Over the last five days, Roma women activists Simona Torotcoi (Romania) and Dafina Savic (Canada) took part in the sixty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women which takes place from the 5 to 17 of March 2023. The session considers the priority theme of “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls“.
CSW 67 NGO Forum Side Event on CDWD women
As part of the Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFOD), ERGO Network contributed to the organization of a parallel event during the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) titled “Addressing Barriers in Accessing Technology & Transforming Women’s Lives from Communities Discriminated by Work & Descent.”
The event examined the role of structural inequities and disparities as uniquely experienced by women and girls of CDWD about technology, innovation, and education in the digital age. It highlighted the imperative to foster resilience and achieve technological transformation for CDWD women and girls.
The main discussion points of the event highlighted the challenges faced by CDWD women, identified gaps in their access to technology and innovation, and explored how innovation and technological change, as well as education in the digital age, can be improved and extended to effectively prevent and promote CDWD women’s rights.
Dafina Savic, who is the founder of Canadian organisation Romanipe, raised the issue that Roma women face significant barriers to education and healthcare, which can exacerbate their marginalization. A 2019 report by the Council of Europe found that only 15% of Roma women in Europe have completed upper-secondary education, compared to 51% of non-Roma women. Roma women are also more likely to experience maternal and infant mortality and other health disparities than non-Roma populations.
Women of marginalized communities face numerous barriers to entering the workforce, including discrimination, lack of access to education and training, and gender-based violence. According to the International Labour Organization, globally, women earn 23% less than men.
According to Dafina, Roma women in Europe face significant barriers to accessing healthcare, including discrimination, language barriers, and segregation in hospitals. Overall, technology has the potential to break down barriers to equity and empower women in a range of ways. However, for technology to be truly equitable, it is important to ensure that it is accessible to all women, regardless of their socioeconomic status, education level, or geographic location. This requires investment in infrastructure, connectivity, and digital literacy programs, as well as policies and initiatives that promote inclusivity and equity in the technology sector.
She finally recommended bringing the dialogue between member states and civil society organisations from the official setting of sessions like this one to more informal channels such as social media.
Simona Torotcoi, who is a Roma expert within the CDWD framework of Rights Experts, set up together with the ERGO Network spoke on the existing digital divide between the rest of society and the Roma communities. While our lives become more and more dependent on efficiently using ICT tools the lack of access for Roma women and girls living in poverty to quality training and education in the ICT field is concerning.
As the main barrier in accessing technology, Simona identified the intersectional discrimination as well as the poor housing situation.
Simona emphasized that digitalisation could act as an equalizer because it empowers women and girls to denounce injustices, discrimination, domestic violence and abuse among many other issues. According to her, the right to access technology will help CDWC women to overcome the compounding barriers and difficulties posed by gender, economic poverty, caste, occupational discrimination, social exclusion, and underdevelopment.
More about CWDC women
Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) are regarded as the most vulnerable groups in terms of social, economic, and political development. In CDWD, women and girls experience compounded oppression because of overlapping social constructs of work and descent, caste, class, and gender. CDWD women and girls primarily live in rural areas, where poverty measures and a reduction in education budgets directly and significantly impact their survival.
In industries such as agriculture, plantations, brickwork, and sanitation, many rural CDWD women and girls are forced to work in exploitative and violent conditions. CDWD women are highly present in patriarchal communities and exposed to mainstream discrimination and abuse. They have a voice, yet they lack political representation and public participation and are sidelined and downsized by mainstream women’s organizations.
A call for action within the CSW
CWDC women urge the Commission on the Status of Women to recognise issues of women from Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) and adopt an intersectional approach in all programmes and policies both within the United Nations (UN) and government policies and to establish a working group to examine the status and current gaps in protection for women from communities discriminated on work and descent in terms of normative standards as well as lived realities.
In addition, CWDC women urge UN mechanisms to adhere to key human rights standards and adopt a Declaration for the rights of CDWD, highlighting the intersecting marginalisation faced by women and ensuring it consistently reflects in national laws, policies and practices, and in the programmes and activities of the UN through thematic research, awareness-raising and capacity-building.