Position Statement on Advancing Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at CSW69

Background

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA), a landmark framework adopted by 189 countries in 1995 to advance gender equality and the economic empowerment of women and girls globally. As part of this milestone, the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69) is convening in New York from 10^th-21 March 2025 to review and appraise the progress in implementing the BPfA.

The UN Secretary-General’s report on the 30-year review of the BPfA, based on global, regional, and national reviews from 159 countries, highlights notable strides in gender equality—ranging from increased access to education for girls to a decline in gender-based violence. However, gender discrimination remains deeply entrenched in all economies and societies, imposing chronic constraints on rights, opportunities and hopes of women and girls. Alarmingly, today there is a growing resistance, regression, and pushback against gender equality worldwide. Where anti-rights actors cannot reverse legal and policy gains, they often obstruct or slow their implementation.

Despite some progress, critical areas such as women’s participation in environmental governance and sustainability, gender-responsive disaster risk reduction, and financial and digital inclusion remain largely neglected. Meanwhile, the climate crisis is worsening, with 54% of countries citing it as a major obstacle to further progress on implementation of BPfA.

According to the Africa regional review of BPfA, women enjoy barely half the social, economic, and political opportunities available to men. They continue to bear the brunt of climate change impacts which are exacerbated by poverty, high cost of living, conflicts, agricultural related livelihoods, land ownership challenges, lack of social protection, low access to time consuming technologies and their role as care givers. Women spend 75% of their time on unpaid work compared to 24.2% for men.

Several barriers continue to hinder gender equality in climate action and disaster resilience. These includes women’s underrepresentation in decision-making, lack of sex disaggregated data, weak institutional frameworks, inadequate implementation of gender-responsive policies, cultural barriers, and inadequate funding for gender-responsive initiatives. Currently, only 1% of the total Official Development assistant is specifically funding women projects. At this pace it will take the world 134 years to achieve gender parity. However, it doesn’t have to take that long. Achieving equal world is still within the reach if we make the right decision now and accelerate our actions.

Key recommendation

To accelerate progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, we propose the following policy recommendations:

1. Ensure Women’s leadership and Participation in Climate Governance
   Governments must institutionalize women and girls’ participation in all decision making at national, regional, and international levels. Establish and enforce gender quotas, and support women-led initiatives in environmental management, climate resilience, peace processes and disaster risk reduction.

2. Close the Gender and Climate Finance Gap
   Increase financial investments in women-led climate projects through national budgets aligned with gender equality, progressive taxation, and a reformed global financial architecture rooted in equity and solidarity. Expand access to climate finance for women’s enterprises, cooperatives, and grassroots organizations.

3. Promote inclusive and gender- informed climate actions and policies
   Women and girls must be at the Centre of identification, implementation and monitoring of climate policies, legislations and projects such as the Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans and disaster risk reduction.

4. Strengthen Institutional Frameworks for Gender-Responsive Climate Action
   Africa governments should enhance coordination and accountability between gender and climate ministries to mainstream gender in climate policies and all other sectors. Implement capacity-building initiatives to address cultural and social norms that negatively impact gender dynamics within government and other institutions involved in climate policy and climate action.

5. Advance Women’s Land and Resource Rights
   Enforce legal and policy measures that guarantee women’s equal rights to access, use, and control over land, water, and other productive resources. Address barriers such as discriminatory inheritance laws and cultural practices that limit women’s ownership of land.

5. Address Structural Barriers to Gender Equality in Climate Action and all spheres of life
   The governments must commit to dismantling the legal, social, political and economic barriers that prevent women and girls from having equal rights and opportunities in life. Recognize and value unpaid Care Work by Implementing policies that acknowledge, reduce, and redistribute unpaid care responsibilities, such as investing in affordable childcare services, time saving technologies and promoting shared domestic responsibilities.

7. Foster Partnerships for Gender-Responsive Climate Action
   Strengthen collaboration among governments, civil society organizations, women’s groups, private sector actors, and research institutions to leverage resources, expertise, and networks for gender-integrated climate solutions.

8. Harness Technology to Bridge the Digital Gender Divide
   Invest in digital literacy programs for women and girls, particularly in rural areas, to enhance access to technology and innovation.

9. Improve Gender-Responsive Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies
   Integrate gender considerations into environmental policies and disaster resilience planning. Prioritize women’s unique vulnerabilities to climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters by ensuring access to climate adaptation resources, social protection, and early warning systems.

10. Increase Data Collection and Accountability for Gender Equality in Climate Action
    Strengthen the evidence base by improving data collection and analysis on the gendered impacts of climate change. Invest in climate related sex-disaggregated data to track progress, inform policies, and measure the effectiveness of gender-responsive climate strategies.