Around the world, patriarchal systems of power have long reinforced norms and ideas that drive gender inequality and its devastating manifestations, including gender-based violence. These issues impact millions of women and girls every year; in fact, one third of women globally have experienced intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence or both. Amid these challenges, UNFPA and Palestine’s Ministry of Health launched a new programme to educate midwives, obstetricians, doctors, and others on how to care for patients who have experienced sexual violence. 

Malika Machalikashvili’s farm in Georgia was once pretty traditional Today she sells her produce using a smartphone. For the last three years, Malika has been attending FAO trainings, which teach smallholder farmers about better agricultural practices. These platforms have also proved very useful for teaching rural men and women about gender equality, gender-based violence and women’s economic empowerment. These trainings help smallholder women farmers feel empowered to stand up for their rights, grow their businesses and implement successful economic initiatives.

Digital technology and artificial intelligence present important challenges to equality in the workplace and in society. As workplaces transition towards a digital future, we are already seeing that existing gender equality gaps are being reproduced in the digital realm.

In the first of our Future of Work podcast mini-series on artificial intelligence and the world of work - and to mark International Women’s Day, Dr. Orly Lobel explores the important role digital technologies can play in creating a brighter and more inclusive future of work, and some of the surprising ways they are already being used in workplaces today together with ILO's Anders Johnsson. 

Photo: WOCinTech/Unsplash

UNCTAD’s online courses help more women in least developed countries (LDCs) benefit from trade.

The IAEA launches its new professional development programme to boost women’s careers in the nuclear field: the IAEA Lise Meitner Programme

As the world steps forward to curb climate change and nature loss, finding solutions that work is vital. Our collective destination will not be reached without women’s equal participation and leadership. Gender-transformative work across Asia-Pacific is thwarting stereotypes, expanding opportunities, and implementing solutions. In this story from UNDP, you can read about Fadlun Bonde, a community ranger working to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade and help stamp out crime in Indonesia; Chen Guanghui, who joined previously male-dominated professions becoming a ranger to protect black-necked cranes in China; Vi Thi Tuoi, who is working to redefine how medicinal herbs are cultivated and preserved in Viet Nam; and Vijeta, who is weaving a better future in India.

International Women’s Day recognizes the critical contributions of women human rights defenders and feminist movements, who use the transformative power of digital technology to connect, mobilize, and drive social change, while fighting against the persistent pushback of women’s rights. The digital world offers immense opportunities, but it isn’t immune to the persistent backlash against women’s rights and gender equality including gender-based violence and digital exclusion. “International Women’s Day reminds us of the patriarchal power dynamics, old and new, that hold our world back from fulfilling the rights of all women and girls,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, "The digital space has yet to undergo a much-needed feminist revolution – and it must."

Today women make up under a third of the workforce in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM). When women are under-represented in developing new technologies, discrimination may be baked in from the start. This International Women’s Day (8 March) with the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” recognizes the women and girls championing transformative technologies and digital education. The observance explores the impact of the digital gender gap on widening inequalities and the importance of protecting women’s rights in digital spaces. #PowerOn to create an equal future.

Emerging technologies and digital access can greatly improve the well-being, education, health, and livelihoods of women and girls. However, a significant digital gender gap remains, limiting the equitable benefits of digital transformation. The Commission on the Status of Women – an intergovernmental body dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment – will address this problem in its 67th session (6-17 March). The group will revisit the gendered impacts of innovation and identify recommendations for a more inclusive and equitable digital evolution.

Somaya Faruqi is one of the lucky ones. She managed to escape from Afghanistan in August 2021, just as the Taliban overran the country’s capital. Today, while the 20-year-old engineering student pursues a degree in the US, her former classmates back home have been banned from the classroom.

In support of this week’s Education Cannot Wait conference in Geneva and its call for learning support in emergencies, Somaya has been speaking to UN News’s Daniel Johnson.

Photo: © Courtesy of Somaya Faruqi

Today, only one in three researchers is a woman. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February) is a reminder that women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities and that their participation should be strengthened. Under the theme of “Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance. Sustain. - Bringing Everyone Forward for Sustainable and Equitable Development”, the 8th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly will focus on the role of women and girls in science as relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). #WomenInScience

Some 4.2 million girls are at risk of the harmful practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) during 2023 alone.  Partnerships with men and boys can make the largest global impact in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals target of eliminating FGM by 2030. Be part of the live event of this year’s  International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (6 February) and share with the world: #MenEndFGM!

A group of worried women gathered at a community centre on the outskirts of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul. Many have recently completed a livelihoods training project run by local NGO in partnership with the UN Refugee Agency. But the future of the project and the women hangs in the balance. Recent decrees issued by Afghanistan’s authorities have barred female employees with non-governmental organisations from going to work. If the decree is not amended, projects such as this one, which involves female NGO staff training other women, will be unable to continue.

In 2022, amidst conflict, crisis, and a growing global pushback on gender equality, UN Women pushed forward. Looking ahead to 2023, the UN agency is calling on everyone around the world to work together to ensure that women’s rights are upheld, their leadership is guaranteed, their needs are met in times of crisis, and their lives are always free of violence.

Emel Mathlouthi was named the ‘voice of the Tunisian revolution, after a video of her performing a version of the song ‘My Word is Free’, during a Tunisian street protest, went viral online during the Arab Spring.

Her music was banned by the regime, and she became known as the "voice of the Tunisian revolution." Three years later, she was invited to perform the song at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

Over the years, Emel’s musical journey has led her to incorporate electronica and digital glitches, but it was clear from talking to her, that she hasn’t lost her revolutionary spirit.

Original music that appears in amplifyHER is included with the kind permission of the artists. All rights reserved.