Engineer trainees huddle

Young female trainees in Zambia's Heavy Equipment Repair training programme smash gender stereotypes by showing their motivation and encouraging female participation.

Woman in a lab coat next to a man in a greenhouse

The Gender Social Norms Index released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) measures how social beliefs obstruct gender equality in areas like politics, work, and education. 

Girls going to school

UNESCO unveils a new fact sheet on girls’ education for International Women’s Day. Published as part of the #HerEducationOurFuture, the data focuses on the progress achieved over the past 25 years. It shows that girls’ enrolment rates in primary and secondary education almost doubling in low-income countries. But it also shows that the pace of change is not fast enough. At the present rate, getting every girl into primary school will only happen in 2050. 

Women faces of Bias and Backlash UNDP campaign

We must find new ways to approach and eliminate the harmful ideas that lead to gender discrimination. When half of humanity does not have the opportunities and freedoms of the other half, all society loses. Gender inequality also threatens the Sustainable Development Goals. The 25th anniversary of the visionary Beijing Declaration provides a vital opportunity to take more innovative approaches to closing the gender gaps and empowering women and girls. #CheckYourBias

I Stand with Her campaign icon

The human rights campaign “I Stand with Her” challenges stereotypical views around gender equality, women’s rights and issues affecting women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people. At the heart of gender-based discrimination lies harmful views and beliefs about the role of women and about what defines femininity and masculinity. Such views and beliefs are pervasive in all countries. Challenging them is the first step to build societies where all rights are fully respected.

A girl grins whilst holding a plate ontop of her head.

What does equality mean to me?

eTrade for Women aims at making women digital entrepreneurs a force for inclusive wealth creation.

Anastasiia Yeva Domani looking out from a terrace

Anastasiia Yeva Domani, a 40-year-old transgender woman from Kyiv, never intended to be a human rights activist. Her own experience with the legal aspects of transitioning made her decide to help others.

Girl celebrates in float honouring UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Marta Vieira da Silva

Girls celebrate women’s empowerment in Brazil Carnival

Equiterra - a fictional land

BREAKING NEWS: We found a country that has achieved gender equality! In Equiterra all people have equal rights and opportunities, regardless of their gender. Join us for a tour of its bustling capital!

Christelle Assirou speaks about blockchain technology at a meeting.

Christelle Assirou, a serial entrepreneur from Côte d’Ivoire, is revolutionizing e-commerce in her country and beyond. She was among 19 participants in UNCTAD’s eTrade for Women initiative’s first masterclass in Africa in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

Kalliopi Mingeiorou

Why is it so difficult to make gender equality a reality? 

Our UNcomplicated podcast hosts, Sinduja Srinivasan and Jason DeWall, discover that one major reason is the prevalence of violence against women.

A woman is sanding a large block of wood in a workshop, wearing a protective mask.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is a global policy-making body dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. On 9 March the commission is holding a procedural meeting, opening its sixty-fourth session (CSW 64). The meeting will adopt the draft Political Declaration on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), committing to the full realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by 2030.

How much progress have we achieved in the global struggle for equal rights, and how much work remains? From worldwide suffrage campaigns to the rise of #MeToo and digital activism, we have marched slowly forward. But today, the fight for gender equality is far from over.

women participating in meetings

The Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Urban Planning and Design seeks to respond to these urgent questions: how might we design and plan cities that work well for everyone? What would such a city look like, and how would we go about creating it?