Women This Week: International Women’s Day

Gaps Persist for Women’s Economic and Political Participation  

For International Women’s Day, UN Women is calling on the world to “Invest in Women, Accelerate Progress.” Despite research which shows that closing the gender gap could increase global GDP by nearly $1 trillion, less than half of women participate in the global labor market and those who are working often struggle to access the same positions and leadership opportunities. Reasons for this gap include such things as the “motherhood penalty” as well as discrimination and stereotypes that create a “broken rung” for women seeking to advance their careers. Silja Baller, the head of mission, diversity, equity, and inclusion at the World Economic Forum (WEF), says that initiatives must be taken to promote women in leadership opportunities. “The more they can be embedded in larger structural change,” says Baller, “the more resilient the positive impact is going to be.” 

France Becomes First Country to Protect Abortion in Constitution  

France made history on Monday as the first country to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution. The measure, which amends Article 34 of the French constitution to guarantee a woman’s freedom to have an abortion, passed overwhelmingly with 780 votes in favor and 72 against. In another historical move, Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of the Assemblée Nationale, became the first woman to preside over a special joint session of Parliament. In remarks targeting women, Braun-Pivet said, “We are saying that we will support them and that we will always be at their side.” Legislators moved to protect abortion rights in the constitution after the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade. France currently permits abortion up to fourteen weeks of pregnancy.  

UN Report Details Sexual Violence in Israel-Hamas War 

The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict released a report this week detailing incidents of sexual violence in both the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and against Palestinians held in Israeli detention centers. The report found “reasonable grounds” to believe that a pattern of sexual violence took place during the October attack and cited reports of new and ongoing sexual violence, including against Israelis held in captivity by Hamas. The report also cited testimony from detainees and others that Palestinians have been subjected to abuse and sexual assault in Israeli detention centers, including “various forms of sexual violence in the form of invasive body searches, threats of rape, and prolonged forced nudity, as well as sexual harassment and threats of rape, during house raids and at checkpoints.” 

Naimah Haynes is the intern for the Women and Foreign Policy Program and contributed to the research for this blog post.