It is the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the most comprehensive and progressive global blueprint for advancing gender equality and women’s rights. It came out of the 4th World Conference on Women in September 1995. An unprecedented 17,000 participants and 30,000 activists came to Beijing to engage in the dialogue and negotiations.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action has 12 areas of concern:

1. Women and poverty
2. Education and training of women
3. Women and health
4. Violence against women
5. Women and armed conflict
6. Women and the economy
7. Women in power and decision making
8. Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
9. Human rights of women
10. Women and the media
11. Women and the environment
12. The girl child

Every five years, countries must report on their progress on gender equality as it relates to these areas of concern. Our Director of Public Policy & Strategic Communications, Anjum Sultana, represented YWCA Canada and Canadian civil society organizations during the 2019 Beijing 25 Regional Review meetings in Geneva, Switzerland in the lead up to UNCSW 2020.

YWCA Canada contributed to Canada’s civil society parallel report – read our report to learn about Canada’s progress on advancing gender equality and women’s rights: https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/unfinished-business.

The Canadian government has also published its own report here in English and French.