GIRLS AND WOMEN: Gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of human rights
Gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of human rights and is an aspiration that benefits all of society, including girls and women. The universal advantages of gender equality have been well-documented, and several international frameworks have affirmed its centrality to human rights and sustainable development. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, for example, unanimously adopted by 189 countries in 1995 and still the strongest global consensus for advancing and protecting girls’ and women’s equality and justice, recognizes that persistent inequalities pose “serious consequences for the well-being of all people.”
Yet, despite the promise of equality, progress towards it has been slow, fragile, incremental, and reversible – and dramatically undermined by the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, in every region of the world, girls and women are still more likely to be poor, illiterate, hungry, unhealthy, underrepresented in leadership positions, legally constrained, politically marginalized, and endangered by violence.
#EQUALEVERYWHERE
We won’t stop until girls and women are equal everywhere. Join UN Foundation, partners, and people around the world in the push for faster, lasting progress on gender equality.
TAKE A STAND
GENERATION EQUALITY FORUM
The 2021 Generation Equality Forum mobilized diverse stakeholders to accelerate progress for gender equality. We continue to work with partners to implement existing commitments and encourage new stakeholders to join this collective journey towards gender equality. Read about UN Foundation’s commitment.
LEARN MOREENDING GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
In partnership with the Spotlight Initiative, the UN Foundation has established a funding vehicle — the WithHer Fund — which provides resources directly to grassroots women’s organizations around the world working to end gender-based violence in their local communities.
LEARN MORELEVELING THE LAW
The UN Foundation is working with partners, like the World Bank, to improve knowledge about discriminatory laws that impede progress for girls and women and advocate for laws that protect the rights of girls and women in every aspect of their lives.
LEARN MOREPRIVATE SECTOR ACTION
We convene a group of high-level corporate leaders to gather in common cause and share their approaches to gender equity and equality at work, discuss best practices and lessons learned, and promote five key policy asks to achieve gender equality in the workplace.
LEARN MOREThe UN Foundation is dedicated to achieving equality everywhere. With our broad set of programs, we defend the rights and inclusion of girls and women by improving the quality, availability, and use of gender data; support the rights of girls and women to decide when, and how many children to have; protect and strength the largest source of funding for global sexual and reproductive health and rights, including women’s empowerment in global supply chains; develop global girl leaders and advocates; facilitate convergent and comprehensive service delivery for girls and women; and enable the benefits of clean cooking.
By harnessing the power of our comprehensive portfolio, our diverse and committed partners, and our founding commitment to work with and for the UN, we’re pushing for accelerated progress toward SDG 5 and all the SDGs, to realize a world that is better and fairer for all people.
