Thirty years ago, the world pledged "equality for all" in Beijing. Yet, today, for many women and girls around the world, this remains elusive.
The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995 was a landmark global commitment for gender equality outlining 12 critical areas for effort and investment. From lifting women out of poverty to safeguarding their health, from boosting education to curbing violence and discrimination and much more, the world made definitive decisions for change.
Ahead of International Women’s Day, a new progress report of the UN Secretary-General released by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), titled Women's Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing, points to an uneven trajectory to secure women’s rights and full participation in all aspects of society.
Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we are seeing the mainstreaming of chauvinism and misogyny,” the UN chief said, re-iterating his call that “when women and girls can rise, we all thrive.
His message for the day is clear: “Together, we must stand firm in making human rights, equality and empowerment a reality for all women and girls, for everyone, everywhere”.
Echoing the Secretary-General’s call, Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director said: “The choices we make now will define us, and they are our permanent marks on history’s pages. We must choose rights, equality, empowerment for ALL women and girls.”
Uneven but essential gains
Over the past three decades, tangible progress was made. Since 1995, the number of countries with laws prohibiting gender-based discrimination in employment has increased from 58 to 162. Child marriage rates have declined and so have maternal mortality rates. The number of women in parliaments has more than doubled and more women today have access to the internet.
Nonetheless, complex challenges and deeply entrenched norms and behaviours remain, holding women and girls back from having their rightful place at the table of “equality for all.” Fragile economies, many still reeling from post-pandemic downturns and rampant inflation fueled by interconnected crises, cannot do enough to reduce a widening income gap that has significantly impacted women and girls’ lives and livelihoods. Conflicts threaten women’s lives and increase the risk of violence. Fast-evolving advances in digital technology with limited guardrails are not adequately protecting the rights of vulnerable users, including women and girls. This exposes them to increased risks of online harm and abuse. And the manifestation of the climate crisis in our everyday lives exposes nearly 2 billion women and girls who lack adequate social protection against disasters and shocks.
With increasing polarization, mis/dis-information and divisive perceptions and policies, today this struggle has been compounded by increasing misogynistic narratives and a systematic roll- back of hard-earned gender equality gains.
Time to accelerate change
Without the full participation and leadership of women and girls, the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals will be an insurmountable task.
The Secretary-General report outlines six actions to boost progress, focusing on concrete, actionable recommendations that emphasize the critical importance of freeing women and girls from poverty, amplifying their voice, supporting their choice and protecting their well-being. The report calls on all actors to:
- Ensure women and girls can reap the economic benefits of the digital revolution, accessing new skills, opportunities and services.
- Address women’s poverty by investing national budgets in social protection and high-quality public services, including in women’s health, girls’ education and care.
- Adopt, implement and fund legislation to end violence against women and girls.
- Accelerate the achievement of women’s full and equal decision-making power in private and public domains and at all levels of government.
- Drive accountability for the women, peace and security agenda and gender-responsive humanitarian action by adopting fully financed national action plans and funding the local women’s organizations leading responses to crises and conflicts.
- Prioritize the rights of women and girls, including those from rural and Indigenous communities, in the transition to environmental sustainability by centering them in climate action and the conservation of biodiversity.
Partners for Impact
The UN development system is on the frontlines of this work, including UN country teams established across 162 countries and territories that operationalize the Organization’s work on the ground. Under the leadership of UN Resident Coordinators, more than half of whom are women, UN teams are supporting national initiatives that seek to develop and implement policies and programmes that protect and empower women.
Together, the UN, its government and other partners are tackling gender-based violence and ensuring that achieving gender equality remains at the heart of global development. UN Resident Coordinators’ leadership are critical to this partnership, ensuring that gender equality and women’s empowerment remain key policy priorities while mobilizing the unique expertise offered by various UN agencies to effectively support national gender equality strategies.
For example, in Namibia, the UN team, led by the Resident Coordinator, is helping tackle the unique challenges faced by young mothers and infants and women farmers as a result of a drought affecting more than half a million people.
In Viet Nam, dedicated efforts are underway thanks to the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN Women to close gender gaps in education with stronger policies, inclusive pedagogy and investment in infrastructure.
Supported by the Joint SDG Fund, a new programme in Türkiye, led by the Resident Coordinator and bringing five agencies together is working with public institutions and local authorities to improve policies for care services and support women’s livelihoods.
The Spotlight Initiative, the UN’s flagship initiative to end violence against women and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Ecuador have joined hands to make significant strides, strengthening laws, mobilizing resources and shifting social norms around survivors.
In Guatemala, the UN Peacebuilding Fund, has been leveraging indigenous women leaders to drive community change for peace, training citizens to move away from conflict and open new avenues for dialogue.
This work of our UN teams on the ground emphasizes the Organization’s commitment to support national initiatives that aim to deliver “equality for all,” as pledged in Beijing 30 years ago. We stand at a crossroads now.
Let us seize the opportunity to continue our journey in the right direction. In the words of Amina J. Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General and Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, “Women and girls deserve a seat at every table, a voice in every decision, and an equal chance to shape what lies ahead.” Because a world where all women and girls thrive isn’t just possible—it’s necessary.
Note:
All joint programmes of the Joint SDG Fund are led by UN Resident Coordinators and implemented by the agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations development system. With sincere appreciation for the contributions from the European Union and Governments of Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and our private sector funding partners, for a transformative movement towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
