Madam Deputy Speaker, the ACDP congratulates the candidates who were recommended for appointment to the Commission on Gender Equality and wishes all of them every success. When I communicated with people whose work centred on issues of gender equality, I got the following responses: "My impression of the CGE," they said, "is that it is very much a lame duck. If the commission is doing good work, it manages to keep it pretty secret." "Yes, it probably confronts funding constraints, but so do we all. That is not an excuse; it is a challenge that needs to be risen above by dynamic, innovative leadership and team building."
There was acknowledgement that some recommended candidates were very highly regarded in academic circles, while others were met with reservations about appointing commissioners who had no track record in gender activism. Those who have no gender background but offered expertise in organisation or team building and strategic thinking, they conceded, needed to be guided by those who better understood the issues. Stakeholders will be watching the process unfold with interest.
People are particularly interested in the vision of these recommended candidates and how they understand the CGE's mandate; how they envisage raising its public profile; which key issues they will work on; which campaigns could be developed; and which constituencies they will work with - all questions covered during interviews by Members of Parliament with the candidates.
Perhaps the commission should consider publishing this information in an effort to lift the CGE profile and engage with the public. Up until now, public engagement has been so low-profile as to be effectively nonexistent. Gender inequalities are not simply about women's equality with men. According to United Nations estimates, if gender inequalities in the labour market, for example, were eliminated, women's wages would rise by 50% and gross domestic product by 5%. Everyone would benefit, not just women.
The extent to which a new commission sees gender equity as a zero-sum game is critical. If it is perceived as benefits for women and losses for men, instead of a win-win situation in which both men and women stand to benefit, success will be limited. The ACDP is in support of this. Thank you.