1. Introduction 3 Understanding women’s economic and social rights 10

121 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 5, Temporary special measures (Seventh session, 1988), U.N. Doc. A/43/38 at 109 (1988).

122 General recommendation No. 25, on article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, on temporary special measures, reprinted in Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.7 at 282 (2004).

123 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 5, Temporary special measures (Seventh session, 1988), U.N. Doc. A/43/38 at 109 (1988).

124 General recommendation No. 25, on article 4, paragraph 1, of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, on temporary special measures, reprinted in Compilation of General Comments and General Recommendations Adopted by Human Rights Treaty Bodies, U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.7 at 282 (2004).

125 Ibid., at para. 9.

126 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ‘Concluding observations on the combined initial and second periodic reports of Afghanistan,’ adopted by the Committee at its fifty-fifth session (8-26 July 2013), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/AFG/CO/1-2, 30 July 2013.

127 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ‘Concluding observations on the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of Hungary,’ adopted by the Committee at its

fifty-fourth session (11 February–1 March 2013), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/HUN/CO/7-8, 26 March 2013.

128 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 16, Article 3: the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights (Thirty- fourth session, 2005), U.N. Doc. E/C.12/2005/3 (2005).

129 Ibid., at para. 12.

130 See: Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ‘Concluding comments of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Denmark,’ adopted by the Committee at its thirty-sixth session (7-25 August 2006), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/DEN/CO/6, 25 August 2006.

131 The Montreal Principles on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted at a meeting of experts held December 7 – 10, 2002 in Montréal, Canada.

132 Sheila Block, ‘The Role of Race and Gender in Ontario’s Racialized Income Gap,’ Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, June 2010.

133 Ibid.

134 OECD, ‘Special Focus: Inequality in Emerging Economies (EEs),’ 2010.

135 Megan Gerecke, ‘A policy mix for gender equality? Lessons from high-income countries,’ International Labour Organization (International Institute for Labour Studies), 2013.

136 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ‘Education: Gender Equality in Education,’ available at: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/gender-and-education/ [last accessed 9 September 2013].

137 OECD, ‘2012 SIGI: Social Institutions and Gender Index: Understanding the drivers of gender inequality,’ 2012.

138 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ‘World Atlas on Gender Equality in Education,’ 2012.

139 Ibid.

140 UNGEI’s work is driven by Millennium Development Goals - MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education: Achieve universal primary education with the target to ensure that by 2015 all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling, and by MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women: with the target to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education and at all levels by 2015.

141 The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), ‘Transforming Policy and Practice for Gender in Education: A Gender Review of the 2010 EFA Global Monitoring Report Using an Equity and Inclusion Lens,’ Technical Paper, United Nations Children’s’ Fund (UNICEF): New York, 2010.

142 Michael F. Thompson, Economic Research Analyst (Indiana Business Research Center, Kelley School of Business, Indiana University), ‘Earnings of a Lifetime: Comparing Women and Men with College and Graduate Degrees,’ InContext, Vol. 10, No. 2, Mar-Apr 2009. One example to the contrary is China, where researchers have found that the gender employment gap and the gender pay gap are narrower for the better educated. See: Wei Chi and Bo Li, ‘Trends in China’s gender employment and pay gap: Estimating Gender Pay Gaps with Employment Selection,’ Journal of Comparative Economics, in press, July 2013.

143 Girls’ education also has well known social benefits. For example, UNFPA has highlighted that education of girls is closely related to improvements in family health and to falling fertility rates, and that girls’ who are educated grow up to have more healthy children themselves. See: UNFPA, ‘Reproductive Health and Education: The Mutual Relationship,’ available online at: http://web.unfpa.org/intercenter/cycle/education.htm [last accessed 13 December 2013].

144 See: UN News Centre, ‘At UN, Malala Yousafzai rallies youth to stand up for universal education,’ 12 July 2013.

145 International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Domestic Work,’ available online at: http://www.ilo.org/ipec/areas/Childdomesticlabour/lang--en/index.htm [last accessed 15 December 2013].

146 The United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), ‘Transforming Policy and Practice for Gender in Education: A Gender Review of the 2010 EFA Global Monitoring Report Using an Equity and Inclusion Lens,’ Technical Paper, United Nations Children’s’ Fund (UNICEF): New York, 2010.

147 Ibid.

148 According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, early pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of maternal mortality: girls aged 10-14 are five times more likely to die in pregnancy than women in their twenties while girls aged 15-19 are twice as likely to die. See: Center for Reproductive Rights, ‘Supplementary information on Indonesia, scheduled for review by the CEDAW Committee during its 52nd session,’ 21 June 2012.

149 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ‘Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Indonesia,’ adopted by the Committee at its fifty-second session (9-27 July 2012), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/IDN/CO/6-7, 27 July 2012.

150 Plan International, ‘Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls 2012 - Learning for Life,’ 2010.

151 Ibid.

152 One study by WaterAid Nepal found that more than half of all girls surveyed reported missing school at least once because of menstruation, and lack of privacy for cleaning and washing was the major reason identified by girls for being absent from school during their menstruation (41%). According to the study, this was usually directly due to lack of water being available, but also sometimes due to other related issues, such as missing door locks, even when a toilet is available. See: WaterAid Nepal, ‘Is Menstrual Hygiene and Management an Issue for Adolescent School Girls? A Comparative Study of Four Schools in Different Settings of Nepal,’ March 2009, p. iii.

153 Margaret Eleanor Greene, Omar J. Robles, Krista Stout and Tanja Suvilaakso, ‘A girl’s right to learn without fear: Working to end gender-based violence at school,’ Plan International, 2013.

154 Camilla Ida Ravnbøl, ‘Intersectional Discrimination against Children: Discrimination

against Romani children and anti-discrimination measures to address child trafficking,’ Innocenti Working Paper No. IDP 2009-11, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre: Florence, 2009.

155 Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, Mr. V. Muñoz Villalobos, ‘Girls’ right to education,’ UN Doc. E/CN.4/2006/45, 8 February 2006, at para. 55.

156 Ibid.

157 Ibid., at paras. 127-152.

158 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ‘‘Scaling up’

good practices in girls’ education,’ 2005.

159 Ibid.

160 Ibid., at pg. 33.

161 Ibid., at pg. 31.

162 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ‘Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Indonesia,’ adopted by the Committee at its fifty-second session (9-27 July 2012), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/IDN/CO/6-7, 27 July 2012.

163 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ‘‘Scaling up’

good practices in girls’ education,’ 2005.

164 Ibid., at pg. 32.

165 Ibid., at pg. 33.

166 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics, ‘Women in Higher Education,’ available online at: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/women-higher-education.aspx [last accessed 1 December 2013].

