UN Women impact stories series

Date: Monday, October 5, 2020

This series, updated quarterly, illustrates the human impact of UN Women’s work across the world, highlighting the partnerships that make this work possible. These stories share how we and our many partners are striding forward to realize a better world for women and girls

Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2020

Date: Thursday, September 17, 2020

The pandemic has interrupted progress on gender equality, but it can be brought back on course. This year’s edition of “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot” brings together the latest available evidence on gender equality across all 17 Goals, underscoring the progress made, but also the progress interrupted as a result of COVID-19.

Regular resources rise to the immense challenges of COVID-19

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2020

This brief summarizes how UN Women is deploying regular resources in response to COVID-19. It highlights how regular resources have enabled a faster and more comprehensive response and details the results of practical assistance to women and girls, especially those in vulnerable communities, and advocacy for a gender perspective in national, regional, and UN system efforts.

From insights to action: Gender equality in the wake of COVID-19

Date: Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, shrinking working hours, increased care burdens, and heightened violence have exacerbated the challenges that women and girls face. Unless action is taken, by 2021 around 435 million women and girls will be living in extreme poverty, including 47 million pushed into poverty as a result of COVID-19. This publication presents the latest evidence on the multiple impacts of the pandemic on women and girls.

COVID-19 and conflict: Advancing women’s meaningful participation in ceasefires and peace processes

Date: Monday, August 3, 2020

This brief addresses the importance of women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation to an effective pandemic response and to peacemaking efforts, and how the women, peace and security agenda can provide a critical framework for inclusive decision-making and sustainable solutions. It also provides preliminary analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on women’s participation in ceasefires and peace processes and offers a series of recommendations, including on “building back better”.

Addressing emerging human trafficking trends and consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic

Date: Thursday, July 30, 2020

Around the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has created new risks and challenges to victims and survivors of trafficking and has also worsened the vulnerabilities of at-risk groups, especially women and children, to trafficking in human beings. Based on data collected through a global survey of survivors and frontline organizations, this publication analyses the emerging COVID-19 human trafficking trends and consequences and offers concrete policy recommendations to address them.

Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women: Report of the Secretary-General (2020)

Date: Thursday, July 30, 2020

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.

Minimum requirements checklist for integrating gender equality in the implementation of the UN Framework for the Socioeconomic Response to COVID-19

Date: Wednesday, July 22, 2020

This checklist provides minimum requirements for the integration of gender equality in the implementation of the "UN framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19". In particular, this checklist is intended to support UNCTs that are undertaking gender/intersectional analyses and/or members of the Gender Theme Groups (GTGs) in UNCTs to effectively integrate gender equality in UNCT COVID-19 recovery and socioeconomic response plans.

Gender-responsive humanitarian response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Date: Monday, July 13, 2020

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.

Spotlight on gender, COVID-19 and the SDGs: Will the pandemic derail hard-won progress on gender equality?

Date: Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Health emergencies such as COVID-19, and the response to them, can exacerbate gender inequality and derail hard-won progress not only on SDG 3 but on all the SDGs. This paper draws insights from emerging data and shines a spotlight on the long-term impact of the crisis on the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The paper concludes by outlining policy priorities drawn from the evidence presented.

Decision tree: Data collection on violence against women and COVID-19

Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2020

This decision tree guides data collectors through the various considerations, viable options, and alternative data sources for obtaining information without jeopardizing participants’ safety or the data’s integrity. In doing so, it aims to identify data sources and methodologies that are useful for strengthening services and referral pathways for women experiencing violence during COVID-19.

COVID-19 and the care economy: Immediate action and structural transformation for a gender-responsive recovery

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020

This brief presents emerging evidence on the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic on the care economy. It highlights key measures needed to address the increase in unpaid care work as a result of the pandemic, ensure adequate compensation and decent working conditions for paid care workers, and enable the participation of paid and unpaid caregivers in the policy decisions that affect them.

Addressing the economic fallout of COVID-19: Pathways and policy options for a gender-responsive recovery

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020

This brief presents emerging evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on women’s economic empowerment. It considers the immediate gendered economic impacts, including widening socioeconomic divides and shifting national and international priorities for the allocation of resources, as well as the long-term implications for women’s employment and livelihoods.

COVID-19 and women’s leadership: From an effective response to building back better

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020

This brief shines a light on the critical role of women’s leadership in responding to COVID-19 and preparing for a more equitable recovery. In addition to considering the pandemic’s immediate impacts on women’s political participation, the brief demonstrates the opportunity to “build back better” by including and supporting women, and the organizations and networks that represent them, in the decision-making processes that will ultimately shape the post-pandemic future.

COVID-19 and violence against women and girls: Addressing the shadow pandemic

Date: Tuesday, June 30, 2020

This brief presents emerging evidence of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on violence against women and girls (VAWG). The brief advocates for measures that prevent and respond to VAWG in the current circumstances of lockdown as well as for investments that ensure the safety of women and girls in longer-term recovery plans.

Meeting basic needs of women and girls with disabilities during COVID-19

Date: Thursday, June 25, 2020

The present brief discusses the adverse impact of COVID-19 in the ability of women, girls, transgender and gender non-conforming persons with disabilities in meeting basic needs and provides recommendation to stakeholders on how to mitigate adverse effects of pre-existing inequalities they face, including on how to engage with networks and organizations as active agents in the process of “building back”.

A primer for parliamentary action: Gender-sensitive responses to COVID-19

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

This primer highlights practical ways Members of Parliament (MPs) and parliamentary staff can take action to ensure COVID-19 response and recovery decision-making addresses women’s needs.

IANWGE compendium on integrating gender considerations in the response to COVID-19: Key messages and actions from UN entities

Date: Monday, June 15, 2020

The United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE), chaired by the Executive Director of UN Women, has responded to the call of the Secretary-General for coordinated action during the COVID-19 pandemic. This compendium captures key messages and efforts of UN entities as they address the gender dimensions of the pandemic, aligned with the five pillars of the UN framework for the immediate socioeconomic response to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 shadow pandemic: Domestic violence in the world of work: A call to action for the private sector

Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2020

This brief explains how companies are responding to the problem of domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic and provides recommendations on the measures that could be taken.

Regular resources enable a flexible and fast response to the COVID-19 pandemic

Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020

This brief explores how regular resources have enabled a swift reaction to the COVID-19 crisis, and how this has facilitated effective engagement with, and support to, governments, civil society, and the private sector, making a difference on the ground and bringing the needs of women and girls to the centre of the response.