The Global President of In­ternational Youth Network – United Nations Security Council 2250 Resolution (IYNUN­SCR), Sally Lilian Addo has called for the inclusion of women in national affairs to foster gender equality.

She said this at the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), organised by the United Nations Women at the United States of America.

Participants at the CSW 68, included governments, civil so­ciety organizations, experts and activists from across the world who deliberated on actions and investments that could end women’s poverty and spearhead gender equality.

It is the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, held under the theme “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.”

She observed that, the world was at a crucial crossroad for gender equality, where globally 10.3 per cent of women live in extreme poverty.

Ms Addo said findings of UN Women, a United Na­tions entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women had indicated that, accelerated progress requires investment.

Also, she said data from 48 developing economies shows that an additional $360 billion is needed per year to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment across key global goals, including to end poverty and hunger.

According to the president of IYNUNSCR, solutions to end women’s poverty were widely recognised, hence, investing in policies and programmes that address gender inequalities and boosting women’s agency and leadership would make it fast to achieve.

“Such investments yield enor­mous dividends: Over 100 million women and girls could be lifted out of poverty if governments prioritised education and family planning, fair and equal wages, and expanded social benefits”, she said.

She mentioned that closing gender gaps in employment could boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita by 20 per cent across all regions.