167 In fact, at the tertiary level UNESCO reports that female enrolment ratios exceed those of men in two out of every three countries with data. This is because, in some cases, young men may be more likely than young women to move directly from secondary education into the work force or nonformal

education or go abroad to continue their education. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ‘Global Education Digest 2010: Comparing Education Statistics Across the World,’ UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2010.

168 Daniel de Vise, ‘More women than men got PhDs last year,’ The Washington Post, 14 September 2010.

169 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ‘Science, Technology and Gender: an International Report,’ 2011. See also: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), ‘Women and Science,’ available online at: http://www.uis.unesco.org/ScienceTechnology/Pages/gender-and-science.aspx [last accessed 1 December 2013].

170 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ‘Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,’ adopted by the Committee at its fifty-fifth session (8 July – 26 July 2012), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/GBR/CO/, 30 July 20132.

171 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ‘Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Norway,’ adopted by the Committee at its fifty-first session (13 February – 2 March 2012), UN Doc. CEDAW/C/NOR/CO/8, 9 March 2012.

172 Statement by Mayra Buvinic (World Bank), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009. See also: Report of the independent expert (Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona) on the question of human rights and extreme poverty (on the impact of the current global financial crisis on people living in extreme poverty and the enjoyment of their human rights), UN Doc. A/64/279, 11 August 2009.

173 Naoko Otobe, ‘Global economic crisis, gender and employment: The impact and policy response,’ Employment Sector: Employment Working Paper No. 74, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011. See also: International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global economic crisis, gender and work: Key policy challenges and options,’ Global Jobs Pact Policy Briefs, Brief No. 15, 2011.

174 Maria Stavropoulou and Nicola Jones, ‘Off the balance sheet: the impact of the economic crisis on girls and young women: A review of the evidence,’ Plan International, January 2013.

175 Ibid.

176 Ibid.

177 OHCHR, ‘Preliminary Assessment of Responses Received from the Economic and Social Life (ESL) Questionnaire,’ 21 June 2013 (on file with author). See also: Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, ‘Women’s rights and the right to food,’ UN Doc. A/HRC/22/50, 24 December 2012.

178 World Bank News & Broadcast, ‘Bolsa Família: Changing the Lives of Millions in Brazil,’ available at: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:21447054~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html [last accessed 12 September 2013]

179 Maria Stavropoulou and Nicola Jones, ‘Off the balance sheet: the impact of the economic crisis on girls and young women: A review of the evidence,’ Plan International, January 2013.

180 Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, ‘Women’s rights and the right to food,’ UN Doc. A/HRC/22/50, 24 December 2012.

181 Ibid.

182 Ibid.

183 Almost 90 per cent of the 143 economies covered by Women, Business and the Law 2014 have at least one legal difference which serves to restrict women’s economic opportunities.

184 Megan Gerecke, ‘A policy mix for gender equality? Lessons from high-income countries,’ International Labour Organization (International Institute for Labour Studies), 2013.

185 Ibid. Some countries, including Norway, Belgium, France, Canada (Quebec), Italy and Spain do have explicit quotas for female representation on the Boards of State-owned enterprises, and sometimes privately traded companies as well.

186 Naoko Otobe, ‘Global economic crisis, gender and employment: The impact and policy response,’ Employment Sector: Employment Working Paper No. 74, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011. See also: International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global economic crisis, gender and work: Key policy challenges and options,’ Global Jobs Pact Policy Briefs, Brief No. 15, 2011.

187 Megan Gerecke, ‘A policy mix for gender equality? Lessons from high-income countries,’ International Labour Organization (International Institute for Labour Studies), 2013.

188 The ILO describes occupational segregation as having both horizontal and vertical characteristics:
Occupational segregation can take two main forms: horizontal and vertical segregation. Horizontal segregation refers to the over-representation of women in a particular occupation. In this case the employment share of women in certain occupations is higher than their share in others. In contrast, vertical segregation – also referred to as the “glass ceiling” – occurs when men and women work in the same occupation, but men more often do work that comes with more responsibilities, better pay and higher status, due to reasons not attributable to their skills or experience.
International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012. For a review of legal and other instruments aimed at addressing labor market discrimination in developing countries, please see: Sandra Fredman, ‘Anti-discrimination laws and work in the developing world: A thematic overview,’ background paper for the World Development Report 2013, 2013.

189 Grant Thornton International Business Report, ‘Women in senior management: setting the stage for growth,’ 2013.

190 Ibid. The G7 economies have just 21 per cent of senior roles occupied by women, compared to 28 per cent in BRIC economies, 32 per cent in South East Asia and 40 per cent in Baltic states. In terms of corporate boards, in the G7 just 16 per cent of board members are women, compared to 26 per cent in BRIC economies and 38 per cent in Baltic states. 

191 Ibid.

192 International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012. For a review of legal and other instruments aimed at addressing labor market discrimination in developing countries, please see: Sandra Fredman, ‘Anti-discrimination laws and work in the developing world: A thematic overview,’ background paper for the World Development Report 2013, 2013.

193 Ibid.

194 Ibid.

195 Megan Gerecke, ‘A policy mix for gender equality? Lessons from high-income countries,’ International Labour Organization (International Institute for Labour Studies), 2013. International Labour Organisation Convention No. 100 addresses Equal Remuneration for Men and Women Workers for Work of Equal Value. For a literature review on the implementation of the Convention, please see: Sandra Fredman, ‘Literature Review on the Implementation of Convention 100,’ 2013 [on file with author].

196 See also: World Bank, Women, Business and the Law 2014: Removing Restrictions To Enhance Gender Equality, 2013.

197 Ibid.

198 The Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign, ‘Violence Against Women: the Situation,’ Fact Sheet, November 2011.

199 Ibid.

200 The Advocates for Human Rights, ‘Community Costs of Domestic Violence,’ available online at: http://www.stopvaw.org/community_costs_of_domestic_violence [last accessed 15 December 2013].

201 According to the International Labor Organization:
Unpaid work is interlinked with the location individuals occupy in paid work through many channels: it (a) shapes the ability, duration, and types of paid work that can be undertaken and therefore limits access to existing and potential collective action processes and social security; (b) does not offer monetary remuneration, which reduces the exercise of “voice” over decision making and ability to accumulate savings and assets; (c) as in many societies, it is regarded a woman’s “natural” work, performed in the “private” sphere of the family and therefore it essentializes this work and strips it of its socio-economic dimensions and contributions; and (d) assigns paid social reproduction (care) workers to jobs that are presumed to be unskilled, with low pay, slender options for promotion, and scant social protection.
Rania Antonopoulos, ‘The unpaid care work - paid work connection,’ International Labour Organization, Policy Integration and Statistics Department, Working Paper No. 86, Geneva, 2007.

