GOAL OF THE MONTH \u2013 GOAL 5<\/span> \u2013 Gender Equality<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n___________\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Where We Are<\/strong><\/h3>\nGender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhile progress has been made towards gender equality in recent years \u2013 female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriages have both declined, and women\u2019s representation in political sphere is at an all-time high, we are not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAnd although women and girls make up half of the world\u2019s population, they still face legal, social and economic barriers that hinder their empowerment. Many women across the globe lack agency over their sexual and reproductive health, more than a third have been victims of physical and\/or sexual violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded persisting inequalities by disproportionally affecting women & girls. Gender equality is essential for healthy, sustainable, resilient societies and is a cross-cutting objective: by unleashing women and girls\u2019 untapped potential, we can make progress towards the other SDGs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWe can dismantle systemic barriers to gender equality with strong political leadership, policy reforms and targeted investments. Individual actions from girls, women, boys and men, will help us achieve gender equality: through promoting access to reproductive health services and funding education campaigns, embracing respectful relationships and addressing biases and detrimental associations, we can deliver equal opportunity for all, enable women and girls to reach their full potential, and leverage their transformative power for sustainable development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe <\/span>Commission on the Status of Women<\/a><\/span> (CSW) will meet for its 68<\/span>th<\/span> session on 11-22 March at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ headquarters in New York. As a functional commission of ECOSOC dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, CSW plays a crucial role in monitoring progress, promoting women’s rights, documenting challenges, and shaping global standards and policies to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nRead more about Goal 5: <\/span>https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/gender-equality\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n8 March | <\/span>I<\/span>NTERNATIONAL WOMEN\u2019S DAY<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/Screen-Shot-2024-03-01-at-12.24.00-PM-300x99.png\")
<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s <\/span>International Women\u2019s Day<\/a><\/span> shines a spotlight on gender investment. Financing is a key challenge for gender equality with a staggering USD 360 billion annual deficit persisting in spending on gender-equality measures, threatening women\u2019s and girls\u2019 rights across all aspects of life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women\u2019s call to \u201c<\/span>Invest in women: Accelerate progress<\/a><\/span>\u201d highlights the need for stable and sustained financing for Goal 5. It also feeds into broader conversations on financing for sustainable development:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- The <\/span>ECOSOC <\/span>Financing for Development Forum<\/a><\/span> (22-25 April), which will pave the way for the <\/span>Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development<\/a><\/span> in 2025.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- The upcoming Summit of the Future (22-23 September)\u2019s <\/span>Pact for the Future Zero Draft<\/a><\/span> reaffirms international commitments to gender equality and to ensuring sustainable financing for achieving the 2030 Agenda.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The o<\/span>fficial Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ International Women\u2019s Day commemoration <\/span>will be held in the ECOSOC Chamber and <\/span>live streamed <\/a><\/span>on 8 March 2024, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am ET.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe ‘We the Women<\/strong>‘ campaign will launch a Global Survey on International Women’s Day, collecting insights into the opinions and aspirations of thousands of women worldwide. The primary objective is to gain a comprehensive understanding of women’s perspectives on a variety of global issues and how the international community can address them.\u00a0 The key messages from the survey will be inputted into the Pact for the Future, to be adopted by Head of States and Governments at the United Nations during the September 2024 Summit of the Future. <\/span>The survey will be available <\/span>here<\/a><\/span> from 8 March.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe climate crisis does not affect everyone equally. Women and girls face disproportionate impacts<\/a><\/span>from climate change \u2014 largely because they make up the majority of the world\u2019s poor, who are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. Find out\u00a0why empowering women and girls is key to climate action: <\/span>https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/climatechange\/page\/why-women-are-key-climate-action<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nRead the opening remarks of Ms. Sima Bahous<\/strong>, <\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women, at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women Executive Board, First Regular Session 2024, where she covers past successes and priorities for the year ahead.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSpeech: Shared vision, effective collaboration, and unswerving determination<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nLearn more about gender equality through the first-person accounts of gender-based challenges, the stories of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women staff who fight for goal 5 every day, and the experts\u2019 perspective of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women\u2019s Editorial Series in the <\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women Editorial series.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/SG-photo-circle.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Half<\/span> of humanity <\/span>can\u2019t<\/span> wait centuries for their rights. We need equality now. That means accelerating the pace of progress. And that relies on political ambition, and on investment \u2013 the theme of this year\u2019s International Women\u2019s Day.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> \u2013 Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, <\/em>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General, March\u00a02024<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>SDG 5 IN NUMBERS<\/b><\/h3>\n\n- At the current rate, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to close gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws and 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership in the workplace.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Nearly 2.4 billion women globally don't have the same economic rights as men.