News

Following elections in 2020, the global proportion of women in parliament reached a record 25.5 per cent, representing an increase of 0.6 points compared with 2019, according to the IPU’s latest Women in Parliament report.

On Tuesday 16 February 2021, the Paris Hub of the International Gender Champions network proudly held its inaugural Champion-Level Event.

“…our point of departure is not that women are inherently ‘fair’ but that gender differences are rooted in culture and social structures. Thus, the gender factor should not be seen as a monolithic phenomenon, but rather as a hub for complex relationships.” (Stensöta/Wängnerud, 2018)

Anne-Sophie Lois, UN Representative in Geneva and New York for Plan International and member of the Global Board of IGC, recently conducted a workshop for the network on integrating an intersectional approach our IGC Commitments. In this interview, she shares her thoughts on the topic.

On 10 December 2020, the Trade Impact Group launched the publication “Delivering on the Buenos Aires declaration: On trade and women's economic empowerment”.

The latest #INTGenderChampions podcasts with UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya, Siddharth Chatterjee and Australian Ambassador Alison Chartres.

While 2020 has not been a typical year in almost any sense of the word, the IGC network is leaving it and entering 2021 with more wisdom, perspective, resilience and lessons learned. We encourage our community to translate our insights now into more ambitious and targeted, S.M.A.R.T. commitments and even more powerful initiatives for the coming year.

“The rights and needs of women and adolescent girls in emergencies are often overlooked, and COVID-19 has made matters worse, with rising intimate partner violence, sexual violence and child marriage”, said Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

The coronavirus crisis has fuelled greater wage inequality across the world, with women, migrants, young people and those working in the informal economy among the hardest hit, the International Labour Organization has warned.

The UN has allocated new funding for women-led initiatives that combat gender-based violence.

Gender Concerns International stands in solidarity with all of those who are addressing the issue of violence against women across the globe and supports the campaign Orange the World: #16 Days of Activism.

Mentoring and peer-peer support are well-established and powerful development tools. When used with a gender-responsive lens, they can be mobilised to support more women, diversity, and inclusion within organisations.