Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

UN Women congratulates trailblazing women Mount Everest climbers

Women from around the world are scaling their way to the top but barriers remain. Last week a 27-year-old graphic artist named Raha Moharrak made headlines as the first Saudi woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. On the same day she reached the summit, the first woman from Pakistan, Samina Baig, did the same.

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Mexican designer finds a muse in UN Women

As the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development is observed, we highlight the designs of Cristina Pineda whose new collection was inspired by UN Women’s efforts on sustainable development and ending violence against women and girls.

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Making laws real and accessible underlines efforts by judges in Tanzania

Tanzanian women High Court judges are training the judiciary to apply international women’s rights standards in their judgments and to protect survivors and witnesses of violence against women and girls. They are also engaging in awareness-raising efforts to improve the understanding of women’s rights and options for legal recourse.

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Evaluating UN results: Are we achieving them?

“UN Results – Are we achieving them? How do we know?” was the title and focus of a high-level panel event organized by the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) as part of its 2013 Evaluation Week from 15-19 April 2013 at UN Headquarters in New York.

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Latin American and Caribbean women chart their priorities for the new global development agenda

To give women more voice in the United Nations post-2015 development agenda, UN Women is organizing various consultations globally. Recently they took place in the Americas and the Caribbean, bringing forth the priorities of the region.

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UN Women opens Nordic Liaison Office in Copenhagen

The new UN Women presence in Copenhagen provides a strategic opportunity to liaise with Nordic governments, parliamentarians, the private sector, civil society and UN Women National Committees in Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

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Zimbabweans say yes to new Constitution strong on gender equality and women’s rights

With general elections approaching, Zimbabwean women hope to see women’s representation grow in Parliament, which is also mandated by the new Constitution approved by referendum in March.

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Syrian Women Refugees Stitch Together Trust and Hope

At one of the largest refugee camps in Jordan, Syrian refugees are attending tailoring workshops and taking part in a programme to sew baby outfits for new mothers at camp hospitals. While earning an income, they are bonding with others and speaking up about gender-based violence.

Posted in Arab States, Economic Empowerment, Ending Violence against Women, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, News, Peace and Security, Stories from the Field | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off

Call for Applications: 2013 SEED Awards seek innovative projects on gender equality and women’s empowerment

UN Women joins the European Union, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, the government of Flanders, the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the international law firm Hogan Lovells in supporting the SEED Award, an initiative that aims to help the most promising start-up entrepreneurs, women-led enterprises and other social and environmental inspiring businesses to integrate ideas and proposals to address pressing local issues.

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Lakshmi Puri leads discussion on gender equality post-MDGs at Women Leaders of New Asia Summit

From 12-14 April, Lakshmi Puri, UN Women Acting Head and Assistant Secretary-General will speak at the Women Leaders of New Asia Summit in New Delhi, organized by the Asia Society, an educational organization dedicated to strengthening partnerships and understanding between the people and institutions of Asia and the United States. The Summit will bring together experts from different fields and countries across Asia-Pacific and beyond to discuss the role of women and gender, including in a future global development agenda, once the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) conclude in 2015.

Posted in Asia and the Pacific, Ending Violence against Women, Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment, Media Advisories, Millennium Development Goals, News, Sustainable Development | Comments Off