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 178 countries maintain legal barriers that prevent women's full economic participation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Highlights<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>11-22 March | Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68, New York)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Commission on the Status of Women will convene this month for its annual two-week session. The priority theme for CSW68 is <\/span>Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. <\/span><\/i>Participants will also review social protection systems, sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women, and access to public services. With only 15% of Goal 5 indicators \u201con track\u201d for 2030, Member State representatives, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entities and ECOSOC-accredited NGOs will discuss progress and implementation gaps.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFollow the CSW68 <\/span>page<\/a><\/span> for updates on the agenda, side events and outcomes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Multimedia | Podcast\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nPress play to Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming\u2019s inspiring interview with Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), where she discusses her unique career path and the struggle of women in Syria.<\/span> Find out more<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>22 March | World Water Day<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe theme of this year\u2019s World Water Day is \u2018Water for Peace\u2019, shining a light on how water can spark tensions and conflict or, through cooperation, create a foundation for peaceful, harmonious, prosperous and resilient societies. <\/span>Learn more<\/a><\/span> about the link between water and peace and click <\/span>here<\/a><\/span> to find resources to participate in WWD 2024.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nA press briefing will take place at United Nations Headquarters on March 22<\/span>nd<\/span>, at 12:30pm EST (Room S-237). The briefing can also be followed live on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ WebTV<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>ACTNOW<\/span> for our Common Future<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/act-now-gender-equality-en-150x150.png\")
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nActNow is the United Nations campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals. Join the global movement for change!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nA<\/strong>c<\/strong>tions you can take on gender equality<\/span><\/b>:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nChallenge gender stereotypes at home and at your work place; Support women\u2019s empowerment initiatives; Advocate for policy change \u2013 make sure your voice is heard and vote for candidates that support the rights of women and girls.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Where We Are<\/strong><\/h3>\nGender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhile progress has been made towards gender equality in recent years \u2013 female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriages have both declined, and women\u2019s representation in political sphere is at an all-time high, we are not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAnd although women and girls make up half of the world\u2019s population, they still face legal, social and economic barriers that hinder their empowerment. Many women across the globe lack agency over their sexual and reproductive health, more than a third have been victims of physical and\/or sexual violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded persisting inequalities by disproportionally affecting women & girls. Gender equality is essential for healthy, sustainable, resilient societies and is a cross-cutting objective: by unleashing women and girls\u2019 untapped potential, we can make progress towards the other SDGs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWe can dismantle systemic barriers to gender equality with strong political leadership, policy reforms and targeted investments. Individual actions from girls, women, boys and men, will help us achieve gender equality: through promoting access to reproductive health services and funding education campaigns, embracing respectful relationships and addressing biases and detrimental associations, we can deliver equal opportunity for all, enable women and girls to reach their full potential, and leverage their transformative power for sustainable development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe <\/span>Commission on the Status of Women<\/a><\/span> (CSW) will meet for its 68<\/span>th<\/span> session on 11-22 March at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ headquarters in New York. As a functional commission of ECOSOC dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, CSW plays a crucial role in monitoring progress, promoting women’s rights, documenting challenges, and shaping global standards and policies to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nRead more about Goal 5: <\/span>https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/gender-equality\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n8 March | <\/span>I<\/span>NTERNATIONAL WOMEN\u2019S DAY<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s <\/span>International Women\u2019s Day<\/a><\/span> shines a spotlight on gender investment. Financing is a key challenge for gender equality with a staggering USD 360 billion annual deficit persisting in spending on gender-equality measures, threatening women\u2019s and girls\u2019 rights across all aspects of life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nÄ¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women\u2019s call to \u201c<\/span>Invest in women: Accelerate progress<\/a><\/span>\u201d highlights the need for stable and sustained financing for Goal 5. It also feeds into broader conversations on financing for sustainable development:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n- The <\/span>ECOSOC <\/span>Financing for Development Forum<\/a><\/span> (22-25 April), which will pave the way for the <\/span>Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development<\/a><\/span> in 2025.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- The upcoming Summit of the Future (22-23 September)\u2019s <\/span>Pact for the Future Zero Draft<\/a><\/span> reaffirms international commitments to gender equality and to ensuring sustainable financing for achieving the 2030 Agenda.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The o<\/span>fficial Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ International Women\u2019s Day commemoration <\/span>will be held in the ECOSOC Chamber and <\/span>live streamed <\/a><\/span>on 8 March 2024, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am ET.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe ‘We the Women<\/strong>‘ campaign will launch a Global Survey on International Women’s Day, collecting insights into the opinions and aspirations of thousands of women worldwide. The primary objective is to gain a comprehensive understanding of women’s perspectives on a variety of global issues and how the international community can address them.