202 United Nations Development Programme, ‘Human Development Report 2007/2008,’ Oxford University Press: Oxford and New York, 2008.

203 Anna Chu and Charles Posner, ‘Explore the Data: The State of Women in America,’ Center for American Progress, 25 September 2013.

204 Ibid.

205 Speech by Michelle Bachelet, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, at the economics symposium “Critical Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises: Why Gender Matters” being held in New York from 21-22 January 2013. See also: Amelita King Dejardin and

Jessica Owens, ‘Asia in the Global Economic Crisis: Impacts and Responses from a Gender Perspective,’ Technical Note, ILO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok and ILO Policy Integration and Statistics Department, Geneva, Responding to the Economic Crisis – Coherent Policies for Growth, Employment and Decent Work in Asia and Pacific, Manila, Philippines, 18-20 February 2009. See also: Report of the independent expert (Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona) on the question of human rights and extreme poverty (on the impact of the current global financial crisis on people living in extreme poverty and the enjoyment of their human rights), UN Doc. A/64/279, 11 August 2009.

206 Ibid.

207 International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012.

208 Statement by Mayra Buvinic (World Bank), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009.

209 Ibid. See also: Naoko Otobe, ‘Global economic crisis, gender and employment: The impact and policy response,’ Employment Sector: Employment Working Paper No. 74, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011. See also: International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global economic crisis, gender and work: Key policy challenges and options,’ Global Jobs Pact Policy Briefs, Brief No. 15, 2011. See also: International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012.

210 International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012.

211 See: UN News Centre Press Release; ‘More women in Cambodia turning to sex trade amid financial crisis – UN report,’ 21 July 2009.

212 Remittance flows to developing countries in 2009 were estimated to be 6.7 per cent lower than those in 2008. See: Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), ‘The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Women’s Well-Being and Empowerment,’ Publication series: Women’s Economic Empowerment, Sida: 2 December 2010.

213 As quoted in: OSCE Press Release, ‘Human traffickers exploit economic crisis, redoubled prevention efforts urgently needed, warns high-level conference at OSCE,’ 14 September 2009.

214 As quoted from: Naoko Otobe, ‘Global economic crisis, gender and employment: The impact and policy response,’ Employment Sector: Employment Working Paper No. 74, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011. Original Sources: Zoe Elena Horn, ‘Effects of the global economic crisis on women in the informal economy: research findings from WIEGO and the Inclusive Cities partners,’ Gender & Development, Vol. 18, No. 2, 2010, pp. 263–276.

215 Ibid.

216 Ibid.

217 Ibid.

218 Ibid.

219 Ibid.

220 Statement by Mayra Buvinic (World Bank), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2–13 March 2009.

221 International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012.

222 ILO Bureau for Gender Equality, ‘Making the crisis recovery work for women!,’ International Labour Office, International Women’s Day (8 March), 2011.

223 OHCHR, ‘Preliminary Assessment of Responses Received from the Economic and Social Life (ESL) Questionnaire,’ 21 June 2013 (on file with author).

224 Ibid.

225 Ibid.

226 Ibid.

227 ILO Bureau for Gender Equality, ‘Making the crisis recovery work for women!,’ International Labour Office, International Women’s Day (8 March), 2011.

228 Ibid.

229 OHCHR, ‘Preliminary Assessment of Responses Received from the Economic and Social Life (ESL) Questionnaire,’ 21 June 2013 (on file with author). See also: Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: Czech Republic, UN Doc. CEDAW/C/CZE/CO/5, 22 October 2010.

230 International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012.

231 Ibid.

232 Ibid.

233 Emily Esplen, ‘Gender and Care: Overview Report,’ BRIDGE Report, Institute of Development Studies: Brighton, February 2009. Care work is defined as follows: “Care involves both the direct care of persons – such as feeding and bathing a young child – and the domestic tasks that are a precondition for care-giving, such as preparing meals, cleaning sheets and clothes, purchasing food, or collecting water and fuel.”

234 Statement by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009. See also: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr , James Heintz & Stephanie Seguino, ‘Critical Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises: Heterodox Macroeconomics Meets Feminist Economics,’ Feminist Economics, Volume 19, Number 3, 2013, pp. 4-31.

235 UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012. See also: International Domestic Workers’ Network (IDWN), Human Rights Watch, and the International Trade Union Confederation, ‘Claiming Rights: Domestic Workers’ Movements and Global Advances for Labor Reform,’ 2013.

236 Emily Esplen, ‘Gender and Care: Overview Report,’ BRIDGE Report, Institute of Development Studies: Brighton, February 2009.

237 Ibid.

238 Ibid.

239 Natasha Curry, ‘Low cost and high quality integrated care: what can we learn from Japan?,’ The Guardian, 11 June 2012.

240 Naoko Otobe, ‘Global economic crisis, gender and employment: The impact and policy response,’ Employment Sector: Employment Working Paper No. 74, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011. See also: International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global economic crisis, gender and work: Key policy challenges and options,’ Global Jobs Pact Policy Briefs, Brief No. 15, 2011.

241 UNAIDS, ‘Impact of the global economic crisis on women, girls and gender equality,’ Discussion paper, August 2012.

242 Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), ‘The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Women’s Well-Being and Empowerment,’ Publication series: Women’s Economic Empowerment, Sida: 2 December 2010.

243 Naoko Otobe, ‘Global economic crisis, gender and employment: The impact and policy response,’ Employment Sector: Employment Working Paper No. 74, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011. See also: International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global economic crisis, gender and work: Key policy challenges and options,’ Global Jobs Pact Policy Briefs, Brief No. 15, 2011.

244 Jane Lethbridge, ‘Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Austerity Measures on Women,’ Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), May 2012.

245 Talking points for Yassine Fall, Chief of the Economic Empowerment Section, UN Women, ‘Promoting Human Rights in Financial Regulation and Macroeconomic Policies,’ 2013.

246 Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, ‘Opinion on: The Gender Perspective on the response to the economic and financial crisis,’ June 2009.

247 Statement by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009. See also: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr , James Heintz & Stephanie Seguino, ‘Critical Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises: Heterodox Macroeconomics Meets Feminist Economics,’ Feminist Economics, Volume 19, Number 3, 2013, pp. 4-31.

248 Statement by Shamika Sirimanne (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009.

249 Statement by Stephanie Seguino (University of Vermont), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009. See also: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr , James Heintz & Stephanie Seguino, ‘Critical Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises: Heterodox Macroeconomics Meets Feminist Economics,’ Feminist Economics, Volume 19, Number 3, 2013, pp. 4-31.

