Equality can save the planet

Cristina Lunghi is President of the Arborus Association and holds a doctorate in law. She advocates making professional equality the pillar of a new world.

At the beginning of the 21st century, the climate emergency requires us to invent a new world if we want to ensure the survival of our species.  

Fortunately, the new generations have already taken action by starting to change their consumption behaviors and by questioning, through their life choices, the systems of organization and governance resulting from millennia marked by patriarchy. These systems have brought us to a dead end and threaten to lead the planet to its ruin. As actors of the old world, we have the duty to accompany this change in order to achieve the redefinition of a sustainable project for humanity. 

I believe that the new social contract can only be based on a radical change: that of equality between the sexes, to build a more balanced society.  

Gender equality, the foundation of all rights

The twentieth century has brought more upheavals to the history of humanity than the previous 200,000 years. It has also seen an irreversible mutation, which revolutionizes the old social, societal, economic, political and religious patterns. This phenomenon is the rise of women outside the strict family sphere. Thanks to medical progress, women have been allowed for the first time in history to be free of their bodies and therefore masters of their future.  

For this freedom to be complete, each person must also be able to take care of herself financially. Thus, the economic emancipation of women has become a priority everywhere in the world. It is also a strong axis of development aid and poverty alleviation policies. 

Better yet, we are understanding that to save the planet, we need gender equality: it is the only way to change the face of the world, because it is certain that without gender equality, no rights are possible. Therefore, gender equality is the first step of any social progress. In the same way, in the company, it is the basis of any commitment to social responsibility. 

The promotion of women promotes sustainable development

Whether it is supporting women's entrepreneurship in Africa, giving them access to land to grow organic produce or helping young women from disadvantaged neighborhoods in France to find employment: all these actions contribute to the 17 sustainable development goals defined by the United Nations for 2030, including the fight against hunger, access to health, education, decent jobs and the fight against climate change. 

Today, the private sector is gradually implementing gender equality strategies, with a view to the performance and stability necessary for economic development. With the help of their stakeholders (social partners, associations, think tanks), companies are looking for solutions to ensure the sustainability of their activities and are adopting a global vision that integrates the notions of equality, equity and sustainability. 

Based on a strong commitment to gender equality, companies are thus encouraged to finance organic farming projects, redistribution of food surpluses, education, air and water purification, etc. in order to improve production conditions and their impact on the environment or health. 

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The need for a global "reset" is obvious. We can see how equality can be the starting point for innovative policies for sustainable development. For the first time in 2019, the GEEIS label (Gender Equality European and International Standard) created by Arborus will take into account the link between professional equality and sustainable development objectives. Equality is the founding principle of a sustainable world.