Champions of health equity

Promoting gender equality and empowering women is imperative for sustaining social and economic development. The United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the premier intergovernmental organization entrusted with advancing and safeguarding women’s rights, elucidating experiences of women worldwide, and shaping and influencing policies that promulgate the general well-being of women, globally. The mission and goals of the CSW are directly responsive to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 5 and 11; moreover, it is important to note that achieving gender equality has both direct and indirect implications for meeting the remainder of the SDGs. 

As one of the largest organizations representing nurses worldwide, Sigma is in a unique position to influence policy and champion sustainable development through the important work of its members. Sigma has the distinct honor of representing nurses at the UN through involvement with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). Sigma’s engagement with the ECOSOC is in line with our mission of developing nurse leaders anywhere to improve healthcare everywhere. 

Despite significant strides related to the development and enactment of seminal policies such as the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, gender equity issues persist. Gaps still exist in education and training, decision-making ability, violence against women, and economic empowerment. More importantly, structural and systemic inequities significantly contribute to health, economic, and social disparities among women worldwide. 

To ensure that women’s rights and empowerment discussions are consistently at the forefront of policy makers’ agendas and priorities, the CSW holds an annual two-week meeting at the UN headquarters in New York, with representatives from all UN member states and civil society organizations. This year’s priority theme is “achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes,” which links to SDG 13. The corresponding review theme for the year is “women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.” These are befitting and timely themes highlighting the need to economically empower women, as the latest evidence still shows that women are underpaid compared to their male counterparts and are less likely to hold chief executive officer (CEO) positions.

Sigma, in collaboration with Johns Hopkins Program for International Education in Gynecology and Obstetrics (Jhpiego) and The International Council of Nurses (ICN), are conducting two virtual sessions at this year’s conference. Registration is free! I hope you’ll consider joining these interactive sessions and contribute to these discussions:

For the 20th year in a row, nursing has been selected as the most trusted profession. Therefore, strengthening healthcare systems worldwide is predicated on empowering nurses and midwives as champions of health equity, especially regarding maternal health services. Ensuring sustainable development in this arena is directly related to improving nursing and midwifery by investing in education and specialized training. Highly qualified nursing and midwifery professionals have the capacity to disrupt intergenerational disparities in women’s health, especially among underrepresented populations globally. These are the populations who face the greatest threat to their health and well-being from the impacts of climate change. 

Equipping nurse leaders and clinicians with skillsets that empower them to champion the integration of innovative, evidence-based, and culturally appropriate initiatives at various levels of the organizational structure is foundational to fostering health equity and promoting women’s health worldwide. These skills will also help them mitigate climate change and allow nurses to help build climate-resistant health systems that prioritize women and girls.

Mercy N. Mumba, PhD, RN, CMSRN, is an Associate Professor in the Capstone College of Nursing at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA, and one of Sigma’s United Nations Liaisons. She is a member of Sigma’s Epsilon Omega Chapter.