Millennium Development Goal #3
Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
"There is no longer Jew or Greek,
there is no longer slave or free,
there is no longer male and female;
for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
-Galatians 3:28
The Prayer
Let us pray for an end to the divisions and inequalities that scar God's creation, particularly the barriers to freedom faced by God's children throughout the world because of gender; that all who have been formed in God's image might have equaltiy in pursuit of the blessings of creation.
O God, in whom there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free: Unite the wills of all people, that the walls which divide us and limit equality among your children may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatreds cease; so that all may live together in justice, harmony, and peace. God of love, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
See also:
An Evening Prayer service for MDGs #2, 3 & 5 from St. Paul's Cathedral, London
A Litany of Women's Power -- from the Office of Women's Ministries
The Challenge
Women represent half of the almost 40 million people infected with HIV worldwide. In Africa, this number is growing.
Two-thirds of the world's illiterate people are female.
The employment rate for women is two-thirds that for men.
Women only held 15.7% of seats in national parliaments in 2005.
Click here for targets and progress indicators.
The Goal in Child-Friendly Language
Let girls and boys, women and men, be equal.
Women are treated fairly and with respect, when they go to work and when they are at home with their families.
Source: Kenyon Conference 2007 Children's Program - Experiencing the MDGs
El objetivo en Espanol
Eliminar las desigualdades entre los géneros en la enseñanza primaria y secundaria, preferiblemente para el año 2005, y en todos los niveles de la enseñanza antes del fin del año 2015.
How Are We Doing?
Are we on track to meet MDG #3 by 2015? Find out at:
MDGMonitor - basic, easy to navigate
GapMinder MDG Charts - This site is great ... moving graphics show how the development of all countries by the indicators you choose. You can even get country-specific charts (for your companion diocese, for example)
Human Development Trends Movable Charts -- More from gapminder, see graphic demonstrations of MDG trends past, present and future.
UN Human Development Report - much more detailed, looks at MDGs through lens of climate change.
Printable Progress Chart on all 8 MDGs
For specific information on progress on gender equality and women's empowerment go to:
UN Commission on the Status of Women
UNICEF - Charting how progress is being made in closing the gender gap in primary education.
Did You Know...
Of the 1.3 billion people living in poverty around the world, 70% are women. (Source: World Revolution)
Women do about 66% of the world's work in return for less than 5% of its income. (Source: Women's International Network)
In the least developed countries nearly twice as many women over age 15 are illiterate compared to men. (Source: UNFPA)
Two-thirds of children denied primary education are girls, and 75% of the world’s 876 million illiterate adults are women. (Source: AskWoman)
Women work two-thirds of the world's working hours, produce half of the world's food, and yet earn only 10% of the world's income and own less than 1% of the world's property. (Source :World Development Indicators, 1997, Womankind Worldwide)
What One Can Do - Give
Organizations that support MDG #3:
Episcopal Relief and Development - Learn about ERD's work with MDG #3 here.
El Circulo de Mujeres (The Circle of Women) -- supports the self-sufficiency of indigenous Mixteca women in Oaxaca, Mexico.
CARE - One of the most respected organizations around has a primary focus on women's empowerment with their "I am powerful" campaign. -- See CharityNavigator's page on CARE - 4 stars (highest rating)
Use CharityNavigator to search for and vet organizations that work toward this goal.
Scripture that references our call to heal the brokenness of gender discrimination and honor women's equality, dignity and sovereignty:
Galatians 3:28 “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.
John 4:1-30 – The Samaritan woman at the well
Matthew 28:10 – “Then Jesus said to (Mary and Mary Magdalene), ‘Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.’”
John 12:3 – “Mary (of Bethany) took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair.”
Stories of Esther, Lydia, Ruth, Deborah, Priscilla
For scriptural foundations for all 8 MDGs, click here for "The MDGs - Straight From Scripture"
For a comprehensive list of Peace and Justice related scriptures, click here.
What did we miss? Email us your scriptural references to our call to heal the brokenness of gender discrimination and honor the equality, vitality and sovereignty of women.
Also, be sure and check out "Women in the Bible" on the excellent website of the Episcopal Church Office of Women's Ministries for a great brief summary on the topic.
Sermons about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty:
Submit your sermons about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty, here.
What One Can Do - Activities
Ways you can make MDG #3 come alive for your congregation:
Use the Beijing Circles model - Beijing Circles is a name the Episcopal Church Office of Women's Ministries has given to the group of circles that have formed around the issues of the Beijing Platform for Action. The creation of circles came out of their work as AWE, Anglican Womens Empowerment, as they attended the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women event held annually at the end of February.Beijing Circles are a tool which can help us educate ourselves and one another about the issues affecting women globally and then to advocate within our church and the world to bring about positive change.
Contribute to the new Anglican Women's Prayer Book -- Gathering the prayer voices of women worldwide. All proceeds go to the International Anglican's Womens Network and ERD. The deadline for submissions is September 1, 2008. Submissions may be made by email to prayers@cpg.org.
Submit your activities about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty, here.
