In 2025, the world celebrates 30 years of achievement on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a visionary 1995 plan agreed to by 189 governments at the Fourth World Conference for Women to achieve the equal rights of all women and girls. The visionary plan became the most comprehensive and visionary agenda ever for gender equality and human rights. It set a benchmark for the international community to analyze the status of women and girls around the world and assess civil, political, social, economic, and cultural efforts for women’s empowerment.
Every five years, the Commission on the Status of Women reviews member states’ progress in the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and that report has just been published by the United Nations (UN).
After its copious research, UN Women—the United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women—has developed the Beijing+30 Action Agenda. At the heart of this agenda lies the six key actions to advance gender equality: bridging the digital gender gap; placing women at the heart of sustainable economic development; ending violence against women; advancing women’s leadership in decision-making; increasing accountability in peace security and humanitarian action; and striving for climate justice. It also reflects the critical inclusion of youth in these efforts.
As stated by Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN-Women and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, “Thirty years on, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action remains a beacon of hope and an urgent appeal for action. It also challenges us to renew our commitment, hold ourselves accountable and urgently increase investment.”
Five Priorities to Make Faster Gains and Prepare for an Uncertain Future
The global progress review defined five cross-cutting recommendations fundamental to achieving the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for all women and girls:
- Close the Accountability Gap
- Fortify institutions to lead and coordinate policy action on gender equality, put gender at the center of all policies and programs and improve data to measure change.
- Elevate Women’s Voices
- Achieve equal participation and influence in decision-making at all levels, including for marginalized groups of women and girls, and open and protect spaces for women’s groups to operate.
- Close the Financing Gap
- Make catalytic investments through national measures, such as budgets aligned with gender equality and progressive taxation, and realign global financial systems based on equity and solidarity.
- Harness Technology
- Close digital gender divides in access and benefits, ensure women and girls can lead the digital and artificial intelligence revolutions and mitigate the risks of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, privacy violations and bias.
- Shock-Proof Services and Infrastructure
- Establish gender-inclusive crisis prevention and response to avoid sudden rollback son the rights of women and girls and prioritize gender equality in a humanitarian action.
References
Women’s rights in review 30 years after Beijing. (2025, March 6). UN Women – Headquarters. https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2025/03/womens-rights-in-review-30-years-after-beijing
Women in Power Spaces 