\u00a0 The key messages from the survey will be inputted into the Pact for the Future, to be adopted by Head of States and Governments at the United Nations during the September 2024 Summit of the Future. <\/span>The survey will be available <\/span>here<\/a><\/span> from 8 March.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe climate crisis does not affect everyone equally. Women and girls face disproportionate impacts<\/a><\/span>from climate change \u2014 largely because they make up the majority of the world\u2019s poor, who are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. Find out\u00a0why empowering women and girls is key to climate action: <\/span>https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/climatechange\/page\/why-women-are-key-climate-action<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nRead the opening remarks of Ms. Sima Bahous<\/strong>, <\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women, at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women Executive Board, First Regular Session 2024, where she covers past successes and priorities for the year ahead.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSpeech: Shared vision, effective collaboration, and unswerving determination<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\nLearn more about gender equality through the first-person accounts of gender-based challenges, the stories of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women staff who fight for goal 5 every day, and the experts\u2019 perspective of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women\u2019s Editorial Series in the <\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women Editorial series.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Half<\/span> of humanity <\/span>can\u2019t<\/span> wait centuries for their rights. We need equality now. That means accelerating the pace of progress. And that relies on political ambition, and on investment \u2013 the theme of this year\u2019s International Women\u2019s Day.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> \u2013 Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, <\/em>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General, March\u00a02024<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>SDG 5 IN NUMBERS<\/b><\/h3>\n\n- At the current rate, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to close gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws and 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership in the workplace.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- Nearly 2.4 billion women globally don't have the same economic rights as men.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
- 178 countries maintain legal barriers that prevent women's full economic participation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
Highlights<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>11-22 March | Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68, New York)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe Commission on the Status of Women will convene this month for its annual two-week session. The priority theme for CSW68 is <\/span>Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. <\/span><\/i>Participants will also review social protection systems, sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women, and access to public services. With only 15% of Goal 5 indicators \u201con track\u201d for 2030, Member State representatives, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entities and ECOSOC-accredited NGOs will discuss progress and implementation gaps.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFollow the CSW68 <\/span>page<\/a><\/span> for updates on the agenda, side events and outcomes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Multimedia | Podcast\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nPress play to Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming\u2019s inspiring interview with Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), where she discusses her unique career path and the struggle of women in Syria.<\/span> Find out more<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>22 March | World Water Day<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\nThe theme of this year\u2019s World Water Day is \u2018Water for Peace\u2019, shining a light on how water can spark tensions and conflict or, through cooperation, create a foundation for peaceful, harmonious, prosperous and resilient societies. <\/span>Learn more<\/a><\/span> about the link between water and peace and click <\/span>here<\/a><\/span> to find resources to participate in WWD 2024.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nA press briefing will take place at United Nations Headquarters on March 22<\/span>nd<\/span>, at 12:30pm EST (Room S-237). The briefing can also be followed live on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ WebTV<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>ACTNOW<\/span> for our Common Future<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nActNow is the United Nations campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals. Join the global movement for change!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nA<\/strong>c<\/strong>tions you can take on gender equality<\/span><\/b>:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nChallenge gender stereotypes at home and at your work place; Support women\u2019s empowerment initiatives; Advocate for policy change \u2013 make sure your voice is heard and vote for candidates that support the rights of women and girls.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
While progress has been made towards gender equality in recent years \u2013 female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriages have both declined, and women\u2019s representation in political sphere is at an all-time high, we are not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n And although women and girls make up half of the world\u2019s population, they still face legal, social and economic barriers that hinder their empowerment. Many women across the globe lack agency over their sexual and reproductive health, more than a third have been victims of physical and\/or sexual violence, and the COVID-19 pandemic has compounded persisting inequalities by disproportionally affecting women & girls. Gender equality is essential for healthy, sustainable, resilient societies and is a cross-cutting objective: by unleashing women and girls\u2019 untapped potential, we can make progress towards the other SDGs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We can dismantle systemic barriers to gender equality with strong political leadership, policy reforms and targeted investments. Individual actions from girls, women, boys and men, will help us achieve gender equality: through promoting access to reproductive health services and funding education campaigns, embracing respectful relationships and addressing biases and detrimental associations, we can deliver equal opportunity for all, enable women and girls to reach their full potential, and leverage their transformative power for sustainable development.