’s achievements but to stand for women and girls not only in Belize but across the globe, as together, we can ensure an equal world where no one, is left behind.