More than 230 million girls and women alive today have been subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM); an increase of 30 million or 15 per cent compared with figures from 2016, new UN estimates revealed on Friday 8th March 2024. Released on Friday, coinciding with International Women’s Day, the data compiled by UN Children’s Fund […]

The UN chief on Friday launched a plan to boost empowerment of women and girls around the world, unveiling details at a meeting commemorating International Women’s Day on the theme of investing in women and girls. “Equality is overdue; to achieve it, we must match rhetoric with resources,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “We must invest in […]

At the current rate of investment, more than 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030, according to UN Women. As the world celebrates International Women’s Day on 8 March by investing in women, we look at what needs to be done to improve the economic situation of women around the world. […]

Progress on women’s representation in national legislatures was “slow and mixed” in 2023, registering a growth of 0.4 per cent over the preceding year, the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) reported on Tuesday 5 march 2024. The global proportion of women in the world’s voting chambers inched up to 26.9 per cent on the back of […]

Workers worldwide look forward to payday. But while a paycheck may bring a sense of relief, satisfaction, or joy, it can also represent an injustice—a stark reminder of persistent inequalities between men and women in the workplace. The gender pay gap stands at 20 per cent, meaning women workers earn 80 per cent of what […]

This International Women’s Day, 8 March 2024, join the United Nations in celebrating under the theme Invest in women: Accelerate progress. The world is facing many crises, ranging from geopolitical conflicts to soaring poverty levels and the escalating impacts of climate change. These challenges can only be addressed by solutions that empower women. By investing […]

Investing in women benefits women and society as a whole. At the current rate of investments however, more than 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030. It has never been more urgent to advance women’s economic empowerment, as marked by the 2024 theme for International Women’s Day: “Invest in […]

Investing in women is both an economic imperative and a human rights issue. It is a human rights issue because the global economic and financial systems are complicit in perpetuating gender inequality.  At the same time, financial resources are required to overcome these challenges and build a world that enables all women to realize their […]

The impacts of crises are not gender-neutral. Protracted conflicts and the accelerating impacts of climate change have increased care demands on women and girls. When these demands grow, and public systems are unable to cope with increased pressure, women and girls absorb the bulk of care work.  Care work, a vital public good, underpins well-being […]

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN’s Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP) have launched a new series on maternal and newborn care for a positive postnatal care experience in BMJ Global Health with six articles presenting evidence on the importance of understanding women’s, parents’ and health workers’ perspectives and a rights-based approach to strengthen […]