HLPF 2020: Reflections on Why Gender Equality is Key to Progress on All SDGs

As we wait for official word on the adoption of the forum's Ministerial Declaration, we are reminded that in order to see sustained, systemic changes over the Decade of Action, we need to transform the important words in political declarations into action and accountability.

The draft declaration affirms that gender equality, and the empowerment of all girls and all women, is crucial to achieving progress across all of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The draft declaration also underscores that all responses to the COVID-19 pandemic should be gender-responsive, echoing an open letter jointly created by Deliver for Good Partners and Allies earlier this year, with support from over 700 organizations who believe that gender equality is key to building a better future.

Through the strong direct participation of Deliver for Good Partners and Allies, we came away from this year's forum with a few key reflections:

To transform the systems that hold the world back, we must renew our focus on holding governments, and each other, accountable. Doing this will require strengthened multilateralism and a renewed commitment to partnerships across sectors, issues, geographies, and generations.
While the virtual nature of HLPF enabled global civil society participation, constraints – from time zones, to access to technology and technical difficulties, to the inability to meet with decision-makers – made advocacy challenging. We support the push, led by Women's Major Group, to secure more robust civil society participation at HLPF and other global fora.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted that while girls and women are disproportionately impacted by inequalities in existing systems, they are also leaders in crafting the deep, lasting solutions needed to power progress across every measure of development. Girls and women must be meaningfully engaged in all response and recovery efforts, and in all efforts to advance the SDGs.

As Deliver for Good Partners, Allies, and national campaigns turn towards UNGA and t he Generation Equality Forum, let's use this opportunity to learn from one another, work smarter, and coordinate our efforts to achieve the SDGs over the Decade of Action.

We have provided a few of the resources from our partners and broader networks that have been inspiring and empowering us throughout HLPF and beyond to get you started.