Gender Equality + The Division for Gender Equality (GE), located within the Office of the Director-General (ODG), is responsible for ensuring the implementation of UNESCO’s global priority, which is the "Priority Gender Equality Action Plan for 2008-2013". This work is supported by a two-pronged approach involving both gender-specific programmes and gender mainstreaming within UNESCO’s five Major Programmes (i.e. Education, Natural Sciences, Social and Human Sciences, Communication and Culture), intersectoral platforms and thematic areas of focus such as HIV and AIDS and climate change. For more information on the mandate of the Division, click here Click here to watch the Division for Gender Equality’s video: UNESCO Promotes Gender Equality Click here to take the Gender Equality Quiz - Test Your Knowledge

 

News

UNESCO celebrates International Women's Day 2011 - (ODG/GE) The Division for Gender Equality of the Office of the Director-General, is organizing a series of events, in collaboration with a diverse range of partners, to celebrate International Women's Day 2011.

55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women - (ODG/GE) Panel II Key policy initiatives and capacity-building on gender mainstreaming: Focus on education and training.

55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women - (ODG/GE) IPU – UN Women Parliamentary Meeting at CSW Theme 1: Girls’ education- a prerequisite to access to science and technology

Press Conference for Millenia 2015 - (ODG/GE) Press Conference on the occasion of the launch of the international Conference "Millennia 2015, an action plan for women's empowerment" which will be organized at the end of 2011.

Conference : Water, women and sustainable development in Africa - (ODG/GE) Within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, "Conference : Water, women and sustainable development in Africa" organized by UNESCO in cooperation with the French association « Femmes de Demain » and the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). It will take place at UNESCO Headquarters on 25 November 2010 from 9.00 am to 5.30 pm in Room II.

Conference and film projection : "Voices on the rise : Afghan Women Making the News” - () Within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Conference "Voices on the rise : Afghan Women Making the News” and projection of the film "Girls on the air", with the presence of Ms Humaira Habib, Head of a Women's Community Radio Station in Afghanistan "radio Sahar" in the Herat Province, Afghanistan and Ms Horia Mosadiq, Afghan researcher for Amnesty International. It will take place on 22 November 2010 - UNESCO HQ, Room II, from 4.30 pm to 7.00 pm.

Brochure Gender Dimensions of Biodiversity - (ODG/GE) Brochure on the UNESCO Round Table on the Gender Dimensions of Biodiversity organized within the framework of the International Year of Biodiversity 2010.

Conference "Under the wings of butterflies", Photos exhibition and Projection preview of the film "Tropico de Sangre" - (ODG/GE) Organized within the framework of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), these events will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of the Mirabal sisters.

The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics - () The World’s Women 2010: Trends and Statistics is the fifth issue of The World’s Women and is being produced to coincide with the first-ever World’s Statistics Day, 20.10.2010.

Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society - Global Meeting - (ODG/GE) This 6th Edition under the theme "Change: Make it happen" will gather 1200 participants from more than 70 countries. Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO will speak as an expert commentator on the topic "Women's Voices on the Economy and Society" on 16 October. She will be accompanied by Ms. Gülser Corat, Director of the Division for Gender Equality.

Expert group meeting (EGM) ‘Gender, science and technology’ - () In accordance with its multi-year programme of work for 2010-2014, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will consider ‘Access and participation of women and girls to education, training, science and technology, including for the promotion of women’s equal access to full employment and decent work’ as its priority theme during its fifty-fifth session in 2011 (video online)

Appointment of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, as the head of UN Women. - (UN) UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has announced the appointment of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, as the head of UN Women.

Proceedings of the UNESCO Future Forum on Gender Equality: The Missing Link? - (UNESCO-BSP) Proceedings of the UNESCO Future Forum on Gender Equality: The Missing Link? Rethinking the Internationally Agreed Development Goals beyond 2015, 9-11 September 2010, Athens, Greece

2010 Global Education Digest (in English only) - (UNESCO Institute for Statistics) The 2010 Global Education Digest, focuses on gender and education to mark the 15th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women.

UNESCO Future Forum "UN Women: The New UN Framework for Gender Equality" - (BSP/FOR) UN WOMEN: THE NEW UN FRAMEWORK FOR GENDER EQUALITY 13 September 2010 - 3 p.m to 5 p.m UNESCO Headquarters (Room IX)

UNESCO Future Forum : Gender Equality: the Missing Link? - (BSP/FOR) Gender Equality: the Missing Link? Rethinking the Internationally Agreed Development Goals Beyond 2015 9-11 September 2010 Athens, Greece

UN WOMEN - (UN) United Nations, New York, 2 July 2010 In an historic move, the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously today to create a new entity to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide.

Heads of UNESCO and UNICEF hosted breakfast meeting on women’s and girls’ education - (ED) “Women’s and Girls’ Education: A Development Imperative” is the theme of a ministerial roundtable breakfast meeting co-hosted by UNESCO’s Director-General and UNICEF’s Executive-Director and which took place on 30 June at the UN, New York.

Launch of the Girl Up new website - (ODG/GE) On June 1st, the new and expanded Girl Up website has been launched. The UN Foundation’s new public campaign has been created to foster popular interest in the potential of adolescent girls in the developing world.

12th session - UNESCO Forum on Gender Equality - (ODG/GE) Tuesday 18 May 2010, Room IX, 4 - 6 pm "So Close And Yet So Far. Quebec As A Province Of France In The Work Of Anne Hébert" by Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, biographer and novelist with the participation of Micheline Cambron, Professor, Université de Montréal, Chair.

