UN Women launches gender equality course for UN staff
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(New York) — In the lead up to the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark for women’s rights and gender equality, UN Women is launching an online course to help inform and educate UN staff on gender issues.
The introductory course, called “I Know Gender: An Introduction to Gender Equality for UN staff”, was developed by the UN Women Training Centre and sister UN agencies at the request of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE), and with support from the Coordination Division of the UN System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP).
The goal of the course is to enhance awareness, knowledge and understanding of gender equality and women’s empowerment. Integrating gender equality into daily work at the UN is at the heart of achieving the post-2015 development agenda.
The course consists of three core modules on gender concepts; the international framework for gender equality; and the promotion of gender equality throughout the UN system. Additional thematic modules are also available after the core three are completed. They cover women’s economic empowerment; leadership and decision-making; violence against women and girls; gender equality in education and the workforce; sexual and reproductive health; and gender in emergencies, human rights, and peace and security.
The course and its modules were developed in partnership with other UN agencies including: the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITC-ILO), the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, WFP, FAO and UNICEF.
This interactive and user-friendly course can be found on UN Women’s eLearning Campus, which will be further enriched with training materials and tools, and enhanced in the coming months.
UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka invites all UN staff to renew commitment to gender equality by taking the course. Watch her video message “I Know Gender, do you?”