As global threats to women’s rights escalate, U.N. Women outlines urgent solutions to protect hard-won gains and build a more equal future.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of U.N. Women. The United Nations organization delivering programs, policies and standards that uphold women’s human rights confirmed its continued commitment to serve 4 billion women and girls worldwide by releasing 15 Calls to Action for states to heed.
A recent survey from U.N. Women showed:
- A 60 percent increase in concerns on gender equality progress, with over 150 government reports showing a rise gender-based violence (GBV).
- Nearly one in four countries experiencing a backlash against women’s rights.
- More than 600 million women and girls live near conflict zones.
- The widening of the digital gender divide is alarming.
- Ninety percent of women’s rights organizations in crisis areas are deeply impacted by funding cuts.
Amidst these mounting concerns, this year also marks the 25th anniversary of the landmark Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), which incorporated gender perspectives into all U.N. peace and security efforts in order to increase the participation of women. U.N. Women also called on global leaders to defend and deliver on Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the WPS agenda, the Armenia-based Democracy Today NGO, in partnership with the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will devote its annual conference later this year to “Living the Agenda: 25 Years of WPS and Armenia’s Call for Human Security.” The conference will “bring to life” each of Armenia’s most recently adopted commitments from its third “Investing in Global Peace” WPS National Action Plan (NAP).
Armenia adopted its first NAP in 2019, followed by the second in 2022-2024. Led by Armenia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the third 2025-2027 NAP was supplemented by the Democracy Today’s founder, Gulnara Shahinian. Shahinian is also a former U.N. Human Rights Council special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and member of the Council of Europe (CoE) Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings.
“Our annual conference, in celebration of WPS’s 25th anniversary, will bring each of Armenia’s WPS NAP commitments alive with demonstrated activities of an active vibrant implementation. It will also focus on our most important motto promoting peace and human security through education and collaboration,” says Shahinian.
U.N. Women’s recent communique included the 15 Calls to Action and Solutions to help “push forward for gender equality.”
1. Address the backlash against women’s rights.
2024 marked an alarming regression in gender equality efforts, with nearly one in four countries reporting a backlash against women’s rights.
Solution: Renewed political will is essential to safeguard hard won gains for all women and girls, which means ensuring that legal political and financial systems actively advance—not hinder—gender equality.
2. End conflict.
In 2023, approximately 612 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometers of a conflict zone; that’s over 50 percent higher than a decade ago.
Solution: Increase investment in conflict prevention, mediation and peace building in order to defend these already vulnerable populations.
3. Promote women in peacemaking.
Extensive research has proven a strong correlation between the durability of peace agreements and women’s involvement in peace negotiations. But between 2020 and 2023, women were absent from eight in ten peace talks, and seven in ten mediation efforts.
Solution: Political parties, conflict negotiators and other critical actors must uphold global commitments to women’s equal participation in peace processes.
4. Eradicate poverty.
With one in 10 women and girls living in extreme poverty–less than $2.15 per person per day–ending poverty, at this current pace, will not be achieved for another 137 years.
Solution: Governments must adopt robust social protection policies, such as cash assistance for low-income families, paid maternity leave and secure pension systems.
5. End food insecurity.
While women produce a third of the world’s food, 47.8 million more women than men face moderate to severe food insecurity.
Solution: Governments must enact laws and policies to close the gender gap in farm productivity and the gender wage gap in food systems. These could reduce the number of food-insecure people by 45 million.
6. Fight violence against women.
One woman or girl is killed every 10 minutes at the hands of a partner or a close relative. In 2023, 85,000 women and girls in total were killed intentionally.
Solution: Governments and institutions must strengthen laws on violence against women, improve data collection and promote a zero tolerance approach. Partners must also increase funding for women’s rights organizations and institutions which protect survivors and their families.
7. Promote women’s access to the economy.
While women perform 2.5 times more unpaid care work than men, including spending a total of 250 million hours a day collecting water—three times more than men and boys—they have restricted access to the formal labour market.
Solution: Investing in care systems could create nearly 300 million jobs such as childcare and caring for the sick or elderly by 2035, transforming individual lives and economies.
8. Close the gender pay gap.
Globally, women still earn 20 percent less than men for work of equal value. The wage gap is fueled by such structural inequalities as job segregation, caregiving penalties and ongoing discrimination.
Solution: Governments and employers must advance equal pay for equal work and ensure pay transparency. They must also expand women’s access to higher paying roles while also providing equitable parental leave and strengthening laws against workplace discrimination.
9. Protect the planet.
By 2050, climate shocks could drive 158 million more women and girls into extreme poverty. While evidence shows that women’s leadership leads to more effective climate policies, only 28 percent of environment ministers are women.
Solution: Governments need to push for equal representation in climate leadership, increased investment in gender responsive policies and funding for women-led solutions to prevent climate shocks.
10. Increase women’s leadership and political participation.
Nearly 75 percent of lawmakers around the globe today are men. Considering that 103 countries have never had a female head of state, top leadership equality won’t be attained for another 130 years.
Solution: Quotas work; they open doors for women in politics. But real progress means combating social norms and stigma that hold women back, as well as shutting down the violence that targets women when they step into power.
11. Dismantle discriminatory legal frameworks.
Women have only 64 percent of the legal rights that men enjoy. Across 51 percent of countries, there is at least one restriction preventing women from doing the same jobs as men.
Solution: Governments must eliminate legal discrimination and invest in laws that protect and advance women’s rights.
12. Close the digital gender gap.
In 2024, 277 million more men than women used the internet. This shocking statistic points at a concerning digital gender gap that, if continued, would cost low-and middle-income countries $500 billion in income over the next five years.
Solution: Close the digital gender divide and address digital abuse trolling stalking and other forms of technology facilitated violence against women. Barriers to the equal participation and leadership of women and girls in science technology and innovation must be dismantled.
13. Ensure gender parity in education.
With over 119 million girls still out of school, 39 percent of young women never finish upper secondary education.
Solution: Governments and communities must lower schooling costs, offer cash transfers and ensure safe and inclusive educational environments.
14. End maternal mortality.
Some 61 percent of the nearly 800 women dying daily from preventable pregnancy-related causes occur in 35 conflict affected countries.
Solution: Policymakers and stakeholders must address harmful gender norms, increase investment in affordable sexual and reproductive health services and strengthen fragile health systems.
15. Increase gender financing.
Between 2021-2022, only 4 percent of official development assistance went to programs with gender equality as the principal objective.
Solution: All stakeholders, public and private, must significantly increase investments in gender equality as a cornerstone for advancing sustainable development and ensuring no one is left behind.
Threats against women’s rights persist, even across the most democratic countries. The U.N. Women’s 15 Calls to Action provide essential guidelines that every country, community and individual should be taking note of in order to create a world built for women’s safety and success.
Disclaimer: Jackie Abramian serves on Democracy Today’s Board of Directors.
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