On March 15, Associate Professor YAMAMOTO Yumiko from the Discovery Program for Global Learners (GDP) / Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences of Okayama University participated in a side event of the 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), which took place from March 11 to 22 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Approximately 120 participants worldwide attended the event entitled "Women's Multidimensional Poverty Challenges and Grassroots Responses: Insights from Japan, Sri Lanka, and Guatemala." After three panelists reported on the current situations and grassroots activities related to women's poverty in Japan, Sri Lanka, and Guatemala, Associate Professor Yamamoto moderated a 30-minute panel discussion. Through the discussion based on many questions and comments received from the participants, it became evident that there were common challenges such as aging populations, an increase in public debt, and economies reliant on immigrant laborers across geographically and economically diverse nations, and consideration of the intersectionality of gender with age, marital status, and other factors is crucial to develop policies and programs to eradicate poverty.

The theme of CSW68 was "Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective." Associate Professor Yamamoto contributed to the discussions of CSW68 as an expert at the CSW Expert Group Meeting in October 2023 and the CSW68 Asia-Pacific Regional Consultation in February 2024 (co-organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and UN Women).

This side event was co-hosted by three Japanese women's NGOs (JAWW (Japan Women's Watch), The National Women’s Committee of the United Nations NGOs, and the International Women’s Year Liaison Group (IWYLG)) and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. JAWW will hold an online meeting on 15 May 2024 to report on the CSW68 activities in Japanese.

[Reference]Associate Professor Yamamoto (GDP) participates in the UN Commission on the Status of Women Expert Meeting