250 UNAIDS, ‘Impact of the global economic crisis on women, girls and gender equality,’ Discussion paper, August 2012.

251 Talking points for Yassine Fall, Chief of the Economic Empowerment Section, UN Women, ‘Promoting Human Rights in Financial Regulation and Macroeconomic Policies,’ 2013. As the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) has recognized:
International labour migration is an important coping strategy that women in poor countries have used to deal with local unemployment and decline in earnings. But the migrant labour market is contracting as receiving countries, beset by rising unemployment, increasingly restrict the legal entry of foreign workers. For example, women who migrate from Ethiopia to the Middle East to seek work in domestic service face a shrinking market for legal foreign labour …. Recorded remittances to Ethiopia (worth more to the national economy than FDI) fell by 20 percent from 2008 to 2009. Nevertheless, Ethiopian women continue to migrate as a strategy for coping with the economic downturn in Ethiopia, and the country witnessed a spike in emigration in the first half of 2009. As restrictions on legal migration increase, more women and men will resort to the desperate measure of illegal migration. Undocumented migrants are even more vulnerable to human rights abuses and downward pressure on wages than those with formal status.
As quoted from: Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), ‘The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Women’s Well-Being and Empowerment,’ Publication series: Women’s Economic Empowerment, Sida: 2 December 2010.

252 See: Trades Union Congress (TUC), ‘Bearing the brunt, leading the response: Women and

the global economic crisis,’ March 2011.

253 Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR), ‘Global Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Women: A Human Rights Perspective,’ 2011.

254 ILO C156 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156), Convention concerning Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers: Workers with Family Responsibilities (Entry into force: 11 August 1983).

255 ILO R165 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Recommendation, 1981 (No. 165)

Recommendation concerning Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers: Workers with Family Responsibilities, Geneva, 67th ILC session (23 June 1981).

256 United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, ‘Agreed Conclusions on the equal sharing of responsibilities between women and men, including care-giving in the context of HIV/AIDS,’ Fifty-third session, 2– 13 March 2009.

257 Ibid.

258 ILO C003 - Maternity Protection Convention, 1919 (No. 3) Convention concerning the Employment of Women before and after Childbirth (Entry into force: 13 June 1921), Washington, 1st ILC session (29 November 1919).

259 ILO C103 - Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952 (No. 103) Convention concerning Maternity Protection (Revised 1952) (Entry into force: 7 September 1955), Geneva, 35th ILC session (28 June 1952).

260 ILO C183 - Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) Convention concerning the revision of the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952 (Entry into force: 7 February 2002), Geneva, 88th ILC session (15 June 2000).

261 Recommendation No. 191 complements Convention No. 183, and suggests higher protection, including a longer duration of maternity leave and higher benefits. The Recommendation also discusses in greater detail certain aspects of maternity protection addressed in the Convention, including how to ensure health protection, and addresses some additional aspects related to types of leave and financing of benefits. International Labour Office (ILO), ‘Maternity at Work: A review of national legislation: Findings from the ILO Database of Conditions of Work and Employment Laws,’ 2^nd Edition, ILO: Geneva, 2012.

262 Ibid.

263 Ibid.

264 Ibid. At the time of the study, only Australia, Lesotho, Papua New Guinea, Swaziland and the United States of America did not provide some sort of cash benefit to women during maternity leave. In some countries, cash benefits were only made available for a certain number of births.

265 Talking points for Yassine Fall, Chief of the Economic Empowerment Section, UN Women, ‘Promoting Human Rights in Financial Regulation and Macroeconomic Policies,’ 2013.

266 UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012.

267 Ibid.

268 Francesca Bettio, Marcella Corsi, Carlo D’Ippoliti, Antigone Lyberaki, Manuela Samek Lodovici

and Alina Verashchagina, ‘The impact of the economic crisis on the situation of women and men and on gender equality policies,’ Synthesis report, report prepared for the use of the European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice, 2013. The authors go on to highlight that: “In Greece, Ireland and Portugal, Labour Inspections recorded a surge in the infringement of rights protecting pregnant women and mothers of young children during the crisis, while in Italy and the Czech Republic infringements are reported to have frequently occurred in ‘normal times’ as well.”

269 ILO Bureau for Gender Equality, ‘Making the crisis recovery work for women!,’ International Labour Office, International Women’s Day (8 March), 2011.

270 International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012.

271 Ibid. Other countries, however, contracted parental benefits and leave (for example, Germany, and Estonia).

272 Ibid.

273 See: OHCHR, ‘Preliminary Assessment of Responses Received from the Economic and Social Life (ESL) Questionnaire,’ 21 June 2013 (on file with author).

274 Ibid.

275 International Labour Office (ILO), ‘Maternity at Work: A review of national legislation: Findings from the ILO Database of Conditions of Work and Employment Laws,’ 2^nd Edition, ILO: Geneva, 2012.

276 Ibid.

277 UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012.

278 ILO R191 - Maternity Protection Recommendation, 2000 (No. 191) Recommendation concerning the revision of the Maternity Protection Recommendation, 1952, Geneva, 88th ILC session (15 June 2000).

279 ILO C183 - Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183) Convention concerning the revision of the Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952 (Entry into force: 7 February 2002), Geneva, 88th ILC session (15 June 2000).

280 ILO R165 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Recommendation, 1981 (No. 165)

Recommendation concerning Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers: Workers with Family Responsibilities, Geneva, 67th ILC session (23 June 1981).

281 ILO C156 - Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention, 1981 (No. 156), Convention concerning Equal Opportunities and Equal Treatment for Men and Women Workers: Workers with Family Responsibilities (Entry into force: 11 August 1983).

282 International Labour Office (ILO), ‘Maternity at Work: A review of national legislation: Findings from the ILO Database of Conditions of Work and Employment Laws,’ 2^nd Edition, ILO: Geneva, 2012.

283 As quoted in: UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012.

284 United States Internal Revenue Service, ‘Ten Things to Know About the Child and Dependent Care Credit,’ IRS Tax Tip 2011-46, 7 March 2011.

285 UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012.

286 World Bank, ‘World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development,’ 2012.

287 UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012. See also: ‘National Policy for the Promotion of Gender Equality, 2006-2010,’ adopted by the Croatian Parliament at its session held on 13 October 2006.

288 ‘National Policy for the Promotion of Gender Equality, 2006-2010,’ adopted by the Croatian Parliament at its session held on 13 October 2006.

289 UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012.

290 Report by the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination, Miloon Kothari, ‘Women and Adequate Housing,’ UN Doc. E/CN.4/2006/118, 27 February 2006. See also: UN Docs. E/CN.4/2006/41 (14 March 2006), E/CN.4/2005/43 (25 February 2005), and E/CN.4/2003/55 (26 March 2003).

291 Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an

adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Raquel Rolnik, UN Doc. A/HRC/19/53, 26 December 2011.

