Women working wonders around the world.

CSW 68 focuses on funding for gender equality

The YWCA USA Delegation at UN CSW68

The 68^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) delivered robust commitments by UN Member States to strengthen financing and institutions to eradicate women’s and girls’ poverty.

Globally, 10.3 per cent of women live in extreme poverty today, according to the report presented by the UN Secretary-General to the Commission, and progress towards ending poverty needs to be 26 times faster to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

The outcome document (or Agreed Conclusions) recognizes that women and girls living in poverty become ‘shock absorbers’ in times of crisis, and that further efforts are needed to increase resources to address women’s and girls’ poverty.

Young Women’s Leadership focus of WSC’s 103^rd Annual Meeting

The virtual annual meeting of the World Service Council was held Oct. 20. WSC Co-chair Mildred Morrison opened the meeting by briefly commenting on the history of the WSC and briefing attendees on the work of the Council over the past year: holding an in-person meeting of the WSC in collaboration with the YWCA USA’s June conference, participating in World YWCA zoom meetings, and raising $95,000 to mainly to support the World YWCA’s young women’s cohort program. She also memorialized four of WSC Trailblazing leaders who passed away. (see separate article).

The highlight of the meeting featured reporting by two members of the World YWCA’s Young Women’s Leadership Cohort, Amara Killen from USA, and Yvonne Ogollah from Kenya. Their conversations were facilitated by Anne Marie Schwerin, CEO of YWCA Walla Walla. Both young women praised the life-changing training provided by the World YWCA, and discussed their work with other women in the cohort along with the work they are doing in their own countries.

WSC loses four Trailblazers

Over this past year, the WSC has lost four outstanding women whose commitment to the YWCA was unflinching – Grace Ricardson, the extraordinary ceiling breaking businesswoman; Alexine Jackson, a national leader of the YWCA and other organizations; Millicent Agnor, leader of several projects related to the One Imperative; and very recently, this Council’s own Connie Tate who descended from several generations of YW women, and excelled at finding her own path in deepening her concern for women in difficult circumstances and in leading the Council for a decade. In future postings, there will be information on how the Council will honor Connie.