A/68/293 20. Human rights standards are concerned with the pursuit of substantive equality, rather than just formal equality. This is explicit in the approach of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, which recognizes that achieving equality requires transforming unequal power relations between women and men and ensuring that all human beings can develop and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles and prejudices. 15 The Convention emphasizes that a gender-neutral policy may result in de facto discrimination against women, and that, to ensure that women enjoy the same rights as men and reach substantive equality, they may need to be treated differently. 21. The Convention obliges States parties to take all appropriate measures to modify or abolish laws, regulations, customs and practices that discriminate against women (article 2 (f)). This includes the obligation to modify “the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudices and customary and all other practices which are based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of either of the sexes or on stereotyped roles for men and women” (article 5). The gendered division of unpaid care work, fostered by stereotypes which delineate men as breadwinners and women as carers/nurturers, is clearly one such practice. 22. In order to ensure that women enjoy all their rights on equal terms with men, States must take all appropriate measures to ensure that care responsibilities are equally shared by men and women. The Convention expressly refers to the sharing of responsibility among men and women and wider society in regard to the upbringing of children (preamble). It notes that States parties must ensure “the recognition of the common responsibility of men and women in the upbringing and development of their children” (article 5). This provision requires States to combat patriarchal attitudes and stereotypes regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men within the family and society at large, 16 and to address discrimination in education and employment and the compatibility of work requirements and family needs. 17 States must, inter alia, prohibit discrimination or dismissal on the grounds of pregnancy or maternity and ensure that men and women have equal opportunities to choose their profession or occupation (see for example articles 11.2 and 16). 23. While fostering sociocultural change is a medium- to long-term objective, ensuring the equal enjoyment of rights of men and women is an immediate obligation for States. Therefore they must take immediate actions to alleviate the intensity of women’s unpaid care work and redistribute their disproportionate share, including through the “provision of the necessary supporting social services to enable parents to combine family obligations with work responsibilities and participation in public life” (article 11 (2) (c)). 24. States must not dismiss the distribution of unpaid care work between women and men as a matter for the private sphere. As stipulated in article 2 (e) of the Convention, the obligations of States include their duty to act with due diligence to __________________ 15 16 17 13-42271 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 28, para. 22. See for example, CEDAW/C/SGP/CO/4, paras. 21-22; CEDAW/C/USR/CO/7, paras. 20-21; and CEDAW/C/MUS/CO/6-7, para. 18. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, general recommendation No. 29, para. 8. 7/24