292 Ibid.

293 Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 7, Forced evictions, and the right to adequate housing (Sixteenth session, 1997), U.N. Doc. E/1998/22, annex IV at 113 (1997).

294 Commission on Human Rights Resolution: 2004/28, ‘Prohibition of forced evictions,’ 52nd meeting, 16 April 2004.

295 Ibid.

296 Radhika Coomaraswamy, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Addendum: Economic and social policy and its impact on violence against women,’ UN DocE/CN.4/2000/68/Add.5, 24 February 2000.

297 Yakin Ertürk, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Addendum: Political economy and violence against women,’ UN Doc. A/HRC/11/6/Add.6, 23 June 2009.

298 Women’s Right to Adequate Housing and Land: Middle East/North Africa Proceedings of the Alexandria Consultation, Miloon Kothari (UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing) with collaboration and support from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, 23–26 July 2004.

299 Bill Edgar, Joe Doherty and Henk Meert, Immigration and Homelessness in Europe, The Policy Press: Bristol, United Kingdom, 2004.

300 United States, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Policy Development and Research, ‘Housing Discrimination Against Racial And Ethnic Minorities 2012,’ 2013.

301 Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an

adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Raquel Rolnik, UN Doc. A/HRC/19/53, 26 December 2011.

302 Ibid.

303 The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions (COHRE), ‘A Place in the World: The Right to Adequate Housing as an Essential Element of a Life Free from Domestic Violence,’ COHRE: Geneva, July 2010.

304 Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an

adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Raquel Rolnik, UN Doc. A/HRC/19/53, 26 December 2011.

305 Ibid.

306 Statement by H.E. Eleonora Menicucci de Oliveira, Minister of State of Brazil of Public Policies for Women, Celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, New York, 9 July 2012. See also: OHCHR, ‘Preliminary Assessment of Responses Received from the Economic and Social Life (ESL) Questionnaire,’ 21 June 2013 (on file with author).

307 Report of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an

adequate standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context, Raquel Rolnik, UN Doc. A/HRC/19/53, 26 December 2011. See in particular Section III.

308 Ibid.

309 FAO Women and Population Division, Sustainable Development Department, ‘Rural women and the right to food,’ available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/w9990e/w9990e10.htm [last accessed 13 September 2013].

310 Hélène F. Delisle (Department of Nutrition and WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutritional Changes and Development, Universite de Montreal, Canada), ‘Poverty: The Double Burden of Malnutrition in Mothers and the Intergenerational Impact,’ Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Volume 1136 on, Reducing the Impact of Poverty on Health and Human Development: Scientific Approaches, June 2008, pp. 172–184.

311 UNAIDS, ‘Impact of the global economic crisis on women, girls and gender equality,’ UNAIDS Discussion Paper, August 2012.

312 Hélène F. Delisle (Department of Nutrition and WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutritional Changes and Development, Universite de Montreal, Canada), ‘Poverty: The Double Burden of Malnutrition in Mothers and the Intergenerational Impact,’ Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, Volume 1136 on, Reducing the Impact of Poverty on Health and Human Development: Scientific Approaches, June 2008, pp. 172–184.

313 Ibid.

314 Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, ‘Women’s rights and the right to food,’ UN Doc. A/HRC/22/50, 24 December 2012. See also, Center for Women’s Global Leadership, ‘The Right to Food, Gender Equality and Economic Policy,’ Meeting Report, 16-17 September 2011.

315 Ibid.

316 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter (Addendum: Mission to China), UN Doc. A/HRC/19/59/Add.1, 20 January 2012.

317 World Bank, ‘Food Crisis: Overview,’ available at: http://www.worldbank.org/foodcrisis/bankinitiatives.htm [last accessed 13 September 2013].

318 UNAIDS, ‘Impact of the global economic crisis on women, girls and gender equality,’ Discussion paper, August 2012.

319 Statement by Shamika Sirimanne (United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009.

320 Statement by Isatou Jallow (head of the WFP gender unit), ‘Women Shoulder Heaviest Burden in Global Food Crisis,’ International Women’s Day Statement, 5 March 2009.

321 Ibid.

322 Ibid.

323 UNAIDS, ‘Impact of the global economic crisis on women, girls and gender equality,’ Discussion paper, August 2012.

324 Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Olivier De Schutter, ‘Women’s rights and the right to food,’ UN Doc. A/HRC/22/50, 24 December 2012. See also, Center for Women’s Global Leadership, ‘The Right to Food, Gender Equality and Economic Policy,’ Meeting Report, 16-17 September 2011.

325 Mayra Gómez, ‘Good Practices in Realizing Women’s Rights to Productive Resources, with a Focus on Land,’ Background Paper prepared for the United Nations Expert Group Meeting on ‘Good Practices in Realizing Women’s Rights to Productive Resources, with a Focus on Land,’ convened by UN–Women and UN-OHCHR, Geneva, Switzerland, 25 to 27 June 2012.

326 Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), ‘The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Women’s Well-Being and Empowerment,’ Publication series: Women’s Economic Empowerment, Sida: 2 December 2010.

327 OECD, ‘Poverty reduction and social development: Discrimination against women persists around the globe hampering development,’ available online at: http://www.oecd.org/social/poverty/discriminationagainstwomenpersistsaroundtheglobehamperingdevelopment.htm [last accessed 1 December 2013]. See also: OECD, ‘2012 SIGI: Social Institutions and Gender Index: Understanding the drivers of gender inequality,’ 2012.

328 Women in Development Service (SDWW), FAO Women and Population Division, ‘Women and sustainable food security,’ available online at: http://www.fao.org/sd/fsdirect/fbdirect/fsp001.htm [last accessed 15 December 2013].

329 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), The State of Food and Agriculture: 2010-2011, 2011.

330 Ibid.

331 Ibid.

332 Study of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee on discrimination in the context of the right to food, UN Doc. A/HRC/16/40, 16 February 2011.

333 Ibid.

334 UN-Women and UN-OHCHR, Handbook on Effective Strategies to Realize Women’s Rights to Land and Other Productive Resources, New York and Geneva, 2013.

335 Ibid.

336 Ibid.

337 Maitrayee Mukhopadhyay, ‘Introduction: Women and Property, Women as Property,’ Gender Perspectives on Property and Inheritance, A Global Source Book, Oxfam GB, 2002.

338 Shepard Daniel with Anuradha Mittal, ‘The Great Land Grab: Rush for World’s Farmland Threatens Food Security for the Poor,’ The Oakland Institute, 2009.

339 The Environmental Justice Organisations, Liabilities and Trade (EJOLT), ‘Land Grabbing,’ available at: http://www.ejolt.org/2012/12/land-grabbing/ [last accessed 13 September 2013]. The Environmental Justice Organisations, Liabilities and Trade is an FP7 project supported by the European Commission that will run from 2011-2015. See also: GRAIN, ‘Seized: The 2008 landgrab for food and financial security,’ 24 October 2008.

