Review On United Nations Project: Sustainable Development Goals - ODS 5 Review and Defense of Gender Equality in Ireland. By: Alba Sánchez Rodrigo

1. Review On United Nations Project:
Sustainable Development Goals
-
DEFENSE OF GENDER EQUALITY
IN IRELAND
Alba Sánchez Rodrigo
1st Year, English Studies
Group B

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Social and economic equality make up a great percentage when speaking about global
issues. Even though it can be considered a pretty general idea and it’s believed that total
equality is almost a utopic or impossible concept, we can appreciate how these matters
differ widely depending on its geographical situation when thoroughly studied. Are social
differences similarly handled from a global view? Are both genders treated the same way
all around the world? Is the acknowledgement of poverty considered a serious threat to
society’s wellbeing in all countries equally? Whether it is due to political, cultural or,
simply, systemic governmental influence, the problematic originated by them is one:
these decisions don’t bode well for the future of our society, not only as individual
countries, but as the world’s different governments at large.
¿What are the Sustainable Development Goals and what do they
mean for society?
To put everything in context, in order to palliate the effects these global issues are causing,
the United Nations are building and working up on the Sustainable Development Goals.
They are officially known as Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development. This project, launched in 2015, is a collaboration between countries and an
urgent call for help. There are seventeen general goals, divided, in total, into no less than
one hundred and sixty-nine targets. These seventeen goals are the following:
Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Picture: informea.com

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1. No Poverty. One in eight
employed people in the world live
in poverty. Moreover, the Covid-
19 crisis is estimated to have the
potential to leave in poverty, at
least, another half billion people.
10. Reducing Inequalities. This means
reducing ethnical, religious and all kinds
of economic and social inequalities.
Vulnerable groups are especially affected
by income inequality: children,
immigrant population, the disabled, and
indigenous people, among others.
2. Zero Hunger. According to
studies like the World Food
Program and the United Nations’
SDG, the number of hungry
people could be doubled by 2030.
This means that the Zero Hunger
Goal is one of the most needed,
yet one of the most ignored of
them all.
11. Sustainable Cities and
Communities. The increasing of
urbanized areas has provoked a massive
global exodus to these cities, which has
resulted in the increase of urban slum
dwellers, unsafe neighborhoods, and the
worsening of light, sound, and air
pollution.
3. Good Health and Well-being. The
development of medicine has
allowed health to improve
massively in the last decades.
Vaccines where one of the most
useful resources for the medical
field, especially for mothers and
newborns.
12. Responsible Consumption and
Production. The waste of food, hygiene
and medical products, plastic items and
other massively produced objects is a
great problematic nowadays, not only for
the environment and the preservation of
million of species, but also for the sake
of those dying due to hunger and disease.
4. Quality Education. Free, laic
education is considered a right
and a life quality’s improver.
Besides this, better education
means better professionals and a
better future for a country.
13. Climate Action. Every year is warmer
than the last and the effects of global
warming affect every country in the
world. Species are dying and life as we
know it is slowly changing; we are even
adapting to this temperature, instead of
fighting back. This must change quickly,
as soon there won’t be any chance of
going back.

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5. Gender Equality. This goal has
made a great progress in the last
decades: more girls can access to
an education and a job, many
women are accessing positions of
power and more countries are
recognising the importance of
women’s participation in society
as professionals and not only as
mothers and housewives.
14. Life Below Water. The health of the
ocean must be a priority for all. Oceans
contain a high percentage of everyone’s
diet and regulate the temperature of our
lands.
6. Clean Water and Sanitation. The
access to clean water, soap and a
proper sanitation system is crucial
for basic health and a human right
to which millions have no access
nowadays.
15. Life on Land. Just like life below
water, life on land is critically
endangered. Every species on Earth takes
an important role inside its environment
and allows nature to follow its course.
Sadly, humankind is making this harder
every year.
7. Affordable and Clean Energy.
Surprisingly, this goal is making
huge steps towards a better future
for all countries. Each year, more
homes can afford and have access
to electricity, and renewable
energy is quickly developing.
16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
This measurement means to achieve the
protection of people’s well-being and
existence, as well as the correct
perception of the unneeded war and its
consequences.
8. Decent Work and Economic
Growth. Lately our world has
suffered an economic crisis after
another. Decent work can
improve everyone’s life through a
better income and more
opportunities to find basic needs
like food, health and roof.
17. Partnerships for the Goals. The
collaboration of every country is
fundamental for the achievement and
proper course of action towards these
goals. Without this partnership and the
help of everyone these goals can’t be
successfully achieved.

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9. Industry, Innovation and
Infrastructure. It’s estimated that
not many countries will meet the
2030 Agenda regarding this goal.
Many cities lack the kind of
infrastructure, services and
building planning needed to
develop this goal correctly and
will need a lot of development.
To sum up, the Sustainable Development Goals are a scheme to create a better and more
sustainable future for the world and its citizens. These goals mean to address these global
challenges, including, as we’ve already seen, poverty and inequalities in general, the
problematic of climate change and environmental degradation, the development of decent
work and economy systems, the defending of peace and justice, and the countries’
partnership, this last one a fundamental requirement for the achievement of the previous
gals and for the future of our planet.
In this specific essay, our aim will be studying and analyzing one of these goals from the
perspective of a specific English-speaking country: Ireland.
Sustainable Development Goals in Ireland
From the earliest stages of the SDG Ireland implemented a system that would increase
the results inside the country. This led to a competition between Irish companies, called
the 2019/2020 Champions Programme, with leaders An Post, BIM and Country Carlow
Council.
All these companies are committed to work and progress in different goals for the SDG.
This way Ireland will be able to grow healthier and prove that the world will obtain a
better reward if we all cooperate towards sustainability instead of allowing the growth of
a spiral of pointless energy waste that would only benefit the powerful.

