Women's Economic Empowerment, Gender Equality, Women in Politics, Indigenous Women and Children

Research has demonstrated that when Women are Economically Empowered, entire communities benefit. Yet until now, there has been a crucial knowledge gap regarding the most effective interventions to advance women’s economic opportunities. To address this gap, the UN Foundation and the ExxonMobil Foundation joined forces to develop A Roadmap for Promoting Women’s Economic Empowerment.
The Women's Empowerment Principles offer guidance to companies on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community. They are the result of a collaboration between the the United Nations Global Compact and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and are adapted from the Calvert Women's Principles ®. The development of the Women's Empowerment Principles included an international multi-stakeholder consultation process, which began in March 2009 and culminated in a launch on International Women’s Day in March 2010.
In accordance with its multi-year programme of work for 2010-2014, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) consider ‘The empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges' as its priority theme during its fifty-sixth session in 2012. In order to contribute to a fuller understanding of the issue and to assist the Commission in its deliberations, UN Women in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) will convene an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on ‘Enabling rural women's economic empowerment: institutions, opportunities and participation' from 20-23 September 2011 in Accra, Ghana.
The World Survey on the Role of Women in Development is a UN Secretary-General report mandated by the Second Committee of the General Assembly and comes out every five years. The 2014 report focuses on gender equality and sustainable development, with chapters on the green economy and care work, food security, population dynamics, and investments for gender-responsive sustainable development. (3) UNDP Global Initiative on Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) was produced during GEPA Phase I. It reflects extensive research based on available national data, and provides analysis of the obstacles in the way of women’s equal participation and decision-making in public administration. Public administration is the bedrock of government and the central instrument through which national policies and programmes are implemented. In an ideal world, public administration is guided by principles of fairness, accountability, justice, equality and non-discrimination, and the civil service should serve as a model where women and men equally participate and lead, including in decision-making. Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality is a new UN Women initiative urging governments to make national commitments to ensure women and girls can reach their full potential by 2030.
Gender was in the spotlight at the 24th Session of the African Union Heads of States’ Summit held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 30-31 January, which focused on the “Year of Women's Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063”. Participating Heads of States adopted the African Union’s Agenda 2063 (a new roadmap for Africa’s long-term development that includes the need to place gender equality and equity at the centre of the continent’s social and economic development), as well as the “Addis Ababa Declaration on accelerating the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action towards a transformational change for women and girls in Africa” (the outcome document of the Beijing+20 regional review in November 2014) and a Communiqué on gender equality (drafted during a pre-summit stakeholders consultation). “Women must be at the centre and front of all our lives,” said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his opening speech. “I applaud your proposal at this summit: Women’s Empowerment and Development towards Africa’s Agenda 2063. Africa is home to Parliaments and Cabinets with the world’s highest percentage of women members.” However, he called for even quicker action, urging African States to make a deep and lasting difference to the lives of women and girls by 2020.