340 Oxfam, ‘Land grabs,’ available at: http://www.oxfam.org/en/grow/issues/land-grabs [last accessed 13 September 2013].

341 FAO, ‘The State of Food and Agriculture, 2008: Biofuels: Prospects, Risks and Opportunities,’ Rome, 2008.

342 Ibid.

343 Andrea Rossi & Yianna Lambrou, ‘Gender and Equity Issues in Liquid Biofuels Production: Minimizing the Risks to Maximize the Opportunities,’ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome 2008.

344 Olivier De Schutter, ‘Large-scale land acquisitions and leases: A set of core principles and measures to address the human rights challenge,’ 11 June 2009.

345 African Union Declaration on Land Issues and Challenges in Africa, Doc No. Assembly/AU/Decl.1(XIII) Rev.1, 2009.

346 Nairobi Action Plan on Large Scale Land-Based Investments in Africa, as adopted by participants of the High Level Forum on Foreign Direct Investments in Land in Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, 4-5 October 2011.

347 WHO/UNICEF, ‘Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation, Drinking Water: Equity, Safety and Sustainability,’ 2012.

348 Ibid.

349 United Nations, ‘The Millennium Development Goals Report,’ United Nations, New York, 2012. According to UN-Women, in Pakistan, putting water sources closer to the home was associated with increased time allocated to productive market work, and in Tanzania, girls’ school attendance was reported to be 25 per cent higher for girls from homes located 15 minutes or less from a water source than girls from homes one hour or more away. See: Remarks by Lakshmi Puri, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, ‘Gender perspectives on water and food security,’ delivered at the Closing Plenary Session of the 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden, 31 August 2012.

350 United Nations Department of Public Information, ‘Fact Sheet: The Future We Want – Water and Sanitation,’ June 2012.

351 UN Interagency Task Force on Gender and Water, ‘A Gender Perspective on Water Resources and Sanitation,’ Background Paper submitted to the Commission on Sustainable Development, Background Paper No. 2, UN Doc. DESA/DSD/2005/2, (2005).

352 UN-Water, ‘Gender, Water and Sanitation: A Policy Brief,’ June 2006.

353 UNFPA, ‘Gender Equality: Women’s Work and Economic Empowerment,’ available online at: http://www.unfpa.org/gender/empowerment1.htm [last accessed 13 November 2013].

354 IFAD, ‘Desertification and Gender: Expanding Roles for Women to Restore Dryland Areas,’ 2010.

355 Women’s Environment & Development Organization, ‘Untapped Connections: Gender, Water and Poverty: Key Issues, Government Commitments and Actions for Sustainable Development,’ 2003.

356 UN-Water, ‘Gender, Water and Sanitation: A Policy Brief,’ June 2006.

357 Ibid.

358 Women’s Environment & Development Organization, ‘Untapped Connections: Gender, Water and Poverty: Key Issues, Government Commitments and Actions for Sustainable Development,’ 2003.

359 UNDP, GWA, IRC, Cap-Net and GWP, ‘Resource Guide: Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management,’ Version 2.1 November 2006. In addition:

[e]asier access to fresh water would improve living conditions for girls who generally drop out of school and start working in the fields and fetching water at a very young age. Lack of access to water is an obstacle to their right to have access to formal education.

See: Erin Kelly, ‘Water and Women’s Empowerment: More Closely Tied Than You May Think,’ Women Thrive Worldwide, 4 September 2012. Reports indicate that about 1 in 10 school-age African girls will not attend school during menstruation or drop out at puberty because of the absence of clean and private sanitation facilities in schools.

360 Catarina de Albuquerque, ‘Report of the independent expert on the issue of human rights obligations related to access to safe drinking water and sanitation: Addendum - Mission to Egypt,’ UN Doc. A/HRC/15/31/Add.3, 5 July 2010. See also: Catarina de Albuquerque, UN Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, ‘Integrating non-discrimination and equality into the post-2015 development agenda for water, sanitation and hygiene,’ UN Doc. A/67/270, 8 August 2012.

361 In the case of Greece, the United Nations Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, Mr. Cephas Lumina highlighted after a recent mission to Greece that some of the rights guaranteed under international human rights law, and “particularly socio-economic rights,” are “under threat or being undermined by the harsh pro-cyclical policies (austerity, labour reforms, liberalization and privatization) that the Government has been constrained to implement since May 2010 in return for a bailout ….” See: End of mission statement by United Nations Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights, Mr. Cephas Lumina, on his mission to Greece, 22-26 April 2013, issued in Athens, 26 April 2013.

362 Jane Lethbridge, ‘Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Austerity Measures on Women,’ Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), May 2012.

363 UN Interagency Task Force on Gender and Water, ‘A Gender Perspective on Water Resources and Sanitation,’ Background Paper submitted to the Commission on Sustainable Development, Background Paper No. 2, UN Doc. DESA/DSD/2005/2, (2005).

364 UNDP, GWA, IRC, Cap-Net and GWP, ‘Resource Guide: Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management,’ Version 2.1 November 2006.

365 Women’s Environment & Development Organization, ‘Untapped Connections: Gender, Water and Poverty: Key Issues, Government Commitments and Actions for Sustainable Development,’ 2003.

366 UNDP, GWA, IRC, Cap-Net and GWP, ‘Resource Guide: Mainstreaming Gender in Water Management,’ Version 2.1 November 2006. See also: Catarina de Albuquerque and Virginia Roaf, ‘On the Rights Track: Good practices in realising the rights to water and sanitation,’ 2012.

367 See: Frances Raday (Chair of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice), ‘Gender Pension Gap: Background Paper for Report to the Human Rights Council,’ 2013 (on file with author).

368 Heidi Hartmann (President, Institute for Women’s Policy Research), ‘Gender Implications of the Financial Crisis in the United States,’ presented at an event on the gender implications of the global financial crisis, co-sponsored by the Heinrich Böll Foundation North America, the Center of Concern, and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), 22 April 2009.

369 Ibid.

370 Ibid.

371 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, General Recommendation 27, Older women and protection of their human rights (Forty-seventh session, 2010), U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/GC/27 (2010).

372 Ibid.

373 European Commission – Directorate-General for Justice, ‘The Gender Gap in Pensions in the EU,’ European Union, 2013. See also: Frances Raday (Chair of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice), ‘Gender Pension Gap: Background Paper for Report to the Human Rights Council,’ 2013 (on file with author).

374 Ibid.

375 World Bank, ‘Pensions: Overview,’ available at: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTSOCIALPROTECTION/EXTPENSIONS/0,,contentMDK:20216715~pagePK:210058~piPK:210062~theSitePK:396253,00.html [last accessed 13 September 2013].

