The article discusses the critical role of promoting gender equality in efforts to restore and protect the world’s oceans. Key points include:
- Empowering Women in Ocean Activities: The text emphasizes the need to empower women to actively participate in understanding, exploring, protecting, and sustainably managing the oceans. It highlights that women are engaged in various aspects of ocean interactions but often face invisibility and gender inequality in ocean-based livelihoods and conservation efforts.
- Gender Inequality Challenges: Gender inequality persists in the marine industry and ocean science, with limited data and research on these issues. The text underlines the importance of taking concerted action to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), which focuses on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
- Importance of Gender Equality for Ocean Conservation: Gender equality is deemed crucial for addressing environmental challenges in the oceans. It is seen as a means to empower women and girls to be active participants in positive ocean change.
- Gender Disparities in Ocean Science: Women represent only 38 percent of all ocean scientists, and despite comprising 50 percent of the marine and coastal industries workforce, their wages remain lower than those of men. Mainstreaming gender equality is vital for ensuring women’s equal participation in ocean science and management.
- Secretary-General’s Call: UN Secretary-General António Guterres highlights that women have been marginalized in various ocean-related sectors and stresses the importance of confronting gender inequality to achieve ocean-related goals within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- Preserving the Ocean as a Common Heritage: Plastic pollution in the oceans is a pressing issue, and the text emphasizes the importance of preserving the ocean as a common environmental heritage for all of humanity. It cites the Ocean Science Decade for Sustainable Development, aiming to encourage scientific collaboration and sustainable management of oceans.
- Youth-Led Efforts Against Plastic Pollution: World Scouting has partnered with the UN Environment Programme to create a movement to combat plastic pollution. Youth from various organizations have undertaken the Plastic Tide Turners Challenge Badge to raise awareness and take action against plastic pollution, contributing to SDGs 14 and 15.
- Global Gathering for Ocean and Gender Literacy: The text mentions a global gathering at UN Headquarters to discuss ocean and gender literacy. Participants aim to promote gender equality in various ocean-related activities, including marine scientific research, fisheries, labor at sea, migration by sea, human trafficking, policy-making, and management.
Therefore, the text underscores the significance of gender equality in ocean conservation efforts and highlights the need to empower women to play a more active role in understanding and protecting our planet’s oceans. It also discusses youth-led initiatives to combat plastic pollution and emphasizes the importance of global collaboration in these endeavors.