In this case study series, UN Women and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange join forces to assemble practical fact sheets on a diverse selection of innovative financing instruments that have been launched across developed and emerging markets by a range of entities, with the intent to reduce gender gaps.

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 guidance note synthesizes UN Women’s gender-responsive procurement research in Brazil, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa to inform policy, research, partnerships, and capacity building.

This publication summarizes the key challenges women-owned and women-led businesses are facing when competing for public procurement opportunities and presents the main approaches and policies that have made a difference across the globe. Examples from several countries are highlighted, including Dominican Republic, Chile, Colombia, Kenya, South Africa, and United Arab Emirates.

The September 2021 edition of the UN Women impact stories is dedicated to women, peace, and security. These impact stories illustrate part of UN Women’s work on implementing the WPS agenda through programming and partnerships that support the meaningful participation and leadership of women in building long-lasting peace in Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, Georgia, and Lebanon.

This report explores some key indicators of women’s economic empowerment in labour markets and women’s political participation and economic leadership in the Indian Ocean Rim region through three dimensions: resources, agency, and achievements. It highlights good practices, case studies, and challenges and opportunities for investments and initiatives, and provides key recommendations for Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Member States and other stakeholders to realize women’s economic empowerment in the region.

This report examines the roles of women in fisheries and aquaculture in countries of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and the challenges and opportunities for their economic empowerment. The report provides a set of recommendations for policymakers and other stakeholders to further advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in this sector.

This edition of the “UN Women impact stories” series focuses on UN Women’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. From the moment the pandemic broke, UN Women drew worldwide attention to specific tolls on women and girls. This selection of stories highlights how we and our partners quickly shifted efforts to ensure that women and girls are at the centre of the COVID-19 response.

This research uses participatory methodologies to explore the experiences of diverse crisis-affected women around gender-transformative change in four humanitarian settings in Bangladesh, Colombia, Jordan, and Uganda. The study provides entry points and recommendations for Grand Bargain signatories to move towards gender-transformative humanitarian action by enhancing women’s meaningful participation in humanitarian responses, and the localization of humanitarian action to women’s rights organizations and self-led groups.

Complementing the Global Humanitarian Response Plan for COVID-19, this accompanying gender programme from UN Women seeks to support the whole of the humanitarian system to deliver better for women and girls in the midst of this global pandemic. The programme’s overall objective is to ensure that the most affected and at-risk women and girls play their fullest role in response to COVID-19 and are protected from its impacts.

Analysing data from 11 national household surveys, this research found that, while women typically earn less than men and pay more in transfer fees, the average remittance amounts they send are the same as or even greater than those of men, implying that they tend to remit a larger portion of their earnings than do men. The research also showed that migrant women are more dependent on in-person cash transfer services to send remittances.

This study ascertains the levels of existing funding flows to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and the impact of shortfalls on global humanitarian outcomes.

We know that violent extremism has gendered impacts. But how do gendered power relations influence violent extremism, including why individuals join extremist groups, how these groups function, and what beliefs they hold? UN Women and UPDP commissioned this research volume of expert analyses to explore how unequal gender power structures, including masculinity, fuel and shape violent extremism in South and Southeast Asia.

This discussion paper makes the case for investing in free universal childcare services of high quality in order to reduce gender inequality in earnings and employment. It estimates the employment-generating and fiscal effects of investing in free universal childcare in three middle income countries: South Africa, Uruguay, and Turkey.

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 policy brief reviews the effects of cash transfers on the rights and capabilities of adolescent girls and boys, using a gender and capability lens and focusing on three key capability domains: education, sexual and reproductive health, and freedom from violence. Based on this evidence, the brief highlights the importance of a “cash plus” approach to enhancing adolescents’ multidimensional well-being and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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.

This report on UN Women’s Global Flagship Programme Initiative, Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces, shares achievements gleaned from various participating city programmes around the world. A series of stories illustrate what authorities, grass-roots women, women’s organizations and other community partners can do as part of a comprehensive, evidence-based approach to prevent and respond to sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence against women and girls in public spaces.

This Briefing Kit “Domestic Workers Count Too: Implementing Protection for Domestic Workers,” is informed by the experience of struggle, resilience and creative practice of local and overseas domestic workers and their support groups.