This policy paper highlights how the linkages between violence against women and girls and climate change have been integrated in the agreed conclusions and recommended actions coming out of the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, and discusses key opportunities drawn from examples of promising practices and adaptable resources for implementing them.

This edition of the “UN Women impact stories” series focuses on women in leadership. Women’s full and effective participation and decision-making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, is crucial to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. These stories feature some of the women leaders who are paving the way.

This publication illustrates in a practical way how participating cities of the Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces Global Initiative are working to implement women’s safety approaches through the lens of intersectionality. These include a range of women-led solutions, from the creation of data, to integrated policies with meaningful participation of women’s rights organizations, to urban planning solutions that prioritize minoritized women, and prevention initiatives addressing discriminatory behaviours.

This paper concerns the implications of migration within Central America for family life. Focusing on the case of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, it shows how Nicaraguan families develop strategies based on a history of informal and flexible caregiving. While these informal strategies allow families to navigate the challenges migration and family separation entail, they also contribute to continued vulnerability and reinforce the gendered burdens of caregiving within transnational families.

This brochure showcases some of UN Women’s thoughts and practices around innovation that could accelerate gender equality and women’s empowerment. The examples range from pilot programmes with marginalized beneficiaries to partnerships with start-ups; from frontier technologies to non-tech interventions that challenge mindsets; and from procedural improvements to capacity-building.

This discussion paper provides an updated analysis of gendered economic inequality in high- and middle-income countries. A review of the literature demonstrates that such an analysis needs to explicitly recognize that gender, poverty, and (economic) inequality are intrinsically linked. It was produced for UN Women’s flagship report, Progress of the World’s Women 2019”, and also released as part of the UN Women discussion paper series.

UN Women’s project, “Promoting and protecting women migrant workers’ labour and human rights: Engaging with international, national human rights mechanisms to enhance accountability”, is a global project funded by the European Union (EU) and anchored nationally in three pilot countries: Mexico, Moldova, and the Philippines. This brief draws from the project’s knowledge products and provides an overview of the key situational and policy concerns for women migrant workers in each of the three pilot countries.

Based on research and lessons learned from UN Women’s EU-funded global project “Promoting and protecting women migrant workers’ labour and human rights: Engaging with international, national human rights mechanisms to enhance accountability”, which is piloted in Mexico, Moldova, and the Philippines, this Brief explores the economic and social contributions of women migrant workers to development.

Based on research and lessons learned from the joint UN Women–EU-funded global project, “Promoting and protecting women migrant workers’ labour and human rights: Engaging with international, national human rights mechanisms to enhance accountability”, which is piloted in Mexico, Moldova and the Philippines, this Brief considers the different ways that women transfer and spend remittances, and provides recommendations to better understand and maximize these remittances.

This brief provides an overview of the international human rights system as it applies to the promotion and protection of women migrant workers’ rights. Using examples from the joint UN Women–European Union project, “Promoting and protecting women migrant workers’ labour and human rights”, this brief illustrates how these mechanisms can be used by governments, civil society and development partners to enhance the rights of women migrant workers in law and practice.

Based on research and lessons learned from the joint UN Women–European Union project, “Promoting and protecting women migrant workers’ labour and human rights: Engaging with international, national human rights mechanisms to enhance accountability”, which is piloted in Mexico, Moldova and the Philippines, this brief provides an overview of a methodology for developing gender-responsive migration laws.

This report illustrates the nuanced interaction between women’s migration for labour, their scope of contributions to development and the economic, social and personal costs incurred throughout their migration highlighting the importance of labour and human rights to realizing the human development potential of women’s labour migration while critically considering what constitutes development: by whom, for whom, and at what cost. The report illustrates how gender mainstreaming of the migration for development model can enhance the protection of rights and opportunities for women migrant workers, and contribute to more inclusive and sustainable development.

This report reviews migration systems through the use of legal reviews and legislative comparison, providing an analysis of existing mechanisms, frameworks, legislation and policies vis-à-vis women migrant workers, with particular attention paid to the alignment of national legislation with international frameworks, like CEDAW. The report concludes by providing a set of recommendations aimed at global and regional actors, including the ratification of international treaties, enforcement of CEDAW and the creation of a new international instrument to promote the rights of women migrant workers.

This report provides a detailed account of the lived realities of women migrant workers. The report focuses on specific sectors with high concentrations of women migrant workers, as well as the global issue of trafficking, to illuminate the gender-specific vulnerabilities and risks faced by women throughout their migration trajectory, and highlights the agency of women workers as they navigate challenges to claiming labour and human rights across borders.

This publication presents results from a Moldovan study on services provided for migrants, including returnee women. It provides key recommendations for actions to improve services destined to migrants, particularly to returnee women, and to create a dialogue platform for migrant women to access existing services. Furthermore, it includes a list of the most relevant NGOs that provide services for migrants in Moldova, including contact details and information about specific services offered.

This brief focuses on providing legal recommendations for the formulation and implementation of gender-responsive migration, labour, and trafficking laws. After summarizing some background information, the brief provides general recommendations for governments and related agencies. It further gives more detailed suggestions for countries of origin, transit and destination.

Indigenous women have made remarkable contributions to the women, peace and security agenda, and have pioneered innovative approaches to conflict prevention and justice. Indigenous women’s experiences of intersectional discrimination, on the basis of their gender identity and minority status, also provide unique perspectives on conflict. These perspectives are a critical resource in our shared effort to build a more peaceful and inclusive world.

This fact sheet provides a brief and precise situational analysis of women migrant workers from the Republic of Moldova, including a Moldovan migration profile, policy review and an overview of services and interventions done to enhance women migrant workers’ rights. In the end, lessons learnt and recommendations are stated.

This policy paper deals with the link between women’s migration and development in the Republic of Moldova. It provides background information about Moldovan female labour migration, examines the impact it has on national development, and analyses relevant national development policies. Based on the results of the study, recommendations for national policies to promote and protect the rights of women migrant workers are made.

This paper provides a short overview of the first meeting of returned Moldovan migrants and public authorities, held on International Migrant Day, 18 December 2015. The event facilitated an open dialogue between migrant women, family members of returned migrants and donors. Furthermore, all participants agreed upon six recommendations on migrants’ key reintegration issues through entrepreneurship opportunities, which will be forwarded to relevant government officials.