On Monday, 6 March, at 9.30am, the Global Alliance for Tax Justice took part in a panel discussion, at the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, on “Digital Frontiers for Feminist Tax Justice”.

“Panellists will critically examine the possibilities that digital services taxes and the advancing digitalisation within tax authorities offer for stronger representation and increased revenue as two pivotal elements of  tax justice for women’s rights,” according to the event description.

“They will also expound on the feminist dimensions of the current debates around addressing the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, focusing on the global tax deal advanced by the [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development] and the proposals to shift international tax reform negotiations to the [United Nations].”

On Monday at 3pm, the Global Alliance for Tax Justice (GATJ) will host a launch event for the Global Days of Action (GDOA) on Tax Justice for Women’s Rights 2023. The “days of action” will run from 6 to 17 March.

“The GDOA Tax Justice for Women’s Rights will start with an online event gathering representatives from the GATJ’s regional networks. Speakers will bring perspectives about the impact of fiscal policies on women in their continents, and share how wealth taxes could advance gender equality,” according to the organisers.

Other organisations involved include Red de Justicia Fiscal de América Latina y el Caribe, Tax Justice Network Africa, Tax and Fiscal Justice Asia, Canadians for Tax Fairness, FACT Coalition and Tax Justice-Europe.

Register here.

For more information on the GATJ’s campaign for the GDOA Tax Justice for Women’s Rights 2023, see here.

On Tuesday, 7 March, at 1pm, Frontline AIDS is hosting a Twitter Space on “HIV is a feminist issue”.

Speakers include Yumnah Hattas of Frontline AIDS, Dr Ntlotleng of the Networking HIV and AIDS Community of Southern Africa and Joyce Ouma of Y+ Global.

Join the Twitter Space here.

On Tuesday at 4pm, the Open Contracting Partnership and Transparency International will launch an “Open Contracting for Medicines Guide”.

The guide offers 10 tested strategies that can help every government improve its procurement practices across the full procurement cycle for medicines.

“Progress towards universal health coverage is going backwards. Millions of people have fallen back into poverty because of out-of-pocket healthcare costs, especially as governments seek to tackle non-infectious diseases, as aid from international donors decreases and public resources are strained from the pandemic,” according to the event description.

“Without changes, poor medicines procurement will undermine progress towards the [Sustainable Development Goals] and waste or misuse precious public resources.”

Speakers include Zoia Zamikovska, senior manager for medicines at the Open Contracting Partnership; Giovanna Riggall, head of health supply chain at the Crown Agents; Claudia Patricia Vaca González, associate professor at the Center for Research on Medicines, Information and Power in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Department at the National University of Colombia; and Patrick Madziva, procurement manager for NatPharm in Zimbabwe.

Register here.

Wednesday, 8 March is International Women’s Day.

The theme of the day is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality”. The aim is to recognise and celebrate the women and girls who are championing the advancement of transformative technology and digital education.

“The observance will explore the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities, and will also spotlight the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls in digital spaces and addressing online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence,” according to the United Nations.

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“Bringing women into technology results in more creative solutions and has greater potential for innovations that meet women’s needs and promote gender equality. Their lack of inclusion, by contrast, comes with massive costs.”

On Wednesday, 8 March, at 9am, the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development at the University of Johannesburg will host an interactive research webinar on “Barriers to Entry for SMEs and Women Entrepreneurs in Agriculture and Agro-processing Value Chains”.

“The research shares insights on the various bottlenecks to building strong, productive capabilities by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and women entrepreneurs drawing on selected agri-food value chains: poultry, vegetables, and wine. Understanding the nature and magnitude of barriers to entry and growth faced by SMEs and women-owned businesses is important for designing strategic interventions for gainful participation,” according to the event description.

The webinar aims to bring together the private sector, researchers, key government departments, civil society and non-governmental organisations to discuss and debate the issue.

Register here.

On Wednesday at 5.30pm, amaBhungane will host a town hall event on voting reform, power shifts, state failure and the prospects for political renewal in 2024.

It will take place at Bertha House in Mowbray, Cape Town. Speakers include Dr Sithembile Mbete of the ministerial advisory committee on the electoral system; Tessa Dooms, director of the Rivonia Circle; Minhaj Jeenah, executive director at My Vote Counts; and Sam Sole, managing partner at the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism.

Register here.

Friday, 10 March is the International Day of Women Judges.

The day aims to reaffirm countries’ commitment to develop and implement appropriate and effective national strategies for the advancement of women in judicial justice systems and institutions at the leadership, managerial and other levels.

“Despite women’s increased engagement in public life, they remain significantly underrepresented in decision-making positions. In fact, a relatively small number of women have been, or are part of, the judiciary, particularly at senior judicial leadership positions,” according to the United Nations.

“Women’s representation in the judiciary is key to ensuring that courts represent their citizens, address their concerns and hand down sound judgments.” DM/MC