The theme focuses on innovative ways in which gender equality and the empowerment of women, particularly in the areas of social protection systems, access to public services and sustainable infrastructure, can be advanced.
This is in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that requires transformative shifts, integrated approaches and new solutions, particularly when it comes to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
At the core of SDGs is the achievement of a Planet 50-50 by 2030, in other words, we look to a world where women will share equal opportunities and participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and design and even theology.
SDGs' ambition is to remove barriers preventing the development and influence of gender-responsive innovations to achieve transformative gains for society. This is based on the premise that women’s ideas and experiences equally influence the design and implementation of the innovations that shape our future societies.
However, based on current trajectories, it does not seem feasible that existing interventions will suffice to achieve the 2030 agenda. The demographics show that there is still a very wide gap between male and female in the scheme of things, and this is not just an African or Asian thing. Even in more 'liberal' climes the ideal is still very far from reachable.
As IWD 2019 looks towards innovative approaches that disrupt “business as usual”, central to removing structural barriers and ensuring that no woman and no girl is left behind, through the instrumentalities of industry leaders, game-changing start-ups, social entrepreneurs, gender equality activists, and women innovators; to examine the ways in which innovation can remove barriers and accelerate progress for gender equality, encourage investment in gender-responsive social systems, and build services and infrastructure that meet the needs of women and girls, the church should not also be left out.
The church needs to step up as an agent of social transformation and a co-creator of the culture of social justice, to advance the course of the liberated and empowered woman, in every sphere of endeavor, through Awareness, Advocacy and Action that will not just shake but turn tables.
The Gospel must come alive in shaping the palpitations and permutations of our societies with reference to the stereotypes, prejudices, objectification and narratives that have kept our women under, or average.
We must take a cue from the Master, whose initiative, resonated with the IWD theme for this year. In thinking equal, building smart, and innovating for change, he took a bold stride across cultural, racial and gender barriers to liberate and empower the Samaritan woman (John 4).
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