Women’s Network news round-up: increase in public perception that gender equality ‘has gone too far’, women in trade policy, and more
Here’s our round-up of some of the stories to have coincided with International Women’s Day on 8 March, or to have come out since, including the finding of a global survey that the majority of people believe gender equality “has gone far enough”; a new framework aimed at promoting gender equality in trade policy; and a vow by Canada’s PM Mark Carney to improve women’s safety and economic participation following concern that his government is deprioritising women’s issues.
Majority of people think gender equality ‘has gone far enough’, finds global survey
In the latest of its surveys to coincide with International Women’s Day – Mind the Gaps: Global Attitudes Toward Gender Equality, published on 5 March – Ipsos found that 52% of those surveyed across 29 countries believe that gender equality has gone far enough in their country.
The proportion of people who think giving women equal rights with men “has gone too far” has increased in 23 of 24 countries since 2019.
The majority of men (54%) feel they are doing too much for gender equality and 52% of men think the push for equality discriminates against them. This compares to 38% and 36% of women respectively.
However, 60% of all those surveyed (68% of women and 53% of men) agree that things would work better if more women held positions with responsibilities in government and the private sector. Less than a third (27%) disagree.
Looking to the future, 55% think young women in their country will have a better life than women of their parents’ generation, while only 40% think young men will have a better life than men of their parents’ age.
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New framework aims to promote gender equality in trade policy
A new framework devised by a consortium of organisations and backed by the UK government functions as a diagnostic tool to enable policymakers to test whether gender commitments correspond to how women experience trade systems in practice.
The initiative is part of the UK’s Trade and Development, Evidence & Innovation Programme (E&I), delivered by Cadmus, ODI Global, the Institute of Development Studies, and the UK Trade Policy Observatory.
The GRO+ framework encourages policymakers to consider whether the goal is to achieve women’s participation, women’s empowerment, or systemic change; to assess diverse gender roles and barriers and whether ambitions are grounded in real socioeconomic conditions; to determine whether current systems address root causes or symptoms, and where change can happen; and to understand how reform can be implemented through ensuring policies are politically backed, adequately funded, and monitored.
An article about the framework published on the ODI website highlights that trade is one of the most powerful systems that shape opportunities available to women, influencing how economies are structured, how labour markets function and who benefits from economic growth – and that while trade policy is often assumed to be gender neutral, “in practice, it is not”.
“Labour market segmentation, regulatory barriers, unequal access to finance and assets, and the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work all influence whether women can access, enter, compete in and benefit from trade-related activities,” in addition to other barriers that restrict women’s participation, it says.
While it says that over the past decade, governments have increasingly recognised this – adding gender provisions to trade agreements and devising development programmes that aim to strengthen women’s economic participation – “translating commitment into practice remains challenging” with gender mainstreaming across trade policy design, trade negotiations and associated programmes “often misaligned with economic realities and policy mechanisms”.
“Too often, policy responses address only parts of the picture. Without grounding in these broader economic and social realities, well-intentioned interventions risk falling short.”
It notes that persistent challenges include gender objectives that lack clarity and specificity, policy instruments that are poorly aligned with the constraints women face, and limited evidence on the impact of interventions on gender inequalities in trade systems.
“The task is not just inserting gender language into trade policy – it is ensuring trade systems genuinely expand economic opportunities for women. Applying GRO+ to trade agreements, policies and programmes can generate evidence on ‘what works’ and where gaps remain. That evidence can help policymakers design more coherent strategies linking trade policy with broader development and gender equality objectives.”
The consortium says that evidence and activities conducted under the E&I will be embedded through the GRO+ framework, “ensuring that gender considerations are systematically integrated into UK trade policy analysis”.
‘Our democracy is stronger when it reflects the people it serves’, says Canada’s PM Mark Carney on International Women’s Day
Canada’s prime minister Mark Carney was one of many world leaders to mark International Women’s Day on 8 March by reflecting on his country’s progress towards gender equality, noting related government programmes, and acknowledging that the work is not yet done.
His statement comes amid concerns from the public and women’s and social justice organisations that the government is deprioritising gender equality and women’s issues under his leadership.
“Since Agnes Macphail became the first woman elected to the House of Commons more than 100 years ago, women have won voting rights, property rights, reproductive rights, and parental leave. This progress was achieved because, again and again, women have refused to accept a system that did not see them, hear them, or reflect them,” Carney said in a statement published on the government website.
He said the Canadian government is “advancing the programmes that ensure women are at the forefront of leadership and building a stronger Canadian economy”, including renewed funding for Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE).
He said this had helped hundreds of thousands of women through mentorship, training programmes and job opportunities through its Women’s Program, and barriers to women’s economic participation were being addressed through the Women’s Economic and Leadership Opportunities Fund, which has so far supported 160 organisations across Canada including in remote areas in the north of the country.
He added that the government is strengthening its response to preventing gender-based violence “by bringing forward legislation that protects and empowers victims to seek justice in our legal systems”, and is also responding to calls for justice from the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.
He said “there can be no equality – and no prosperity – without safety” and that “we will always protect the inalienable right of all Canadians to live in freedom, safety, and dignity”.
Carney concluded: “On International Women’s Day, as we reflect on how far we’ve come, we remain vigilant about what we must protect, and we remain determined about accomplishing the work ahead. That is our job as a government, and as Canadians.”
Carney initially dropped the Women and Gender Equality portfolio from his first cabinet, but reinstated it after pushback, and his first mandate letter to Cabinet omitted any mention of women, gender equality, or gender-based analysis.
In other news from Canada, Jocelyne Bourgon, who was the country’s first woman clerk of the Privy Council, has published a book, A Public Servant’s Voice, a part-memoir, part- guide, in which she reflects on decades of work in the public sector and public administration in Canada and abroad and examines whether ideas from the past can help invent a better future.
In other news…
We at Global Government Forum have also reported on the adoption of a UN roadmap aimed at strengthening access to justice for women and girls worldwide amid a “contentious” vote; and about the UK government’s introduction of employer action plans on the gender pay gap and menopause support.
The UK government has announced a number of other policies in support of women in recent weeks, including guidance for councils on designing safer streets for women and girls, the introduction of a suite of measures to help more women enter the tech sector, and mandatory ethnicity and disability pay gap reporting for private sector companies to support workplace diversity and inclusion more broadly. Last month, it also held a parliamentary debate on endometriosis – a condition where cells similar to those in the lining of the womb grow in other parts of the body causing symptoms including severe pain, fatigue, low mood and anxiety – to address the need for specialist services.
Other news from the last few weeks includes the case for more “leadership through a female lens” in the Middle East and North Africa, particularly amid regional volatility; a call from senator Oluremi Tinubu, Nigeria’s first lady, to renew commitment to equitable access to water and sanitation, stressing its critical role in advancing gender equality across the country; and concerns that the Dutch government’s plan to reduce parental leave for middle- and higher-income earners could reverse gender equality gains.
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About Mia Hunt
Mia has been editor of globalgovernmentforum.com since 2019. She has 15 years’ experience as a journalist and editor and specialises in writing for civil and public servants worldwide, including covering sustainability policy and related issues. She has led the Global Government Women’s Network since it launched in 2023. Previously, she covered commercial property having been market reports and supplements editor at Property Week and deputy editor at Retail Destination. She graduated from Kingston University London with a first-class honours degree in journalism and was part of the team that produced The River newspaper, which won Publication of the Year at the Guardian Student Media Awards in 2010.
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