Twenty Years After Beijing: Can Promises be Turned into Progress?

Twenty years since the landmark women’s conference at Beijing, and as the post-2015 agenda is concluded, it is clear that there has been a significant increase in rhetoric from governments and even some notable achievements in the field of women’s equality and rights.  But a failure to tackle underlying causes – particularly the persistent unequal power relations between women and men - has thwarted real, sustainable progress.  A report by the Gender and Development Network has identified four areas in need of far greater political focus and resources: working with marginalised women to build their own agency; supporting women’s collective action; promoting positive social norms; and reassessing macro-economic policies and the role of the care economy.