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The <\/span>Commission on the Status of Women<\/a><\/span> (CSW) will meet for its 68<\/span>th<\/span> session on 11-22 March at Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ headquarters in New York. As a functional commission of ECOSOC dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women, CSW plays a crucial role in monitoring progress, promoting women’s rights, documenting challenges, and shaping global standards and policies to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Read more about Goal 5: <\/span>https:\/\/www.un.org\/sustainabledevelopment\/gender-equality\/<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 8 March | <\/span>I<\/span>NTERNATIONAL WOMEN\u2019S DAY<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This year\u2019s <\/span>International Women\u2019s Day<\/a><\/span> shines a spotlight on gender investment. Financing is a key challenge for gender equality with a staggering USD 360 billion annual deficit persisting in spending on gender-equality measures, threatening women\u2019s and girls\u2019 rights across all aspects of life.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women\u2019s call to \u201c<\/span>Invest in women: Accelerate progress<\/a><\/span>\u201d highlights the need for stable and sustained financing for Goal 5. It also feeds into broader conversations on financing for sustainable development:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The o<\/span>fficial Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ International Women\u2019s Day commemoration <\/span>will be held in the ECOSOC Chamber and <\/span>live streamed <\/a><\/span>on 8 March 2024, from 10:00 am to 11:30 am ET.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The ‘We the Women<\/strong>‘ campaign will launch a Global Survey on International Women’s Day, collecting insights into the opinions and aspirations of thousands of women worldwide. The primary objective is to gain a comprehensive understanding of women’s perspectives on a variety of global issues and how the international community can address them.\u00a0 The key messages from the survey will be inputted into the Pact for the Future, to be adopted by Head of States and Governments at the United Nations during the September 2024 Summit of the Future. <\/span>The survey will be available <\/span>here<\/a><\/span> from 8 March.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The climate crisis does not affect everyone equally. Women and girls face disproportionate impacts<\/a><\/span>from climate change \u2014 largely because they make up the majority of the world\u2019s poor, who are highly dependent on local natural resources for their livelihood. Find out\u00a0why empowering women and girls is key to climate action: <\/span>https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/climatechange\/page\/why-women-are-key-climate-action<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Read the opening remarks of Ms. Sima Bahous<\/strong>, <\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women, at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women Executive Board, First Regular Session 2024, where she covers past successes and priorities for the year ahead.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Speech: Shared vision, effective collaboration, and unswerving determination<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Learn more about gender equality through the first-person accounts of gender-based challenges, the stories of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women staff who fight for goal 5 every day, and the experts\u2019 perspective of Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women\u2019s Editorial Series in the <\/span>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Women Editorial series.<\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> \u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/span>Half<\/span> of humanity <\/span>can\u2019t<\/span> wait centuries for their rights. We need equality now. That means accelerating the pace of progress. And that relies on political ambition, and on investment \u2013 the theme of this year\u2019s International Women\u2019s Day.<\/span>\u201d<\/span> \u2013 Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, <\/em>Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secretary-General, March\u00a02024<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> 11-22 March | Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68, New York)\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The Commission on the Status of Women will convene this month for its annual two-week session. The priority theme for CSW68 is <\/span>Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective. <\/span><\/i>Participants will also review social protection systems, sustainable infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women, and access to public services. With only 15% of Goal 5 indicators \u201con track\u201d for 2030, Member State representatives, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ entities and ECOSOC-accredited NGOs will discuss progress and implementation gaps.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Follow the CSW68 <\/span>page<\/a><\/span> for updates on the agenda, side events and outcomes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> Multimedia | Podcast\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Press play to Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming\u2019s inspiring interview with Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head of the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM), where she discusses her unique career path and the struggle of women in Syria.<\/span> Find out more<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> 22 March | World Water Day<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The theme of this year\u2019s World Water Day is \u2018Water for Peace\u2019, shining a light on how water can spark tensions and conflict or, through cooperation, create a foundation for peaceful, harmonious, prosperous and resilient societies. <\/span>Learn more<\/a><\/span> about the link between water and peace and click <\/span>here<\/a><\/span> to find resources to participate in WWD 2024.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A press briefing will take place at United Nations Headquarters on March 22<\/span>nd<\/span>, at 12:30pm EST (Room S-237). The briefing can also be followed live on Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ WebTV<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> ActNow is the United Nations campaign to inspire people to act for the Sustainable Development Goals. Join the global movement for change!\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A<\/strong>c<\/strong>tions you can take on gender equality<\/span><\/b>:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Challenge gender stereotypes at home and at your work place; Support women\u2019s empowerment initiatives; Advocate for policy change \u2013 make sure your voice is heard and vote for candidates that support the rights of women and girls.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n<\/p>\nSDG 5 IN NUMBERS<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n
Highlights<\/b><\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>
ACTNOW<\/span> for our Common Future<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n