In progress at UNHQ

Women and gender issues

20 March 2014

WOM/1986

Many Women for ‘Cultural’ Reasons Sidelined From Systems Set Up to Help Them, Commission Told

Too many women and girls were forced to drop out of school, to toil in precarious jobs or to give up control over their own bodies, especially when harmful practices were carried out in unsafe and unhygienic conditions, sometimes in the name of culture, representatives of non-governmental groups told the Commission on the Status of Women today.

18 March 2014

WOM/1985

Panellists in Women’s Commission Encourage Young Girls to Study Science, Technology, Change Perception of Pursuit as ‘Masculine’

The importance of inspiring young girls to not only study, but to take up careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics was the focus of two panel discussions in today’s meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women.

17 March 2014

WOM/1984

Despite Notable Success in Levelling Gender Playing Field, Speakers in Women’s Commission Urge Stand-Alone Goal in New Development Framework

While attempts to level the gender playing field had already resulted in more robust development gains in the past decade, that element must be central to the post-2015 agenda, the Commission on the Status of Women heard today, as some 60 speakers took the floor, including several Ministers who detailed their countries’ successes and the challenges.

13 March 2014

WOM/1983

Common Position in Women’s Commission: Post-2015 Agenda Must Include Gender Equality Targets Absent from Millennium Development Goals

While countries were on track to meet several of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, progress on those related to women and girls was uneven at best, ministers and other senior officials told the Commission on the Status of Women today, urging that more be done to accept women as equals in all areas of life.

12 March 2014

WOM/1982

‘Gender Lens’ Sharpens Focus of Economic and Social Council Reforms, Shapes Global Policy, Speakers Say in Women’s Commission

The Commission on the Status of Women played a “catalytic” role in shaping global policy on gender equality, as well as in ensuring that the Economic and Social Council incorporated a gender perspective in its work, Council President Martin Sajdik told the women’s body today during day three of its fifty-eighth session.

11 March 2014

WOM/1981

Speakers in Women’s Commission Say Legal Gaps in Protection, Prevention, Accountability for Violence against Women Must Be Addressed

Protecting women and girls from violence and discrimination was the ultimate responsibility of the State, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences told the Commission on the Status of Women today, pressing Governments to better address the legal gaps in protection, prevention and accountability.

10 March 2014

WOM/1979

‘We Need Bold Action Going Forward’, UN-Women’s Chief Tells Commission in Prelude to Session’s Review of Development Goals’ Impact

With one year left to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the 2015 target date, the international community must take decisive steps to ensure that gender equality and women’s empowerment became a reality, high-level speakers said today as the Commission on the Status of Women opened its fifty-eighth session.

15 March 2013

WOM/1952

Adopting Agreed Conclusions, Commission on Status of Women Urges Global Action to End Pervasive Violence against Women, Girls

Ending all violence against women and girls “must be a priority, not an option” for achieving human rights, social cohesion and sustainable development, declared the Commission on the Status of Women this evening, capping its fifty-seventh annual session with the adoption of a set of much-anticipated agreed conclusions that outlined a strong global framework for prevention and response.

14 March 2013

WOM/1951

Women’s Commission Concludes General Debate amid Calls to Challenge Invisibility That Perpetuates Violence against Older Women, Young Girls, Lesbians

The Commission on the Status of Women wrapped up its general debate today amid calls from civil society groups to focus more substantively on protecting the women and girls whose rights were most often under-represented — or excluded — from the very international human rights instruments intended to protect them.

12 March 2013

WOM/1950

Commission on Status of Women Spotlights Successes, Challenges in Countering Negative Stereotypes, Unequal Power Relations

A sharp, deeply embedded distinction between the so-called “private” family sphere of women and the “public” market sphere of men — coupled with imbalanced caregiving responsibilities — threatened to hamper the development of both women and societies around the world, stressed panellists addressing the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women today.