RAPAPORT... This year, we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the
International Day of the Girl. The day, which falls on October 11, focuses on the need to address the
challenges that girls face, and promotes girls’ empowerment and the fulfilment of
their human rights.
In the last 10 years, there has been a greater focus on gender equality with more opportunities for girls to have their
voices heard on the global stage. Yet, we continue to fall woefully short of where we
need to be to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 by 2030. Simply put, we are not on track to achieve
gender equality by the end of this decade.
A number of crises in recent years have caused further setbacks toward reaching our goal. These include the global
pandemic, violent conflict, and accelerating climate change. These challenges have tested and even reversed the progress made in expanding women’s rights and opportunities. It has threatened the participation of women in industry and government, their incomes and the gains made through education.
There is an urgent need to accelerate progress. I
strongly believe that cooperation, partnerships, and significant investments
are essential to put us back on track.
The present reality
The current state of affairs does not look good. Here are
some startling and heart-breaking facts from a recent
report published by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social
Affairs (UN DESA):
·
Achieving full gender
equality could take close to 300 years at the current rate of progress.
·
It will take
140 years for women to achieve equal representation in leadership positions in
the workplace, and 40 years for the same to happen in national parliaments.
· Women have lost
roughly $800 billion in global income due to the pandemic.
· Approximately 383 million women and girls will live in extreme poverty by the end of the year, compared to
368 million men and boys. Many more will have insufficient income to meet basic
needs such as food, clothing, and adequate shelter in most parts of the world.
·
Only 47% of data required
to track progress on SDG 5 are currently available, rendering women and girls
effectively invisible.
These are sobering findings
and should provide us with an even stronger call to action. It
is clear that without action, the erosion of rights of women and girls will
continue. A clear example of this is the current events in Iran, where a
22-year-old woman died in custody of the “morality police”, sparking outrage
and protests in Iran and beyond.
We have a long road ahead and no time to lose. We need to
recover lost ground and re-commit to efforts with renewed zeal and vigor.
A matter of values
I was fortunate to be raised, mentored, and guided
by several strong and inspiring women. Looking back at my childhood,
my grandmother stands out as a strong female presence – a young widow who
raised three children largely through grit and resilience. I have a mom and dad and a younger brother that have always
fully empowered me.
First in my family and then in my workplace, it was these
women and men who taught me what I today know about justice, beauty, and the
power of individual expression. It is through them that I have come to believe
in our shared responsibility to act and strive toward a fair and equal world
for all.
I am equally concerned and passionate about our
planet and know that the accelerating climate crisis affects women and
girls disproportionately. We cannot save the planet from the impending climate
emergency without meaningful advances in women’s rights and gender equality.
There must be a reason we call the planet Mother Earth!
What can be done?
The case for supporting women’s
empowerment is particularly strong in the jewelry industry. Women drive
demand for a vast majority of the world’s jewelry. Furthermore, in the rapidly growing
ethical consumer movement, millennial and now Gen Z women and girls are driving
consumer decisions toward products and companies that act consciously and
protect their supply chains.
Women’s roles in the jewelry supply chain has been
conditioned by existing gender disparities, skewing them towards lower skilled
activities in which they are not fully rewarded or recognized. Public commitments by companies has been largely related to women in
retail-facing operations and corporate leadership, and less toward lower-income
roles. It is crucial
to expand gender considerations to the entire jewelry supply chain.
The evident complexities in jewelry supply chains, and the
fact that large parts of the upstream involve artisanal
small-scale mining (ASM), make these efforts even more challenging. A
significant portion of these workers are located in developing countries
where low wages, poor working conditions and exposure to health and safety
hazards are more prevalent. An estimated 100 million or more people work in or
rely on ASM. The majority of ASM communities are found in sparsely populated,
rural, and often remote regions.
Best practices suggest that development programs in the
ASM sector need to tackle gender inequality as a cross-cutting issue. It
should be an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring, and
evaluation of ASM development policies and programs. ASM sector programing
should aim to:
·
Reduce gender disparities by enabling women and girls access to, control over, and benefit
from resources;
·
Reduce gender-based
violence in and around mine sites; and
·
Empower women and girls economically,
socially, and politically
For really meaningful progress, the private and public
sector will need to collaborate and place women and girls at the center of all
aspects of decision making, including through gender-responsive laws, policies,
and budgeting. We need a truly multidimensional and multi-sectoral approach.
That’s why I so strongly believe in partnerships. Within the Watch &
Jewellery Initiative 2030, inclusiveness is a key pillar from which we want to make
a real impact. Gender equality is at the heart of this pillar.
Personal experience
I started in the jewelry industry about 20 years ago. It
was an entirely new environment, coming from a stock market technology company.
I was at a family-owned business, which gave me a head start that
was essential and immensely empowering at that stage of my career. Based in
Antwerp, I got the chance to visit operational sites in countries as diverse as
South Africa and India, while raising a five-year old son. The industry was
clearly changing at an accelerated pace.
I feel lucky to have received the opportunity and mentorship that I received. However, that has not been the experience for
women across so many different industries and organizations. It wouldn’t be a
stretch to say that back then, in the year 2000, the gender ratio in our
industry, especially at higher levels of management was very skewed. I would
visit sites in China and India and see many women working on the manufacturing
floor, but unsurprisingly their input thinned out as you went up the management
chains. I was brought up with a strong work ethic and a value system that taught
me to push my boundaries. I learnt that the path to real growth was neither
linear nor smooth, and sometimes, despite one’s best efforts, things don’t turn
out as one wants them to.
Today, I find myself becoming increasingly vocal about
inequality and injustice. Like most women, I have had my share of sexism and
have encountered people who don’t share the same principles of gender equality
that I hold. However, I
have also had mentors and role models at every step of my professional and personal journey. Men and women, from both inside the
industry and elsewhere, who continue to inspire and renew my faith in the principles
of human dignity and the transformative power of collective effort.
At present, I am grateful to work with such inspiring C-suite
leaders to build our initiative. I am committed to continue to be an
advocate for gender equality and to work closely with our members and key
stakeholders to find meaningful opportunities that accelerate our impact
on this topic.
A call for action?
I am calling on our industry leaders and stakeholders to
join forces and accelerate efforts to make gender equity a reality
for all. We know that the origins of these challenges are structural and
centuries old. Therefore, we need approaches and solutions that are also systemic to achieve comprehensive and long-term results, leading to both structural,
and cultural transformations. Join our initiative and work closely together to
drive the change that is needed.
Despite the recent setbacks, there is cause for hope. The
world is home to over 1.1 billion girls under the age of 18, and they are
poised to become the largest generation of female leaders, entrepreneurs, and
change-agents the world has ever seen. There are countless examples of women around
the world who are assuming leadership, and taking destiny into their
own hands to inspire us all. It is time for us all to invest in a future that believes in the agency,
leadership, and potential of girls everywhere.
I will conclude with inspiring words from a young woman,
Malala Yousafzai, who stood up to the insurmountable and daunting challenges
facing her, and now continues to inspire countless women and men around the
globe: “I raise up my voice — not so that I can shout, but so that
those without a voice can be heard. We cannot all succeed when half of us are
held back.” To learn more about the Watch and Jewellery Initiative 2030 please visit https://www.wjinitiative2030.org/
Image: Iris Van der Veken. (Watch and Jewellery Initiative 2030)
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