A/HRC/33/68 change on women and girls. She stressed that addressing these challenges required targeted and gender-sensitive programmes, and also efforts to ensure more women in decisionmaking positions, to invest in them as active agents of change, and to close gender gaps in labour markets, education, health and other areas. Ms. Stott Despoja called for an end to the appalling scourge of violence against women and girls. 49. In order to realize gender equality, a concerted, coordinated and sustained effort was essential. National commitments to promote and protect human rights were required for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, as were strong partnerships across all sectors, including the private sector and civil society, where the contribution of women was vital. Ms. Stott Despoja pointed out the importance of solid data to support the effective implementation of policies on gender equality, and of the need for systematic monitoring and evaluation efforts. 50. Ms. Scott Despoja responded to certain concerns expressed relating to discrimination based on pregnancy in the context of work, and noted that it was common in many countries. She highlighted the need for a culture change and legislative reforms in this regard, and in relation to violence against women. In conflict and humanitarian settings, there was a need not only for measures to protect women and girls from violence, but also for their sexual and reproductive health and rights to be respected and acknowledged. She urged countries to establish the position of Ambassador for Women and Girls as an important sign of their commitment to gender equality. 51. The Executive Director of the International Trade Centre, Arancha González, explained that, although important advances in women’s empowerment had been made under the Millennium Development Goals, inequalities persisted. Focusing her remarks on the labour market, Ms. González pointed out that women were still overrepresented among those living in poverty. She also pointed out the contradiction that, although women made up two thirds of the global workforce and produced half of the world’s food, they only earned 10 per cent of the world’s income and owned 1 per cent of the world’s property. Out of one billion people living in poverty worldwide, 60 per cent were women living on less than one dollar a day. According to the International Labour Organization, nearly 100 countries had at least one legal restriction on women’s economic opportunities, 80 countries restricted the type of jobs that women could perform, and 15 countries still demanded the husband’s permission as a legal requirement for job acceptance. 52. Like other speakers, Ms. González emphasized that gender equality about Sustainable Development Goal 5, but also essential to achieving any Women’s economic empowerment was, in particular, a crucial element Agenda. Women’s participation in the paid economy benefited families and whole, and had a significant effect on poverty reduction. was not only of the Goals. of the 2030 societies as a 53. Ms. González referred to the #SheTrades campaign conducted by the International Trade Centre as an example of global commitment to encourage women’s participation in international trade. The campaign included a commitment to take 1 million women entrepreneurs to market by 2020, focusing on such areas as data, public policy, government procurement, supply chain constraints for women, access to finance and women’s land ownership rights. In response to the interventions made during the discussion, Ms. González emphasized the importance of collecting disaggregated data and measuring progress through indicators, including progress on women’s economic empowerment. She also stressed that many public policies were crafted by Parliaments in which women’s participation was often very low, and called for efforts to ensure higher rates of women’s representation in political institutions. 54. Professor of Economics at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jayati Ghosh focused her intervention on the 10