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Evolution on Sustainable Development Goals in Ireland (2019). Picture: irelandsdg.geohive.ie
Ireland reports periodically to the UN their progress towards the achievement of these
goals. As we can appreciate, as of 2019, the Health and Sanitation goal is the most
successful one along with the seventeenth one, which urges to the collaboration between
countries. Meanwhile, although there is a reasonable good amount of affordable and clean
energy in the country, the graphics show it’s not as well distributed as it should be: many
Irish cities fail to allow its citizens of affordable and clean electricity sources.
Gender Equality and Female Empowerment
The fifth sustainable goal was created in order to make a better world for women, girls
and kids. Defending gender equality means taking actions towards the development of a
more just and feminist society.
In particular, Ireland has been in contact with the UN to put its members in knowledge of
the measurements the country will be taking in the next years, specifically, to reach the
2030 Agenda and its requirements. They can be summed up in these statements:
1. The eradication of misogynistic views and cultural remarks against women,
including women’s qualities, abilities, rights, and freedom. This freedom includes
speech, education, religion, work, politics, and so on.
2. Recognizing, among other forms of unpaid work, the existence of the wage gap
between men and women, and the glass ceiling, a virtual barrier that keeps women
from progressing and climbing up the career ladder.
3. The creation of new role models for future generations through the development
of a cultivated, cultured, and prosperous society in which women, along with men,

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take part as members of equivalent importance, being on a par with each other in
terms of rights, duties, and opportunities.
4. The elimination of the disadvantages many women suffer nowadays due to their
sexual orientation along with their gender identity, as LGBTQ+ members are one
of the most affected targets for discrimination and hate speech.
Measurements against sexism and gender inequalities are not only a crucial part of the
United Nations’s Sustainable Goals Project, but also one of the most relevant objectives
inside the Irish National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020.
Moreover, Ireland is part of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination since 1985. In response to the Sixth and Seventh Periodic Reports to the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, this committee
established some recommendations and asked for collaboration over some relevant yet,
to that date, disregarded issues:
• Maternity freedom and female bodily autonomy. Improvement on maternity
services, including abortion and contraception.
• Ensuring, not only through
their right to vote but also all forms
of political participation, that
women’s voices are heard and
taken into consideration as much
as the ones of men. The
opportunity of leadership must be
included in these political rights.
• Eliminating violence against women and girls, femicides, domestic gender abuse,
human trafficking, and prostitution.
• The elimination of discriminatory cultural stereotypes and the consequent
achievement of actual and complete equality between men and women. These
requirements are specifically stated and widely explained in the Article 41.2 of
the Irish Constitution, specifically modified in June 2018, and Section 14 of the
Equal Status Act.
• The formulation of indicators, benchmarks, and timelines to carry these strategies
from start to end.
Northern Ireland is much stricter on abortion laws than
any other area inside the country.

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Compared to the media of all the European Union’s results, Ireland has showed from
2005 to 2017 a huge improvement regarding the eradication of violence against women
and the improvement of women’s rights.
Study about gendered violence in Ireland (2015). Picture: www. feministire.com
Nevertheless, there is still much to do until we reach total equality in Ireland. Although
violence has made a noticeable decrease, it hasn’t been eradicated yet.
What are the plans for the future decade regarding women’s
position and feminism in Ireland?
In order to portray strong and independent female voices inside the business world many
different projects have been launched. Some of them we have talked about already, like
the National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020, whose impacts are expected to
last, at least, until the 2030 decade.
Others, like the Action Plan for Women In Business, mean to support women and their
achievements, as well as protecting and acknowledging women in positions of power
previously reserved only to men. This plan, among other issues, takes into consideration
different problematics, like the cultural ties that tend to stop women from fighting and

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growing up the business ladder: the assumption of women and housework, the male-
dominated working fields, the lack of female representation in all kinds of media and
many other aspects of women’s lives.
“Female entrepreneurs are frequently juggling growing a business and rearing a family in parallel. They
often require additional supports in order to realise their vision.”
Sonia Neary, Enterprise Ireland (2020)
Personal view and take on female empowerment in Ireland
Ireland is undoubtedly a developed country inside the UN. Nevertheless, some areas are
still on hold for their treatment towards oppressed groups like people of color, foreigners,
LGBTQ+ people and women.
This is an issue that, sadly, is still being worked on from the inside. There are many
organizations and groups that work for a better environment and a prosperous future for
these marginalized groups. Especially in North Ireland, where the religiousness is much
more noticeable and influences every aspect of the Irish citizen’s life.
Lastly, we must at least recognize that this country acknowledges its own weaknesses and
is willing to work on them.
Alba Sánchez Rodrigo, 1st Year English Studies
Universidad de Alcalá

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Bibliography
Webpages:
https://irelandsdg.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Cascade/index.html?appid=bc1f9884633c4d3d
bf15e6ebee59b960
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2019/goal-03/
https://irelandsdg.geohive.ie/
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/memberstates/ireland
https://eige.europa.eu/publications/gender-equality-index-2019-ireland
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUK
EwjkoNqbv9ftAhUNohQKHa1OAGsQFjAAegQIAhAC&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww
.ihrec.ie%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F07%2FIHREC-policy-statement-on-Article-
41.2-of-the-Constitution-of-Ireland-1.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1zCwZtrK1w02tTqIP3PgzY
https://irelandsdg.geohive.ie/app/0649f3af1e1d48d7abfc4b060ce5c1cf
Documents:
Ireland: Voluntary National Review 2018. Government of Ireland
National Strategy for Women and Girls 2017-2020: creating a better society for all.
Department of Justice and Equality
Article 41.2 of the Constitution of Ireland
Enterprise Ireland 2020 Action Plan for Women In Business