Zonta International statement on World Day of Social Justice 2022
Each year on 20 February, the World Day of Social Justice recognizes the need to promote social justice, which includes efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, gender inequality, human rights and more.
“For more than 100 years, Zonta International has been a leader for social justice, particularly in the gender equality space,” said Zonta International President Sharon Langenbeck. “We remain committed not only to social justice and to achieving gender equality, but also to the Sustainable Development Goals.”
In Our Common Agenda: Report of the Secretary-General, one of the key proposed actions is to place women and girls at the center of the UN’s agenda to strengthen and accelerate multilateral agreements, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This is the main goal of each one of Zonta International’s projects and programs.
Our Common Agenda also points out that decent work opportunities for all are needed for shared prosperity. This year’s World Day of Social Justice theme, “Achieving Social Justice through Formal Employment,” focuses on the formalization of employment as a prerequisite for reducing poverty and inequality.
More than 60% of the world’s employed population—2 billion people—earn their livelihoods in the informal economy. Informal workers, who often lack social protection and employment-related benefits, are twice as likely to be poor compared to formal workers. Women make up about 58—or 1.2 billion people—of the world’s informal workers.
Zonta International supports workers’ transition to formal employment. Our fellowships, scholarships and awards help educate women so they can gain employment and advance in the formalized economy. Our international service projects work to train teachers in Madagascar and health care workers in Peru, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
On 25 February at 8 AM Central Time, join Zonta International and special guests for a conversation on the status of women in the workplace today, the ILO convention on ending violence and harassment in the workplace and what we can do as advocates to transform the workplace for women. Click here to register for the virtual event.
This year’s commemorative meeting of the World Day of Social Justice will be convened by the Permanent Mission of the Kyrgyz Republic to the UN, the International Labour Organization and the United Nations Development Programme. Click here to learn more about and register for the event, held virtually on 21 February at 1:15 PM Eastern Time.
20 FEBRUARY 2022