Definition & Legal Instruments

According to UN Women, gender refers to:

• “The social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and female and the relationships between women and men and girls and boys, as well as the relations between women and those between men.
• These attributes, opportunities and relationships are socially constructed and are learned through socialization processes. They are context/time-specific and changeable.
• Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a woman or a man in a given context.”

UN Women also define gender equality as “equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men and girls and boys. Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female. Gender equality implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men. Gender equality is not a women’s issue but should concern and fully engage men as well as women.”

Women’s rights are human rights. This means that advancing gender equality, ensuring equal rights, equal opportunities and non-discrimination are a moral and human rights imperative. Yet despite progress, women and girls around the world do not fully experience equal rights and their potential as economic, social and sustainable development change agents remains untapped.

The UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), often described as an international bill of rights for women, reaffirms the principle of equality between women and men. CEDAW defines what constitutes discrimination against women in various areas and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

The right to be free from discrimination, including on the basis of sex, is also firmly secured in other international human rights instruments, including UDHR, ICCPR and ICESCR. In addition, a number of UN instruments tackle specific aspects related to gender equality, including:

• Gender-based violence: Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
• Trafficking of women: Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children

Two ILO conventions address the issue of discrimination:

• ILO Discrimination (in Employment and Occupation) Convention, No. 111 (1958) requires ratifying countries to enforce national policies to promote respect and equal opportunities in the workplace and identifies race, colour, sex, religion, political opinion, national extraction and social origin as bases of discrimination.
• ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, No. 100 (1951) promotes the principle of equal pay for work of equal value.

Other relevant ILO instruments on gender equality include the following:

• Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention (No. 156)
• Home Work Convention (No. 177)
• Maternity Protection Convention, (No. 183)
• Violence and Harassment Convention, (No. 190)

While most States have ratified ILO conventions No.111 and No.100, their implementation in national laws and enforcement of such laws vary greatly. In practice, the provision of legal protection against discrimination in respect of employment and occupation is not consistent across countries.