Women's Roundtable

The 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action remains a visionary agenda for the women’s empowerment, serving as the most comprehensive global policy framework, blueprint for action, and source of guidance and inspiration for realizing gender equality and the human rights of women and girls. Nearly 30 years after the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, the Declaration and Platform’s 12 key aspects of women’s empowerment and gender equality continue to remain strategically relevant.

As the international community approaches the next five-year review of progress towards its implementation at Beijing+30 in 2025, this roundtable will consider the opportunities and challenges facing women in cities and towns, with a focus on local-level action. Key topics include women’s access to funding at individual, business and organizational levels; the local prioritization of services essential for women, including adequate housing, health care and transportation; and women’s access to and participation in decision-making at the local level, both in leadership positions and in the context of community participation.  

Speakers will take stock of progress made in these thematic areas since Beijing+25 in 2020, situating this progress and remaining barriers in the context of the multiple crises we have collectively been experiencing since the start of the pandemic. They will share lessons and successes, offering recommendations for the next five years and considering the catalytic impact of a gender-responsive implementation of the New Urban Agenda.

The Roundtable will draw inspiration from the Women’s Assembly discussions, which align with the 12 critical areas of concern  outlined in the Beijing Declaration, building on these to formulate inputs into both the WUF Declaration and the Beijing+30 review process, including the national preparations for 2025.

The Women’s Roundtable will commence with high-level welcome speeches from senior government and United Nations officials, followed by two moderated panel discussions. A question-and-answer session will precede closing remarks, fostering an engaging and interactive environment.

Linkage with WUF12 theme

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action outlines 12 critical areas for concern: women and poverty; education and training of women; women and health; violence against women; women and armed conflict; women and the economy; women in power and decision-making; institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women; human rights of women; women and the media; women and the environment; the girl child. These areas of prioritization overlap substantially with the thematic focus of the WUF12 Dialogues. In particular, this Roundtable will address the themes of finance, housing, and collaboration, exploring ways to improve access to financing ensure adequate housing and build partnerships for empowering women at the local level.

Objectives

• Assess advancements and ongoing challenges in women's empowerment and gender equality at local and city levels since Beijing+25, particularly in the context of recent global crises.
• Explore strategies for enhancing women's access to essential services and participation in decision-making, focusing on local actions that align with the Beijing Declaration's goals.
• Develop recommendations to ensure that discussions of gender-responsive urban policies feature in the upcoming Beijing+30 review process.

Expected outcomes and impact of the session

• This event will assess the last five years of women’s empowerment and gender equality at the local and city levels, highlighting progress achieved, the challenges overcome, and the opportunities that remain.
• The event will emphasize the links between the New Urban Agenda and Beijing+30 broadly and in relation to the specific work of speakers and participants.
• The Roundtable will explore the key considerations we, as women’s rights and gender equality practitioners, advocates and activists, need to keep in mind as we prepare for the Beijing+30 discussions in March 2025. The focus will be on ensuring that all voices, especially those from the local level, are adequately represented in the discussions and the declaration.
• The Roundtable will generate key messages related to the importance of localizing women’s rights at city level, which will be carried forward to the Beijing+30 discussions.

UN Women, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action