68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women
The 68th annual Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68), the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, will take place this year from 11 - 22 March under the priority theme, “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective”.
The world is at a crucial crossroad for gender equality. Globally 10.3 per cent of women live in extreme poverty today, and they are poorer than men. Progress towards ending poverty needs to be 26 times faster to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
Accelerated progress requires investment. Data from 48 developing economies shows that an additional $360 billion is needed per year to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment across key global goals, including to end poverty and hunger.
In this decisive year, as 2.6 billion people go to the polls to cast their votes, they have the power to demand higher investment in gender equality.
Solutions to end women’s poverty are widely recognized: investing in policies and programmes that address gender inequalities and boosting women’s agency and leadership. Such investments yield enormous dividends: Over 100 million women and girls could be lifted out of poverty if governments prioritized education and family planning, fair and equal wages, and expanded social benefits. Almost 300 million jobs could be created by 2035 through investments in care services. Closing gender gaps in employment could boost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita by 20 per cent across all regions.
At CSW68, governments, civil society organizations, experts and activists from across the world will come together to agree on actions and investments that can end women’s poverty and advance gender equality.
Key CSW68 events
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Opening session
10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
The Commission’s first day will open with the election of officers, the adoption of the agenda and other organizational matters, and the introduction of the official documents. It will lead into a general discussion on the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly.
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Townhall Meeting with the UN Secretary-General and Civil Society
10 -11 a.m.
The annual Townhall Meeting with the Secretary-General and Civil society on the occasion of the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women will be moderated by UN Women Executive Director, Sima Sami Bahous, and take place at the United Nations Headquarters. The session will and take place in English and will include interpretation services in all official UN languages, International Sign Language and live closed captioning is available in English. It will be webcast live at http://webtv.un.org/
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Generation Equality: Driving feminist financing and accountability for women’s economic justice and eradicating women’s poverty
11.30 a.m. - 12.45 p.m.
Hosted by UN Women’s Generation Equality and the Economic Justice and Rights Action Coalition, this side event will explore innovative multi-stakeholder approaches and tested solutions for financing women’s economic justice and rights and for eradicating women’s poverty. An Economic Justice and Rights Action Coalition accountability report will be launched highlighting progress on commitments, blueprint targets, indicators and inspiring impact stories.
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Youth Forum
15 March, 4.45 – 6 p.m.; 16 March, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.; 17 March, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
UN Women will convene an annual CSW Youth Forum, led by young people with the support of UN Women, as a pivotal event in engaging young people in the Commission. The Forum will open at the UN Secretariat in New York on 15th of March, followed by two days at the United Nations International School on the 16th and 17th of March 2024. The Forum will provide a dynamic and interactive space that enables young participants to engage directly with policymakers, articulate their ideas, and foreground their priorities, especially regarding methods of ensuring accountability.
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Financing social protection and care systems for the fulfilment of human rights, gender equality and poverty reduction
3 p.m. – 4.15 p.m.
UN Women is convening a high-level panel of diverse leaders to discuss how social protection can be harnessed to realize human rights, promote gender equality and eradicate poverty, especially in the context of multiple crises and repeated shocks. As the global community prepares for the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (B+30) in 2025, the event will bring together speakers to highlight good practices, lessons learned and country examples on how we can accelerate progress to expand social protection.
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Multistakeholder Partnerships and Practices to Push Forward for Gender Equality, Human Rights and Democracy
3 p.m. – 4.15 p.m.
UN Women is convening a high-level side event, in partnership with Member States (TBC), UN agencies (UNDP, UNFPA, OHCHR, UNESCO - TBC), and civil society partners (TBC) to highlight how multistakeholder, issue-based coalitions at the country level, can accelerate and safeguard gender equality gains.
Explainers
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News and stories
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Speeches and Statements
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