This High-Level Online Meeting (HLOM) “Turning the Tide on Women’s Inequality: Transforming Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Economic Solutions for All” seeks to identify clear steps towards redressing dynamics that hinder progress on women’s empowerment, mobilise the necessary resources to implement Agenda 2030 and the priorities of the 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), and to drive global change by championing women's rights and roles.  

The HLOM will dive deep into the conclusions of CSW68, focusing on impactful practices in which faith communities play a crucial role in addressing women’s inequality and climate justice. By sharing experiences and insights from various challenging contexts, the meeting will highlight how religious actors and local partners, especially women and girls, act as catalysts for positive change. It will build upon the outcomes of a webinar held on 17 April 2024, which investigated grassroots actions to redress dynamics that hinder progress on women’s empowerment and showcased a comprehensive approach to empowering women and engaging religious leadership in climate action and gender equality. The webinar highlighted the need to address structural challenges, reinterpret religious teachings, and promote sustainable solutions and collaborative frameworks to ensure women’s meaningful participation in resource allocation and decision-making. Thus, the HLOM will emphasise inclusive platforms for collaboration such as training on climate issues, financial literacy, accurate disaster reporting, and involving more female religious leaders in decision-making and capacity-building programmes.  

The HLOM aims to produce a dynamic report with concrete messages and recommendations, incorporating an interreligious perspective for a holistic societal approach. This report will call for actionable plans that harness the collective power of faith communities to combat the disproportionate impacts of poverty, hunger, and climate change on women and girls. It will also advocate for effective partnerships in climate action, urging policymakers to recognise and support the critical contributions of women, religious actors, and local partners in climate mitigation, adaptation and response. 

Format & Methodology:  

The HLOM is held in a workshop format, which features full audience participation through interaction with panellists and in thematic breakout groups. The format allows for online collaboration in identifying specific needs, actionable recommendations and innovative solutions on how to turn the tide against women’s inequality through sustainable economic empowerment. These contributions will inform the messages and recommendations in the HLOM outcome report. 

Guiding Themes and Breakout Groups: 

Capacity Building and Leadership Development 

How can we equip religious leaders, especially women, with the necessary skills to champion women's economic empowerment and decision-making within their communities? 

Collaborative Advocacy and Policy Reform 

How can we advocate for policies that enhance women's access to finance and resources through collaborative efforts and policy reform? 

Interfaith Dialogue and Inclusive Platforms 

How can we foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders to advance women's empowerment and financial inclusion through inclusive platforms and dialogue? 

Sustainable Economic Opportunities and Environmental Justice 

Which innovative solutions can we propose to promote sustainable economic opportunities for women while addressing structural barriers and aligning with environmental justice principles?

This HLOM is organised by KAICIID in collaboration with the International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) and its Gender Equality and Empowerment Workstream, and co-Sponsored by the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UNITED SIKHS UK, World Vision International, Arigatou International and the African Union Citizens and Diaspora Directorate (CIDO).