Annual Report 2019–2020

Date: Thursday, June 18, 2020

This report tells UN Women’s story over the period 2019–2020. It shares how we and our many partners are striding forward to realize a better world for women and girls—one of equality and empowerment. Looking forward, we will draw on our full resources and experiences in protecting and advancing the rights of all women and girls. That is what we do and who we are, as a leader, mobilizer, convenor, provider of programmes, and partner for change.

Democratic backsliding and the backlash against women’s rights: Understanding the current challenges for feminist politics

Date: Friday, June 5, 2020

In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework to discuss two interrelated realms: backsliding on gender equality policies and the emerging political space for feminist responses to this backsliding. We illustrate our framework with empirical observations from three Central and Eastern European countries: Croatia, Hungary, and Poland. We aim to contribute to an understanding of the gendered aspects of de-democratization and the functioning of illiberal democracies.

Feminist perspectives on the 2030 Agenda in Ecuador: Selective engagement, inclusions and omissions

Date: Thursday, March 26, 2020

This paper examines how the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been integrated into the national debate on gender equality in Ecuador. It identifies which policies from the Agenda have been taken into account and which have been rejected. It also examines how the actors involved in clarifying the scope of these policies—women’s movements, sexual diversity organizations, public officials, and UN agencies—have coordinated their activities with the Agenda.

Gender equality: Women’s rights in review 25 years after Beijing

Date: Thursday, March 5, 2020

Marking the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, as well as the first time that progress on the implementation of the Platform is reviewed in light of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, this report takes an integrated approach to reporting on progress, gaps, and challenges related to the advancement of gender equality and women’s rights.

Women in development: Report of the Secretary-General (2019)

Date: Monday, August 5, 2019

In this report, the Secretary-General underscores measures taken at the national level to incorporate a gender perspective into national sustainable development policies and strategies; promote sustainable, inclusive and equitable economic growth strategies that benefit women and active labour market policies on full and productive employment and decent work for women; eliminate gender-based occupational segregation and gender wage gaps; accelerate the transition of women from informal to formal employment; prevent and eliminate all forms of violence, discrimination and sexual harassment against women at work; and promote the reconciliation of work and family responsibilities.

Improvement of the situation of women and girls in rural areas: Report of the Secretary-General (2019)

Date: Thursday, July 25, 2019

This report provides reviews of the activities undertaken by Member States and United Nations entities to enable women and girls, especially the poorest and most marginalized, in rural areas to improve their livelihoods, well-being and resilience in a changing climate.

Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for an equal future

Date: Monday, May 6, 2019

On the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Women’s “Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for an equal future” campaign demands equal pay, equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work, an end to sexual harassment and violence against women and girls, health care services that respond to their needs, and their equal participation in political life and in decision-making in all areas of life.

A short history of the Commission on the Status of Women

Date: Friday, February 1, 2019

This short history of the Commission on the Status of Women from its inception in 1946 to today highlights the Commission’s advocacy for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. It summarizes the Commission’s key achievements in developing the global legal and normative framework, and in advancing its follow-up and implementation at the national level, for the benefit of women and girls everywhere.

The SDGs and feminist movement building

Date: Friday, December 21, 2018

This discussion paper views the whys and hows of feminist engagement with the Sustainable Development Goals in a broader context: the key UN-related processes from the time women began getting involved with them in the 1970s. It was produced for the UN Women flagship report, “Turning promises into action: Gender equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, and released as part of the UN Women discussion paper series.

SDG key messages

Date: Sunday, July 1, 2018

In preparation for the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) each year, UN Women drafts a set of two-page briefs related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under review. The briefs contain facts and figures on recent trends and key messages on the gender perspectives of each SDG.

Report of CSW61 and analysis of the agreed conclusions

Date: Friday, May 26, 2017

The 61st session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, from 13 – 24 March 2017, at a critical juncture in the changing political landscape and realignment of forces mobilized around the gender equality and women’s empowerment agenda.

Shaping the international agenda: Raising women's voices in intergovernmental forums

Date: Tuesday, March 14, 2017

The publication aims to build knowledge on women’s participation in national delegations to meetings of international organizations’ governing bodies by analyzing the best practices undertaken at the national and international levels, including specific examples provided by several intergovernmental entities. Building on these efforts, the publication provides a set of recommendations to empower a wide range of gender-equality advocates to champion gender equality and gender balance.

The Full View: Ensuring a comprehensive approach to achieve the goal of gender balance in the UNFCCC process

Date: Friday, November 11, 2016

This research report, the second edition to ‘The Full View: Advancing the goal of gender balance in multilateral and intergovernmental processes’ (2013), examines developments in women’s participation in decision-making processes and expands on the lessons learned from the first report. It includes a set of recommendations for Parties, observers and the secretariat to the UNFCCC on ways to advance the goal of gender balance to promote women’s voice and agency.

Driving the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Date: Friday, August 12, 2016

The CSW60 Agreed Conclusions laid out the strategy and road map for gender-responsive implementation of all Sustainable Development Goals. “Driving the Gender-Responsive Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” highlights the key messages and presents an analysis of the CSW60 Agreed Conclusions.

Training for Gender Equality: Twenty Years On

Date: Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Training for Gender Equality: Twenty Years On analyses how training for gender equality has evolved from the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action (PFA) to the present day.

Evaluation of UN Women’s normative support work and its operational linkages

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2015

In 2014, the Inspection and Evaluation Division of the Office of Internal Oversight Services undertook an evaluation of UN Women’s normative work. The objective of the evaluation was to determine, as systematically and objectively as possible, the relevance and effectiveness of UN Women in achieving its mandate in support of gender equality through normative support work and its link with operational activities.

TRANSFORM – The magazine for gender-responsive evaluation – Issue 3, August 2015

Date: Monday, August 31, 2015

In the third issue of “TRANSFORM — The magazine for gender-responsive evaluation,” the UN Women Independent Evaluation Office aims to make more accessible good practices and lessons learned from the recently concluded “Evaluation of UN Women’s normative support work and its operational linkages.”

Beijing+20: Past, present and future. The representation of women and the United Nations system

Date: Monday, March 9, 2015

The Beijing Platform for Action mandates the full participation of women in the decision-making, including within the UN system. Twenty years later, statistical trends and future projections on representation within the UN system are analysed, and action points to overcome obstacles and accelerate progress are presented.

Summary Report: The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action turns 20

Date: Friday, February 20, 2015

Progress, challenges and lessons learned on realizing gender equality, the empowerment of women and human rights of women and girls in the post-2015 context are analysed in this summary of the Report of the Secretary-General on the 20-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly, prepared by UN Women.

Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, Beijing +5 Political Declaration and Outcome

Date: Monday, January 19, 2015

Considered the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women's rights, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action has been reprinted in this special edition, which also includes a copy of the political declaration reached at the 23rd special session of the General Assembly in 2000, which reviewed progress towards the Platform for Action five years after its adoption.