376 UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012.

377 UNICEF/ILO, ‘Supporting workers with family responsibilities: connecting child development and the decent work agenda,’ UNICEF/ILO Working Paper presented at the Annual Ministerial Review of the High-Level Segment of Economic and Social Council, New York, 2–9 July 2012. See also: Lou Tessier, Maya Stern Plaza, Christina Behrendt, Florence Bonnet and Emmanuelle St-Pierre Guilbault, ‘Social Protection Floors and gender equality: A brief overview,’ ESS (Extension of Social Security) Working Paper no. 37, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2013.

378 Lou Tessier, Maya Stern Plaza, Christina Behrendt, Florence Bonnet and Emmanuelle St-Pierre Guilbault, ‘Social Protection Floors and gender equality: A brief overview,’ ESS (Extension of Social Security) Working Paper no. 37, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2013.

379 Ibid., at pg. 4.

380 ILO Bureau for Gender Equality, ‘Making the crisis recovery work for women!,’ International Labour Office, International Women’ s Day (8 March), 2011.

381 World Bank, ‘Pensions in Crisis: Europe and Central Asia Regional Policy Note,’ 12 November 2009.

382 Bernard Casey (Institute for Employment Research, University of Warwick), ‘The implications of the economic crisis for pensions and pension policy in Europe,’ Global Social Policy, Vol. 12, No. 3, December, pp. 246-265. See also: David Natali, ‘Pensions after the financial and economic crisis:

a comparative analysis of recent reforms in Europe,’ Working Paper 2011.07, European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), Brussels, 2011.

383 ILO Bureau for Gender Equality, ‘Making the crisis recovery work for women!,’ International Labour Office, International Women’s Day (8 March), 2011.

384 Report of the Advisory Group chaired by Michelle Bachelet (aka Bachelet report), ‘Social protection floor for a fair and inclusive globalization,’ Convened by the ILO with the collaboration of the WHO, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011.

385 Report of the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, UN Doc. A/HRC/17/34, 17 March 2011.

386 Jayati Ghosh, ‘Economic Crisis and Women’s Work: Exploring Progressive Strategies in a Rapidly Changing Global Environment,’ UN-Women, January 2013.

387 As quoted from: Report of the Advisory Group chaired by Michelle Bachelet, ‘Social protection floor for a fair and inclusive globalization,’ Convened by the ILO with the collaboration of the WHO, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011.

388 ILO R202 - Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), Recommendation concerning National Floors of Social Protection, Geneva, 101st ILC session, 14 June 2012.

389 Ibid.

390 Lou Tessier, Maya Stern Plaza, Christina Behrendt, Florence Bonnet and Emmanuelle St-Pierre Guilbault, ‘Social Protection Floors and gender equality: A brief overview,’ ESS (Extension of Social Security) Working Paper no. 37, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2013.

391 Ibid.

392 A study of 130 developing countries shows that from 2008 to 2009, 120 countries increased spending by an average of 25 per cent over 2005 to 2007 levels. Only 10 countries reduced spending for the same time periods. See: Isabel Ortiz and Matthew Cummins (eds.) ‘A recovery for All: Rethinking socio-economic policies for children and poor households,’ New York: UNICEF, 2012.

393 Jayati Ghosh, ‘Economic Crisis and Women’s Work: Exploring Progressive Strategies in a Rapidly Changing Global Environment,’ UN-Women, January 2013.

394 Jane Lethbridge, ‘Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Austerity Measures on Women,’ Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), May 2012.

395 Ibid.

396 See: Stephanie Seguino (Professor of Economics University of Vermont, USA), ‘Financing for Gender Equality: Reframing and Prioritizing Public Expenditures to Promote Gender Equality,’ UN-Women Policy Brief, January 2013. See also: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr , James Heintz & Stephanie Seguino, ‘Critical Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises: Heterodox Macroeconomics Meets Feminist Economics,’ Feminist Economics, Volume 19, Number 3, 2013, pp. 4-31.

397 France and Luxembourg, however, have introduced higher taxation for high income groups. See: Jane Lethbridge, ‘Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Austerity Measures on Women,’ Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), May 2012.

398 Center for Economic and Social Rights, ‘Fiscal Fallacies: 8 Myths about the “Age of Austerity”

And Human Rights Responses,’ Rights in Crisis Series Briefing Paper, July 2012. See also: ESCR-NET, Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Center of Concern, Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), and the Center for Economic and Social Rights, ‘Bringing Human Rights to Bear in Times of Crisis: A human rights analysis of government responses to the economic crisis,’ Submission to the High-Level Segment of 13th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the global economic and financial crises, 2010.

399 See, for example: Ha-Joon Chang, ‘Austerity has never worked: It’s not just about the current economic environment. History shows that slashing budgets always leads to recession,’ The Guardian, 4 June 2012.

400 Brad Plumer, ‘IMF: Austerity is much worse for the economy than we thought,’ The Washington Post, 12 October 2012.

401 The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has stated that “deliberately retrogressive measures … would require the most careful consideration and would need to be fully justified by reference to the totality of the rights provided for in the Covenant and in the context of the full use of the maximum available resources.” Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 3, The nature of States parties’ obligations (Fifth session, 1990), U.N. Doc. E/1991/23, annex III at 86 (1991).

402 As quoted in: Programme on Women’s Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (PWESCR), ‘Global Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Women: A Human Rights Perspective,’ 2011.

403 Jayati Ghosh, ‘Economic Crisis and Women’s Work: Exploring Progressive Strategies in a Rapidly Changing Global Environment,’ UN-Women, January 2013.

404 Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘Safeguarding human rights in times of economic crisis,’ November 2013. See also: Report of the independent expert (Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona) on the question of human rights and extreme poverty (on the impact of the current global financial crisis on people living in extreme poverty and the enjoyment of their human rights), UN Doc. A/64/279, 11 August 2009.

405 BBC News, ‘EU austerity drive country by country,’ 21 May 2012.

406 European Women’s Lobby, ‘The price of austerity - The impact on women’s rights and gender equality in Europe,’ October 2012.

407 Jane Lethbridge, ‘Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Austerity Measures on Women,’ Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), May 2012.

408 Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), ‘The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Women’s Well-Being and Empowerment,’ Publication series: Women’s Economic Empowerment, Sida: 2 December 2010. In fact, the United Kingdom has seen the highest level of women’s unemployment in 25 years. See: Jane Lethbridge, ‘Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Austerity Measures on Women,’ Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), May 2012.

409 International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global Employment Trends for Women,’ International Labour Organization: Geneva, December 2012.

410 European Women’s Lobby, ‘The price of austerity - The impact on women’s rights and gender equality in Europe,’ October 2012.

411 Trades Union Congress (TUC), ‘Bearing the brunt, leading the response: Women and

the global economic crisis,’ March 2011.

412 European Women’s Lobby, ‘The price of austerity - The impact on women’s rights and gender equality in Europe,’ October 2012.

413 Ibid. See also: Jane Lethbridge, ‘Impact of the Global Economic Crisis and Austerity Measures on Women,’ Public Services International Research Unit (PSIRU), May 2012.

414 Ursula Barry and Pauline Conroy, ‘Ireland in Crisis 2008-2012: Women, austerity and inequality,’ National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) and Think Tank on Social Change (TASC), School of Social Justice, University College Dublin, Ireland, October 2012.

415 SAPs include, for example: currency devaluation, price deregulation, privatization, export-led growth strategies, and the removal of subsidies on public services, for example in the areas of education, food, water and sanitation, and health services. See: Bharati Sadasivam, ‘The Impact of Structural Adjustment on Women: A Governance and Human Rights Agenda,’ Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 19, No. 3, 1997, pp. 630-665.

416 Ibid.

417 Maya Sethi, ‘What contribution does feminist economics make to the understanding of gender equality?,’ thesis submitted at the Gender Institute, London School of Economics, March 2011.

418 See: ‘Achieving Equity for Women: Policy Alternatives for the New Administration Symposium Report,’ A policy research symposium co-sponsored by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research and Wellesley Centers for Women, Washington D.C., 2 April 2009.

419 Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe, ‘La actual crisis financiera internacional y sus efectos en América Latina y el Caribe,’ Santiago, Chile, 2009. See also: Norma Sanchís & Alma Espino, ‘The Impacts of the Crisis on Women in Latin America,’ Brief 1 of the 2010 series edition: 2010 Updates: Impacts Of The Crisis On Women’s Rights: Sub Regional Perspectives, AWID, 2010.

420 ECLAC/ILO, ‘Countercyclical policies for a sustained recovery in employment,’ The employment situation in Latin America and the Caribbean, Issue No. 5, June 2011.

421 Speech by Michelle Bachelet, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women, at the economics symposium “Critical Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises: Why Gender Matters,” held in New York from 21-22 January 2013. UN-Women has also said that “A crucial point that is often overlooked is that public programmes and interventions in the labour market to provide social protection are not just welfare measures—they are important counter-cyclical buffers that reduce or prevent downturns and enable faster recovery.” See: Jayati Ghosh, ‘Economic Crisis and Women’s Work: Exploring Progressive Strategies in a Rapidly Changing Global Environment,’ UN-Women, January 2013.

422 ILO Bureau for Gender Equality, ‘Making the crisis recovery work for women!,’ International Labour Office, International Women’s Day (8 March), 2011.

423 Ibid.

424 Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), ‘The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Women’s Well-Being and Empowerment,’ Publication series: Women’s Economic Empowerment, Sida: 2 December 2010.

425 Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), ‘The reactions of the Governments of the Americas to the international crisis: follow-up to policy measures adopted up to

31 December 2011,’ April 2012. Some scholars have in particular highlighted that: “We cannot accept the double-standard of counter-cyclical measures for rich countries and pro-cyclical measures for poor countries, or, Keynesian economics for rich countries and neo-liberal economics for poor countries.” See: Statement by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009. See also: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr , James Heintz & Stephanie Seguino, ‘Critical Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises: Heterodox Macroeconomics Meets Feminist Economics,’ Feminist Economics, Volume 19, Number 3, 2013, pp. 4-31.

426 Jayati Ghosh, ‘Economic Crisis and Women’s Work: Exploring Progressive Strategies in a Rapidly Changing Global Environment,’ UN-Women, January 2013.

427 Ibid.

428 Ibid.

429 Ibid.

430 Ibid.

431 Statement by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr (Graduate Program in International Affairs, The New School), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009. See also: Sakiko Fukuda-Parr , James Heintz & Stephanie Seguino, ‘Critical Perspectives on Financial and Economic Crises: Heterodox Macroeconomics Meets Feminist Economics,’ Feminist Economics, Volume 19, Number 3, 2013, pp. 4-31.

432 Jayati Ghosh, ‘Economic Crisis and Women’s Work: Exploring Progressive Strategies in a Rapidly Changing Global Environment,’ UN-Women, January 2013.

433 UNAIDS, ‘Impact of the global economic crisis on women, girls and gender equality,’ Discussion paper, August 2012.

434 Centre for Gender Equality Iceland, ‘Gender Equality in Iceland,’ January 2012. See also: The Government of Iceland, ‘25^th National Report on the implementation of the 1961 European Social Charter,’ on Articles 1, 15 and 18 for the period 01/01/2007-31/12/2010, Report registered by the Secretariat on 8 October 2012.

435 UNAIDS, ‘Impact of the global economic crisis on women, girls and gender equality,’ Discussion paper, August 2012.

436 Ibid.

437 Statement by Stephanie Seguino (University of Vermont), ‘Emerging issue: The gender perspectives of the Financial Crisis,’ Interactive Expert Panel, Commission on the Status of Women, Fifty-third session, New York, 2-13 March 2009. See also: Swedish International Development Agency (Sida), ‘The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Women’s Well-Being and Empowerment,’ Publication series: Women’s Economic Empowerment, Sida: 2 December 2010. See also: Natalie Raaber & Diana Aguiar, ‘Feminist critiques, policy alternatives and calls for systemic change to an economy in crisis,’ Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), 2012. See also: Cecilia Alemany, Graciela Dede, Natalie Raaber, and Anne Schoenstein, ‘Cross–Regional Analysis on the Impact of the Crisis on Women and Women’s Rights,’ AWID, 2009. See also: Nerea Craviotto, ‘The Impact of the global economic crisis on women and women’s human rights across regions,’ AWID, 2010.

438 This has been recognized as a good practice by the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice. See: Report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice, Addendum: Mission to Morocco,’ UN Doc. A/HRC/20/28/Add.1, 19 June 2012.

439 Naoko Otobe, ‘Global economic crisis, gender and employment: The impact and policy response,’ Employment Sector: Employment Working Paper No. 74, International Labour Organization: Geneva, 2011. See also: International Labour Organization (ILO), ‘Global economic crisis, gender and work: Key policy challenges and options,’ Global Jobs Pact Policy Briefs, Brief No. 15, 2011.

440 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc A/810 at 71 (1948).

441 Emphasis added. Basic Principles and Guidelines on the Right to a Remedy and Reparation for Victims of Gross Violations of International Human Rights Law and Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law, adopted by United National General Assembly, resolution60/147, UN Doc. A/RES/60/147 (21 March 2005), at Art. 11(b) .

442