Ways you can make MDG #3 come alive for children and youth:
Water -- Discuss the importance of and practice transporting and purifying water. (Page 7 - Kenyon Conference Children's Conference: Experiencing the MDGs)
Bread of Life -- Bake four kinds of bread, with recipes from different regions (Page 7 - Kenyon Conference Children's Conference: Experiencing the MDGs)
Submit your children's activities about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty, here.
Books about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty.
Gender, Development and Poverty, by Caroline Sweetman - Part of the Oxfam Focus on Gender Series. Examines the complex links between poverty and inequality between women and men. Shows how gender inequalities impact men's, women's and children's experiences of poverty, and demonstrates the importance of integrating gender analysis into every aspect of development initiatives. Only 102 pages.
General books about the MDGs, including women's empowerment:
What Can One Person Do: Faith to Heal a Broken World, by Sabina Alkire and Edmund Newell. - The best primer on the MDGs. A great mix of information, stories, statistics, prayers, resources, practical ideas and discussion questions. Perfect for individual or group study.
The Bottom Billion, by Paul Collier. - Accessible economics that explains how poor countries got there and are staying there.
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, by Jeffrey Sachs. - Economist Sachs outlines the various issues that contribute to the poverty trap of the one billion people that live on less than $1 a day as well as some cheap and easy solutions to address the problem.
The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, by William Easterly - Easterly's response to Sach's ideas. A good book to read to learn the arguments against blindly throwing money at the world's poor and for carefully targeting bottom-up approaches.
Ending Global Poverty: A Guide to What Works, by Stephen C. Smith. - Smith outlines the issues related to poverty and what readers can do to help overcome the crisis.
Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, by Muhammad Yunus. 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner's memoir about his experiences with microcredit with the Grameen Bank.
Movies/video about eradicating gender discrimination and empowering women
All Different, All Equal (2000) - Produced by the British nonprofit organization TVE for its Life series, this film provides a snapshot of the status of women at the time the MDGs were developed, spotlighting changes in gender equality around the world in the five years after the groundbreaking Beijing Conference on Women in 1995. Read the full transcript of the show here. Watch a QuickTime video clip from the show here. Find out more and order it here.
Dishing Democracy - The PBS series Wide Angle goes behind the scenes at Arab television channel MBC in Cairo for an inside look at the hit all-female talk show, KALAM NAWAEM. The film provides a nuanced portrait of four Arab women harnessing the power of transnational satellite TV to boldly and effectively push social reform. With exclusive access to both the private and the professional lives of the hosts and producers, the cameras capture censorship discussions, tension and camaraderie in the dressing room, and viewer reactions on the Arab street. Find out more ... including a companion lesson plan ... here. Watch the full show online here.
General movies/video about the MDGs, including women's empowerment:
The Girl in the Cafe (2005) - A sweet romance set at a G8 Summit with the subtext being conversation and debate about the Millennium Development Goals. A good combination of passion and impassioned approaches tied up in a moving and entertaining package. A beautiful movie. (Some brief nudity - if you're showing this to a youth group, be aware.)
Submit your books and movies about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty, here.
Click here for the reading list for the Rev. Ian Douglas' EDS course Contemporary Issues in World Christianity, which includes readings on globalization/international debt, the environmental crisis, HIV/AIDS and women's empowerment, the effect of colonialism and neo-colonialism and more.
Websites with more resources/activities about MDG #3
Episcopal Church Office of Women's Ministries -- An excellent website full of resources and updated information.
endpoverty2015.org - The Millennium Campaign's MDG #3 page
World Pulse Magazine -- a global media organization dedicated to broadcasting the untapped voices and innovative solutions of women worldwide. Includes an excellent e-magazine and PulseWire.net -- an interactive global community website for women around the world.
International Center for Research on Women -- ICRW not only does the research on women's empowerment, they translate it into concrete action steps to make it happen.
MADRE -- An international women's human rights organization
The Global Fund for Women -- A Grantmaking foundation supporting women's human rights organizations around the world working to address critical issues such as gaining economic independence, increasing girls' access to education and stopping violence against women.
Submit your website suggestions about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty, here.
What One Person Can Do
Stories about One Person working to honor women's equality, vitality and sovereignty
Submit your One Person stories about eradicating hunger and poverty here.
What One Congregation Can Do
Stories about One Congregation working to honor women's equality, vitality and sovereignty
What One Diocese Can Do
Stories about One Diocese working to honor women's equality, vitality and sovereignty
Submit your One Diocese stories about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty, here.
What One Church Can Do
Stories about The Episcopal Church working to honor women's equality, vitality and sovereignty
Other Resources
Information and resources about eradicating extreme hunger and poverty
The MDGs: They Are About Children - information about how this MDG (and others) effects childrenNo Country Treats It's Women the Same as Men - a gender equity chart that measures progress in every nation
What One Has Said
Quotes about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty
"The education and empowerment of women throughout the world cannot fail to result in a more caring, tolerant, just and peaceful life for all." - Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, leader of Burma's democracy movement
"We've begun to raise daughters more like sons. . . But few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters." - Gloria Steinem
Submit your favorite quotes about honoring women's equality, vitality and sovereignty, here.
