About the Division

Organization

The Division for the Advancement of Women consists of three sections:

Gender Analysis Section
Women’s Rights Section
Coordination and Outreach Unit

Gender Analysis Section

  1. Provides substantive servicing to the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in fulfilling its mandate to promote the advancement of women throughout the world and prepares reports and background documentation for the annual sessions of CSW. Convenes expert group meetings, workshops and panel discussions to assist the Commission on the Status of Women in making informed and action-oriented policy recommendations.  
  2. Provides substantive servicing, including the preparation of the Secretary-General’s reports, to intergovernmental bodies such as the Economic and Social Council and the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly.
  3. Prepares the periodic reviews of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (1995) and the outcome of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly (2000). 
  4. Carries out analysis of progress in implementation in the twelve critical areas of the Beijing Platform for Action, monitors implementation of relevant recommendations of other global conferences and their reviews as well as pertinent decisions of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Counci, and other functional commissions of the ECOSOC, and  contributes to reports of the Secretary-General or other entities of the United Nations with a view to ensuring attention to gender perspectives.
  5. Offers advisory and technical cooperation services, on request, to developing countries on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome of the 23rd Special Session of the General Assembly.

Women’s Rights Section

  1. Provides substantive servicing to the Commission on the Status of Women in fulfilling its mandate in regard to human rights of women and violence against women. Convenes expert group meetings, workshops and panel discussions;
  2. Prepares reports for the General Assembly, including the Secretary-General’s In-depth study on all forms of violence against womenand monitors follow-up to the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s In-depth study on all forms of violence against women and their implementation;
  3. Implements the communications procedure of the Commission on the Status of Women, which allows the consideration of confidential and non-confidential communications on the status of women at country level and the formulation of recommendations in that regard;
  4. Provides advisory services and technical assistance to member states and other stakeholders on gender equality and the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, intergovernmental policy guidance and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Activities include organizing and convening training workshops for government officials, colloquia for judicial officers and programmes for countries emerging from conflict; developing training materials;
  5. Seeks to ensure the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the work of other human rights mechanisms; and facilitates interaction and coordination between the Committee and other human rights treaty bodies and mechanisms.

Coordination and Outreach Unit

  • Carries out communication and outreach activities on gender equality, including briefing civil society groups, disseminating the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the outcome of the 23rd special session of the General Assembly, and other relevant materials targeted to a wide range of stakeholders, such as non-governmental organizations and academic and research communities, national machineries for the advancement of women, women's networks, and bilateral and multilateral development institutions;
  • Facilitates the participation of ECOSOC-accredited non-governmental organizations in the sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women ;
  • Coordinates the production and dissemination of DAW publications, including its flagship publication, the World Survey on the Role of Women in Development, and Women2000 and Beyond, a series on issues relevant to the advancement of women and gender equality;
  • Disseminates information on the United Nations’ work for the advancement of women and gender equality, including through an Internet website that provides full text access to relevant UN policy documents, country reports and other key information on empowerment of women and gender equality, and information about activities of the Division.