Stories
Press release: UN Women unveils new feminist roadmap for economic recovery and transformation
Thursday, September 16, 2021
Learning from past mistakes, “Beyond COVID-19: A Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice” presents a vision to tackle intersecting jobs, care and climate crises.
Media advisory: launch of UN Women’s Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice
Monday, September 13, 2021
UN Women is launching a new flagship report, “Beyond COVID-19: A Feminist Plan for Sustainability and Social Justice”, which calls for governments to ensure the COVID-19 recovery shapes a more gender equal and sustainable world.
Take Five: “Young people are the leaders of the food systems transformation”
Tuesday, August 24, 2021
Maryam Aleisa is the founder and Executive Director of Refood, a non-profit company dedicated to reducing and repurposing food waste in Kuwait.
Women-managed community kitchens support vulnerable women in Nepal
Thursday, August 19, 2021
More than 41 per cent of women lost their jobs during the COVID-19 lockdown in Nepal. Responding to their practical needs, UN Women with support from the Government of Finland has been ensuring their access to food and nutrition through women-managed community kitchens across Nepal. Pushpa Sunar is one of the 123 people employed in the community kitchens, which is providing an income to the women working there and helping to alleviate the care burden among other women, as well as build trust and cohesion in the communities.
I am Generation Equality: Captain Zoya Sapra Aggarwal, pilot and gender equality advocate
Monday, August 9, 2021
Captain Zoya Sapra Aggarwal is a commercial pilot and the commander with Air India, TED speaker and an inspiration to young women and girls in India and everywhere. In 2013, she became the youngest female pilot to fly a Boeing-777. In January 2021, she made another milestone by commanding an all-women team of pilots to fly Air India’s longest non-stop commercial flight from San Francisco, USA to Bengaluru, India. She been pointed to the Aerotime Global Advisory Board in recognition of her significant role in the aviation industry. UN Women spoke to Captain Zoya for Youth Day 2021.
UN Women statement on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, 9 August 2021
Monday, August 2, 2021
Today, on the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, we join the call for a new social contract that will let us rebuild our world in a way that is forward-looking, equitable and targeted to the most marginalized.
Sunday, August 1, 2021
Since February 1, women and girls have been at the frontlines as leaders of civil society organizations, civil servants, activists, journalists, artists and influencers exercising their fundamental rights to express their hopes for the future of their country. Even before the coup, women, who make up 75 per cent of Myanmar’s healthcare professionals, were at the forefront of the COVID-19 response. Now, during a tragic surge in COVID-19 cases, many women continue in their activism and serve their communities while also assuming significant responsibilities as caregivers for sick family members, and for their children’s home-based learning.
Your questions answered: Women and COVID-19 in India
Tuesday, July 27, 2021
UN Women and health sector experts answer some frequently asked questions about COVID-19 and how it impacts women and girls in India.
Op-ed: Achieving equality for women: COVID-19 and beyond
Wednesday, July 7, 2021
The pandemic is negatively impacting women more than men, by exacerbating already entrenched inequalities. We need bold, transformative action to dismantle the barriers to women’s progress if we are to achieve SDG 5 by the end of the decade.
Op-ed: World leaders must put women at centre of COVID-19 recovery
Friday, June 11, 2021
In an op-ed for the World Economic Forum blog, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka writes: "We cannot build back better after COVID-19 without gender equality. Specifically, we must place women at the center of our economic recovery. Now is the moment for leaders to publicly commit to that work – by supporting the care economy, and equal wages and access to opportunities."
Wednesday, June 2, 2021
Since January 2020, India has reported over 27 million cases of COVID-19 infection and more than 300,000 fatalities – figures that many believe are substantial underestimates. As infection rates peak, hospitals have run out of beds and oxygen, medication is running low, and there are vaccine shortages. Last week, the country also saw massive flooding and displacement in its coastal areas, as Cyclone Yaas made landfall. The scale of the emergency is unprecedented and as with every crisis, women and girls, especially those from poor and marginalized communities, are among the hardest hit.
Tuesday, June 1, 2021
Susan Ferguson is the UN Women Representative for India. Ms. Ferguson joined UN Women in 2017, after a long career in international development. She has lived and worked in South Africa, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, and has experience working in grass-roots development agencies; establishing and managing social services; working within Local, State and Federal Government in Australia on social policy and social programmes.
Take five: Young women leaders in Malawi are ready to build back better from COVID-19
Wednesday, April 28, 2021
Thelma Kaliu is a young feminist and an active member of the Young Feminist Network of Malawi. She is currently the Project Coordinator of the Spotlight Initiative project under Plan International, Malawi. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, Thelma attended the launch of the Malawi Chapter of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) and was excited about the growth of a movement that was enthusiastically embracing young African women. Supported by the EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, the largest effort to eliminate violence against women and girls worldwide, the AWLN network comprises over 500 African women across generations and sectors.
Friday, April 16, 2021
Net Supatravani is the Thai co-founder of ila, a social enterprise start-up that uses human-centred design to help businesses foster inclusion, and creator of anti-domestic abuse app, ALLY. She is also a participant of the Generation Equality Asia Pacific Design Challenge, convened by UN Women and World Design Organization.
Building a fairer, healthier world starts with investing in women and girls
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
On World Health Day,7 April, UN Women spotlights women on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19 and growing inequality
Take five: Why safe transportation is vital for women and girls during the global pandemic
Tuesday, April 6, 2021
Marina Moscoso T Mendonça is an Urban Management Specialist and Technical Director of Despacio in Colombia, where she supervises projects promoting urban development and sustainable transport in Latin America. Marina is also the Operations Director for Women in Motion, an initiative focused on strengthening female leadership in the transport sector. During COVID-19, social distancing and lockdown measures are affecting the mobility choices of women in Bogota and reinforcing patterns of gender inequality on, and around, public transport.
Monday, March 22, 2021
Men outnumber women three to one across COVID-19 government task forces around the world. Such disproportionate representation will hamper women’s recovery from the pandemic, according to new data released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, and the Gender Inequality Research Lab (GIRL) at the University of Pittsburgh.
Mexico joins Bolivia in efforts to stop violence against women in politics
Thursday, March 18, 2021
Violence against women creates significant barriers for women aspiring for political office, says UN Women. It’s critical to reform and fully implement laws to prevent and stop violence against women in politics.
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Elena Crasmari decided to run for office so that the local administration could meet the needs of all members of her community. She won a local councillor seat, making her the only woman on a nine-person team, and one of six local councillors with a disability in Moldova, out of 10,472 local councillors.
Wednesday, March 10, 2021
Women have been hit harder by the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic as more women work in low-paying, insecure and informal jobs. This includes migrant domestic workers. Nan Zar Ni Myint is a domestic worker from Myanmar and a volunteer in her community based in Bangkok, Thailand. She has mobilized her network of domestic workers to support other domestic workers in Thailand, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.