This chapter discusses achieving gender equality through the novel lens of global citizenship in business and the economy through four key drivers: household, workplace, culture and systemic bias, and politics. Draft bills from the students of Indian universities will then be shared as case studies from the UNPA model simulation. It has taken the United Nations more than 70 years to formulate, conceptualize, and adapt to the reality of the global world we live in and coin the concept of global citizenship, visualized since the creation of the UN in 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Today, global citizenship means going beyond personal, community, and national views to thinking about issues in a truly diverse way that is inclusive to all so that geography, language, and culture aren't barriers to fostering respect, decency, and mutual understanding to all citizens. Equality is a core value of global citizenship, with business and the economy leading the direction that shapes society, with the United Nation's SDG 5, Gender Equality, being at its center.
TopIntroduction
Global citizenship is a concept that has been visualized since the creation of the United Nations in 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. A concept that has taken over 70 years to formulate, conceptualize and adapt to the reality of the global world we live in.
Today, global citizenship means going beyond personal, community and national views, to thinking about issues in a truly diverse way that is inclusive to all, so that geography, language or culture isn’t a barrier (United Nations). Being a global citizen means impacting change and empowerment, in order to foster respect, decency, and mutual understanding to all citizens.
Equality is at the core of the values of global citizenship, with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal 5, Gender Equality, being at its center (UN SDG 5).
This chapter proposes to investigate achieving gender equality through the novel lens of global citizenship in business and the economy, through four key areas:
The Economic Case
According to global consulting firm McKinsey (McKinsey & Company, 2020), if women were to play an identical role in labor markets to that of men, then as much as $28 trillion, or 26 percent, could be added to the global annual GDP by 2025. However, although the principle of gender equality is talked about all over the world, in reality there is a huge disparity.
For example, if you take the global economy, there are just five women CEOs of FTSE 100 companies (Cotton, 2020), and they are often paid less than their male predecessors and peers for comparable work (Tyson and Parker, 2019).
Motherhood and inadequate parental leave are often the first thoughts that come to mind, especially as research indicates a third of women leave their jobs when they have children and if they choose to return, they are 50% less likely to be asked for a job interview if their reason for leave was motherhood (Weisshaar, 2018).
Women and minority-owned businesses have also been hit the hardest during the global pandemic, with $800 billion lost in estimated income in 2020 due to the pandemic, which is equivalent to the combined GDP of 98 countries (Thériault and Sakakeeny, 2021).
Then there are also cultural barriers to gender equality. According to Ipsos Mori and the Global Institute of Women’s Leadership (Ipsos) at King’s College London, 18% men globally feel that staying at home to look after children makes you less of a man, with India scoring much worse where a whopping 39% of men think they are less of a man for staying at home to look after children.
The Model of Global Citizenship
The United Nations Parliamentary Assembly Model (UNPA Model) aims to create a platform for global citizenship, shared leadership and empowered change stemming from cities around the world. It is a platform where young global citizens can come together through engaging discussions and education on topics they would like to influence or change in the world around them. The second United Nations Parliamentary Assembly Model in India was on the topic of Gender Equality, and through global citizenship and education, demonstrated the need for global democratic solutions to tackle global issues that are yet to be solved unilaterally by individual nation states. Through progressive discourse and discussion amongst young, engaged students across disciplines and across borders, represented the citizens of the world, debating solutions and working together to draft viable and effective bylaws to tackle the global issue of gender equality.
Four Sub Commissions On Gender Equality
This chapter proposes to investigate achieving gender equality through the novel lens of global citizenship in business and the economy, through four key areas, and four case studies conducted by participants of the UNPA model in 2021 in India: