Marsha Castello MSc MBCS ✨’s Post

It has been an incredibly inspiring and motivating time over the past two weeks getting to be a part of #CSW68 as a UN Women UK CSW68 delegate. A massive thank you to Atonte Semira and all at UN Women Uk for the opportunity. The priority theme of this year was; Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. The sessions I was able to join shone a light on so many angles of inequality that woman and children experience throughout the world. I was able to listen to the reality faced by so many where grandmothers fear their granddaughters growing up with less rights than they had, rather than more. A message that was clear throughout the weeks was how change must happen. There is no true democracy where there is no gender equality. The stark statement that 340 million women and children will languish in extreme poverty by 2030 if we continue on a business as usual route should be enough to lead us away from a bau path. The agreed conclusion document of CSW68 highlights that; “women and girls living in poverty become “shock absorbers” in times of crisis, and that further efforts are needed to increase resources to address women’s and girls’ poverty.” It can seem overwhelming listening to the struggles of so many but it is important to sit with these uncomfortable truths in order to find agreement on steps to move forward in ways that benefit all. I’m looking forward to catching up on sessions I missed and finding ways to put into action the things I have learnt.

"I've been chosen as a delegate for UN Women UK at #CSW68, where we'll focus on accelerating gender equality and empowering all women and girls by tackling poverty and strengthening institutions with a gender perspective. Both men and women play a role in creating a fairer world. Now more than ever, it's crucial to fight gender inequality. It can deeply affect girls and limit their opportunities. During my University year's, I researched femicide in Brazil, sexual violence in the eastern Congo, the rights of black disabled women, and FGM. We need more evidence based policy that reflects that rights of women across the globe. Currently, I'm studying hunger and it's impact on gender inequality. I believe this opportunity with the UN Women UK will help me understand how gender inequality affects women differently worldwide. This knowledge will guide me in serving women better in the future." #CSW68, #unwomen, #genderinequality , #unwomendelegate, #standupforchange, #inclusivitymatters

✨ I've got some really exciting news I'm so happy to share with you: I’m going to be a United Nations Women UK delegate at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women! The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a yearly gathering of the UN member states that talks about how to improve things for women and girls everywhere. The 68th session of CSW will happen from 11th to 22nd March 2024, and the main topic will be: “How to speed up gender equality and empower all women and girls by tackling poverty and improving institutions and funding with a gender lens”. 👉 I strongly feel that being able to manage your own money is a key part of gender equality because it gives women the power to make their own choices and claim their basic human rights. ❌ Right now, women’s pensions are on average £100,000 less than men’s because of the gender pay gap and taking care of kids. Plus, there is a £15 billion gender investment gap in the UK. These big problems mean that women earn less than men in the UK, and it affects women’s financial security, happiness, and life chances, especially as women usually live longer than men. By joining CSW68, I will make a point of just how important financial literacy is for women’s rights. I can’t wait to learn from inspiring people and share ideas on advancing gender equality. #CSW68 #UNCSW68 #unwomenuk #genderequality #financialliteracy

According to the UN, "Gender Equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world." Women face many barriers that affect their ability to open and run businesses in Africa. In many countries, laws limit women's access to, control over, and/or inherit property and land. This inequality is detrimental to women because it limits their access to financing or other resources necessary to run a business. As an advocate of promoting sustainable, dignified jobs for women and the vulnerable in society, I undertook this course to enrich my knowledge of Women's Economic Empowerment, and I am glad I did. A lot needs to be done to bridge the gap between men and women. #ICR #giz #britishcouncil #womenempowerment

Strong women never give up, we might need a good cry but we will always come back stronger. As I learned during this spring meeting 2024 organized by the The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund considering gender equality is a part of promoting social justice. When we creat a just and inclusive community we follow the right path for promoting peaceful society as well as for accomplishing the Sustainable Development Goals. We should fostering women right and include them apart of the decision makers members such parliamentarians because the National Democratic Institute (NDI) resources once says: << THE GOAL OF MORE WOMEN IN POLITICS IS NOT FEWER MEN IN POLITICS BUT A MORE EQUITABLE SOCIETY FOR EVERYONE>>It’s not too late to end the gender equality gaps and modeling our community most powerful with inclusivity. Women and girls empowerment increases their self confidence in order to promote their politics participation. And we as women, we shouldn’t wait until reaching parliamentarians or governments member to participate on politics however the voting participation is a huge implication on decision making in our country. Girls, women, sisters, mothers, grandmothers you have your citizens rights and you can expressyour voices by voting. So don’t lose your right. #springmeetings #WorldBankGroup #IMF Community Engagement Exchange Program

The sixty-eighth session of the Commission on the Status of Women is taking place on the 11-22nd March this year & I'm proud to say I've been selected again for the UN Women UK #CSW68! This 2 week global United Nations conference has speakers and delegates from all over the world coming together to discuss topics covering so many areas, however with one priority theme. This year's priority theme is accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. Empowering others is something I'm passionate about, but particularly young people and people with additional needs as often due to circumstances out of their control they need that extra support. Poverty plays a part in this and has done for far too long. I'm not naive enough to think this conference will solve all the problems surrounding this, but with the shared skills and experience of those in the room if we can at least learn from each other and help others it will have been worth it. There's always lots of other topics discussed in the many different discussions that take place throughout these two weeks both in scheduled sessions and the amazing online community that sparks not only debate, but solutions and partnerships too. Here's to a busy couple of weeks, I can't wait to get stuck in to it, and getting to know more passionate individuals on the calls. Anyone else going this year, fancy connecting on here if we're not already, always good to make good connections. #unwomenuk #csw68 #poverty #equality #unitednations #girls #women #empowerment #collaboration #futuregenerations

📣Announcement: I’m so happy to share that I've been appointed by UN Women as a delegate to the United Nations Commission for the Status of Women (CSW 68) taking place in New York, proudly representing UN Women UK from March 11th to 22nd. Our mission revolves around the pivotal theme of "Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective." The statistics speak for themselves: It will take up to 286 years to close legal gaps, 140 years for equal representation in positions of power, and a minimum of 40 years to achieve parity in national parliaments. Gender equality affects all aspects of life on Earth from climate change to human rights. Folks, we are in 2024, this is simply not good enough. The CSW platform has never been more essential in bridging these disparities and fostering tangible change. It's a profound honor to contribute to this initiative and advocate for transformative progress on a global scale 🌍 #CSW68 #GenderEquality #womenshistorymonth #investinwomen UN Women

I'm really excited to share that I have been selected as an official delegate for UN Women UK at the upcoming 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68)! The Commission on the Status of Women is an annual UN forum where representatives from member states and UN entities gather to review progress and challenges in advancing gender equality and women's empowerment globally, mobilising action to address gender disparities and shaping policies to accelerate progress towards women's rights. The priority theme for CSW68 is accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. At CSW68, I'll be pulling on my own experiences as a child from a low-income home who had to overcome many of the challenges that many other women and girls sadly still face today, and advocating for inclusive policies that enable and empower them to access the opportunities and resources they deserve. I firmly believe no person should be limited by the circumstances they are born in to, but for that belief to become reality, political institutions must act to proactively remove practical barriers such as: 💲Financial barriers, including the cost of childcare and other caring responsibilities. ⚖️ Social barriers, including women still earning less than men for doing the same job, and in many cases, women across the world being prevented from achieving financial independence. ⚕️Medical barriers. Women are still often misdiagnosed due to lack of research into women's health, causing women to be more likely to be unwell for extended periods of time, further impacting their financial situation. 🩸Stigma barriers around topics like periods, which can prevent girls from attending school and achieving their unlocking access to a fulfilling career. Thank you UN Women United Nations for allowing me to be a part of this 🙌 Let's change the world 🌍 #GenderEquality #WomenInSTEM #CSW68

We are on the latest issue of Alliance magazine! 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 has been mobilising resources for gender equality since day one. Now, with 20 years of experience, we hope to share our lessons learnt, bring philanthropy in the region to understand about women's fund and why funding the region is important. “𝘊𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 – 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘥𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘧𝘶𝘭.” — Judy Kan & Jennifer Friedman, HER Fund 📖 𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 full article: https://lnkd.in/gQRYMN2Q __________________________ 𝗛𝗘𝗥 𝗙𝘂𝗻𝗱 婦女動力基金 全港唯一以撥款及能力培訓推動性別平等的民間女性基金會 The only community women's fund in Hong Kong advancing gender equality through grant-making and capacity building. #herfund #婦女動力基金 #GenderEquality #womensfund #philanthropy

🆕 In an op-ed for Alliance magazine, Kiran Kaur, co-founder and CEO of our grantee GirlDreamer reveals the reality of gender inequality in the UK: 🔻 The pay gap remains at 13.5%, showing little change in recent years. 🔻 As of 2020, the pension gap stands at a staggering 35%. 🔻 Inequalities disproportionately impact women from ethnic minorities and lower socio-economic backgrounds. 🔻Disparities are magnified during economic downturns. 💸 Despite evidence that £250 billion is needed annually to achieve gender equality, the UK government has instead cut spending for public services. This makes the role of philanthropic organisations more critical than ever. We can serve as catalysts for change but also as advocates for more funding for gender equality initiatives. Read and share 📖✨ https://lnkd.in/giDrDxAf #GenderEquality #EqualEurope #collaborativefunding #philanthropy #feministphilanthropy #funding