UNESCO holds session on Gender and ICT at WSIS Forum 2010 - (ODG/GE) The UNESCO interactive session on Gender and ICT is taking place today at the WSIS Forum 2010 in Geneva, Switzerland. Organized in the framework of UNESCO’s commitment to promote women’s empowerment, the session will measure the progress made in gender equality since 2005.

UNESCO celebrates International Women's Day 2010 - 8 to 19 March 2010 - (BSP/GE) The Division for Gender Equality of the Bureau of Strategic Planning is organizing a series of events, in collaboration with a diverse range of partners, to celebrate International Women's Day. Events in Paris will run from 8 to 19 March 2010. You will find hereafter, the debates of the Round Table Beijing + 15. Link to the debates of the Round Table.

UNESCO Director-General signs UN Joint Statement to promote the rights of marginalized adolescent girls - (BSP/GE) The Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova, signed the UN Joint Statement on "Accelerating Efforts to Advance the Rights of Adolescent Girls". The other signatories are the Executive Heads of UNFPA, UNICEF, UNIFEM, ILO and WHO. The statement was launched on 3 March 2010 in New York, during the 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women, celebrating the 15th Anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action.

Preliminary Conclusions of Beijing+15 Online Discussion on "Gender Equality, Education and Training" - (ODG/GE) Preliminary conclusions on UNESCO's online discussion on "Gender Equality, Education and Training" held from 10 January to 7 February 2010 are now available.

Next phase of online discussion launched: Transformative policies and initiatives: promoting gender equality in all spheres of life” - (BSP/GE) UNESCO is prolonging its Beijing +15 online discussion until September 2010. The discussion will broaden the scope of debate, looking at “Transformative policies and initiatives: promoting gender equality in all spheres of life”. Participants will be asked to share their perspectives and expertise on policies, interventions and programmes aiming to advance gender equality in all spheres from economics, politics, and education, to culture and society.

Side-event , conference on “Gender and Biodiversity" - (BSP/GE) 27 January 2010 from 1 pm to 2.30 pm, Room XI Live webcast via this website. UNESCO’s Division of Ecological and Earth Sciences in the Natural Sciences Sector and UNESCO’s Division for Gender Equality in the Bureau of Strategic Planning are organizing a side-event dedicated to the theme “Gender and Biodiversity” as part of the UNESCO International Year of Biodiversity Science-Policy Conference.

Online discussion on Gender equality, Education and Training - 10 January to 7 February 2010 - (ODG/GE) UNESCO is organizing an online discussion on Gender equality, Education and Training as part of the 15-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action. Each week, the interactive forum will explore and analyze emerging developments, challenges and policy issues related to this important area of gender equality. Participation is welcome from all individuals, networks and organizations interested in this critical area of concern.

Gender and Climate Forum - (BSP/GE) Gender and Climate : Is Climate Change Gender-Neutral ? To address this issue, UNESCO's Divsion for Gender Equality, assisted by the Natural Sciences Sector, organized the "Gender and Climate Forum" as part of the World Climate Conference-3 on 1st September 2009.

Priority Gender Equality : Action Plan 2008-2013 - (BSP/GE) In UNESCO's Medium-Term Strategy 2008-2013, gender equality has been designated as one of the Organization's two global priorities. This priority is supported by a dual approach which consists of gender mainstreaming and gender-specific programming.

Announcing The Fourth Wave : a New Online Forum on AIDS and Gender - () In the third decade of the HIV and AIDS epidemic, women and particularly young women and girls have become a growing proportion of those affected and infected. The SSRC, UNESCO and UNIFEM announce the launch of a new online forum, the "Fourth Wave": Violence, Gender, Culture & HIV in the 21st Century, to discuss the gendered structural inequalities that have a direct bearing on women's and girls' vulnerability to HIV.

Announcement: World Climate Conference-3 - (BSP/GE) Within the framework of the World Climate Conference-3, UNESCO’s Division for Gender Equality, Bureau of Strategic Planning, assisted by the Science Sector, are organizing, in collaboration with FAO, WMO, GGCA (Global Gender and Climate Alliance), UNDP, IUCN and UNEP, the “Gender and Climate Forum”.

UNESCO Future Forum: “The Potential Impact of the Global Financial and Economic Crisis on Women and Gender Equality” - (BSP/GE) The UNESCO Future Forum was held on 2 March 2009 at UNESCO Headquarters to reflect on the ramifications of the present financial and economic crisis and their implications for international cooperation in general and in particular for UNESCO’s domains, namely education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

Action Agenda on Caregiving in the Context of HIV and AIDS - (BSP/GE) UNESCO is co-organising with six other agencies the 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women 2–13 March 2009.

Billie Jean King named “Global Mentor for Gender Equality” - (UNESCO Press Release No.2008-114) Paris, 06 November 2008 – The Director-General of UNESCO Koïchiro Matsuura today named U.S. tennis legend Billie Jean King “Global Mentor for Gender Equality” within the framework of UNESCO’s partnership with the Sony Ericsson Women’s Tennis Association Tour. The naming ceremony took place in Doha, capital of Qatar, with Assistant Director-General for Strategic Planning Hans d’Orville representing the Director-General of UNESCO. Watch the video message by UNESCO’s Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, on the nomination of Ms King as Global Mentor for Gender Equality.

UNESCO Forum on Gender Equality - (BSP/GE) Held on a regular basis, the UNESCO Forum on Gender Equality series is organized by the Division for Gender Equality of the Bureau of Strategic Planning. The seminars focus on the achievements and challenges in the field of gender equality within UNESCO’s five fields of competence. The objective is to raise awareness of the Priority Gender Equality and to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality.