Sisters Rose Ann Hefner and Mary Ellen Loch.
Sister Rose Ann Hefner inside the UN.
Sister Rose Ann Hefner and Judith Wilkinson.
The Congregation of St. Joseph has a long history of supporting women and women’s issues, and that includes gender equality. Recently, members of our Peace & Justice Team – Sisters Mary Ellen Loch, CSJ, and Rose Ann Hefner, CSJ, and team member Judith Wilkinson – attended the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), taking place at the the UN headquarters in New York City March 13-24, 2017.
CSW is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. The CSW is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, documenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the world, and shaping global standards on gender equality and the empowerment of women.
The focus of this year’s event is women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work. Attendees include global leaders, civil and government representatives, private sector and activists who will meet to mobilize and strategize, share new initiatives and commit actions to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.
The Congregation of St. Joseph stands with women and works to address many issues facing women today – poverty, homelessness, violence of any kind including domestic abuse and human trafficking, issues related to immigration and families, and care of life.
“I would say that this UN Commission on the Status of Women is a true hope for the world,” said Sister Mary Ellen Loch. “As an integral part of the United Nations, women from all over the world are making a difference in the lives of women everywhere, reducing poverty and violence, building peace and solidarity, and making the world a better place. In this way, we are all sisters.”
