30 Years of Gender Equality: 1995-2025 | United Nations

In September 1995, governments

and civil society converged in Beijing

for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women,

the largest global gathering on women's rights to that point.

The Beijing Conference was historic because it saw these many years

of joint mobilizing transform

advocacy into an architecture.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for action, which governments and civil society

came together to co-create the most comprehensive framework

for gender equality to date.

And till this moment in time,

it remains a comprehensive blueprint for action for governments,

for civil society and for all stakeholders to achieve

gender equality in the world today.

The world today is more equal for women and girls

than it was in 1995.

In the intervening years, in most parts of the world.

women have won the right to vote, to study, to lead.

And as we stand today,

the world has adopted

more than 1,591 laws to achieve gender equality.

The proportion of women in parliament has more than doubled.

There are more girls in school than at any time in history,

and they are now more likely to complete school than ever before.

Maternal mortality has declined by nearly 40%

between 2000 and 2023.

Domestic violence has moved from the bedroom to the courtroom.

Most countries have banned discrimination in employment.

More countries than ever are considering the impact of environmental degradation

on women and girls, and reflecting gender equality in plans for climate action.

And yet,

as heads of state and government gather to commemorate

the 30th anniversary of this blueprint

for gender equality in the world,

1 in 3 women experience

physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

Female poverty has hovered at 10% since 2020.

If current trends continue,

the world will reach 2030

with 351 million

women and girls still living in extreme poverty.

Already, 676 million

women and girls live near conflict zones,

and 64 million more female adults

were moderately or severely food insecure

than men in 2024.

Climate change could push

as many as 158 million

more women into poverty by 2050,

nearly half in sub-Saharan Africa.

Generative AI could strip away

28% of women's jobs,

compared to 21% of men's,

with the deepest losses among

young uneducated women.

Over these 30 years,

the picture is clear:

when governments act,

when movements and civil society mobilize,

change happens.

When investment takes place in gender equality,

change happens.

Yet with all the evidence before us,

the world spends

$2.7 trillion on weapons

while coming up $420 billion

short on gender equality.

For this UN General Assembly

and the High-Level Meeting on Beijing + 30,

the outcome is not simply

a statement of intent.

It must be a blueprint for action

and governments, through the commitments that they are making, will ensure

that that action agenda brings to life

the aspirations of women and girls

and what they signed on to 30 years ago.