The priority theme of the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women is “Innovation and technological change, and education in the digital age for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls”. This publication includes findings and recommendations of the Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on the priority theme; summaries of EGM background papers, expert papers, and informational notes; and analysis of relevant normative frameworks.

This UN Women submission was prepared in response to a call for inputs from the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, for his Report on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Peace and Security.

This paper proposes replacing the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Gender Inequality Index with two new gender indexes: the Global Gender Parity Index and the Women’s Empowerment Index. The proposal builds on a review of concepts of gender equality in the capability approach that underpins UNDP’s human development paradigm and the relevant international policy frameworks. It also implements current proposals for reform.

This UN Women submission was prepared in response to a call for inputs in March 2022 from the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court to support the development of a policy on gender persecution.

The present report is focused on the urgent need to address violence against women and girls in digital contexts, as well as on broader efforts to eliminate violence against women, particularly in the context of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The report provides information on measures taken by Member States and entities of the United Nations system to address violence against women and girls, and contains conclusions and specific recommendations for future action.

This report contains information on measures taken by Member States and activities carried out within the United Nations system to eliminate all forms of trafficking in women and girls. The report serves to highlight efforts to address the gender dimensions of trafficking, with a special focus on the nexus between the trafficking in women and girls and situations of crisis, including the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), climate change and conflict.

Pursuant to General Assembly resolution 74/235 on women in development, in the present report, the Secretary-General considers global evidence and trends and reviews and assesses measures taken at the national level, since 2019, regarding gender-responsive poverty eradication, social protection, and labour market policies; women’s labour and human rights and ending gender-based discrimination; women’s entrepreneurship; women’s and girls’ unpaid care and domestic work and women’s paid care work; gender-based violence and sexual harassment; universal access to healthcare services, including sexual and reproductive health; and the right to education throughout the life cycle, taking into account the impacts of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in these areas.

In this report, the UN Secretary-General provides information on the global prevalence of female genital mutilation and its impacts on women and girls, referencing recent data and evidence on what works to eliminate it. He provides an analysis of progress made to date by Member States, the UN system, and other relevant stakeholders. He also includes information on efforts to anticipate and address the impacts of global humanitarian crises and ongoing conflicts on the elimination of female genital mutilation. He draws conclusions and proposes recommendations for future actions.

In 2021, the Independent Evaluation Service condcuted the corporate evaluation on UN Women’s policy advaocy work. The evaluation team assessed the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and coherence of UN Women’s policy advocacy work to deliver high-impact and transformative results in line with the UN Women Strategic Plan 2018–2021. Findings from this evaluation are expected to contribute to strategic decision-making, organizational learning and accountability, and implementation of the UN Women Strategic Plan 2022–2025.

This publication provides a summary of the key statistics on the representation of women in the UN system, barriers to achieving gender parity, and recommended actions to assist UN entities to reach gender parity.

This toolkit for identifying gender persecution in conflicts and atrocities provides a framework for recognizing and understanding illicit conduct that amounts to gender persecution to investigators, lawyers, advocates, documenters, first responders, and others who engage in identifying gender-based crimes or their victims in conflict and atrocity settings.

This policy brief provides a critical assessment of the “men for gender equality” field, and proposes new directions for programming and policy on men and boys. This includes moving away from a focus on individual men’s identities, attitudes and behaviours, and towards a greater focus on the structures and systems that sustain gender inequalities.

UN Women’s tenth anniversary publication, “A decade of daring”, celebrates the milestones of the organization’s first 10 years.

Women’s full and equal participation in all decision-making processes is necessary to achieve gender equality and drive progress towards sustainable development. A follow up to Shaping the international agenda publication (2017), this publication is a useful tool to raise awareness and promote gender parity in intergovernmental bodies and processes.

This report is a first-of-its-kind initiative of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE), the single largest network of gender focal points in the UN system. It presents a critical stocktaking of 51 UN entities’ support to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2014–2019.

The digital revolution brings immense potential to improve social and economic outcomes for women. Yet, it also poses the risk of perpetuating existing patterns of gender inequality. This report begins by outlining a conceptual framework for understanding the mutual shaping relationship between gender and technology. It then focuses on three areas to identify opportunities and risks in the digital revolution: education, work, and social/welfare services.

The present report, submitted pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 73/146, provides information on measures taken by Member States and activities carried out within the United Nations system to eliminate trafficking in women and girls. The report focuses on efforts to address the gender dimensions of trafficking, with a special focus on the economic drivers and consequences of trafficking, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on trafficking of women and girls.

Pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 73/149 on intensifying global efforts for the elimination of female genital mutilation, the present report provides information on the prevalence of the practice worldwide and its impact on women and girls, with reference to the most recent data and evidence.

The present report, submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 73/148, provides information on measures taken by Member States and activities carried out within the United Nations system to eliminate violence against women and girls. The report emphasizes the urgency of efforts to eliminate violence against women in the context of COVID-19 as well as reporting on advances in eliminating sexual harassment. The report includes conclusions and specific recommendations for future action.