you love , and not fearing that you will be subject to abuse for it . Privilege is when a man known to have sexually assaulted women is elected President of the United States .
Acknowledging these advantages in our lives is difficult and takes a lot of reflection . Personally , I come from a very privileged position , and from looking around this room I know that a lot of you do too . I encourage you to think a little about your own privilege and also how others around you may not be as advantaged . The problem is that when you ’ re accustomed to privilege , equality feels like oppression . I think some of the discussions in this room over the past few days speak very clearly to this , as does the rhetoric of the recent General Election .
While at the Commission , every single individual in attendance experienced a particular type of advantage , and that is the privilege of getting a seat at the table and being in the room where it happens . The Commission was one of the first widescale events in the US to feel the effects of President Trump ’ s travel ban , and while attending events it was difficult not to be aware of the men and women who could not be there because someone decided their nationality was a threat .
The support of this church was crucial in allowing me to attend the Commission , for without your financial backing I would never have made it to New York . Thank you to the church and especially to the Global Partnerships Committee for their support . I hope that the funding to ensure attendance at future UNCSWs is protected . Each session of the Commission on the Status of Women focuses on a priority theme and a review theme . This year ’ s focus was on women ’ s economic empowerment in the changing world of work . One event that sticks out in my mind launched the Global Equal Pay Coalition , and featured contributions from actress Patricia Arquette and ex-footballer Abby Womach . Arquette ’ s contributions were especially moving as her passion for this subject shone through . One of her comments stuck with me – “ we have cars that are about to drive themselves yet women are still not being paid equally .”
In every country , women have fewer economic choices , less income and less control of assets than men . They are more likely to work in low paying , insecure jobs , often in the informal economy and without legal protection . Women also make a substantial but invisible contribution to the global economy through their unpaid care work , which in turn reduces their access to income . Time spent on unpaid care work prevents women from engaging in paid work , particularly in the formal sector , as well as participating in education , politics and social activities . In the UK , women are more likely to be employed in low paid , part-time work , more likely to head a single parent household , likely to have less financial assets and more likely to live in poverty , especially in older age . The majority of unpaid carers in the UK are women and female economic inactivity rates are higher than male rates .
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