In 1995, 189 governments unanimously adopted the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. It became the most comprehensive and visionary agenda ever for gender equality and the human rights of all women and girls, holding the key to more peaceful, prosperous and inclusive societies for everyone.
In 2025, the world celebrates 30 years of achievement on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a visionary 1995 plan agreed by 189 governments to achieve the equal rights of all women and girls.
The UN has released The 30-year review
The 30-year review and appraisal of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action reflects global, regional, and national reviews of 159 countries, summarizing progress and priorities for further action.
The Review finds that many countries have made strides on gender equality and women’s empowerment, from banning discrimination in employment to adopting gender-responsive climate action plans. Innovation is accelerating progress, and opportunities are opening to scale up proven strategies.
In knowing and pushing forward for progress, there is hope.
For 89 per cent of governments, ending violence against women is a top priority today, and 193 countries have legal measures against it.
Data shows that countries with domestic violence laws have seen less cases of violence against women.
Most of the world has reached parity in education. By bridging the gender gap in accessing and shaping science and technology, we clear the remaining bottlenecks to equal opportunities and create technology that serves more people and the planet.
More States have strengthened care services and 32 per cent of countries globally now promote better pay and safe working conditions for care workers.
There are 112 countries with a national plan to engage women in peace and security processes – a significant increase from 19 countries in 2010.
Yet gender discrimination remains deeply embedded in the structures of economies and societies. This sustains wide and unjust gaps in power and resources, imposing a chronic constraint on progress on women’s rights. The weakening of democratic institutions has gone hand in hand with backlash on gender equality. Anti-rights actors are actively undermining long-standing consensus on key women’s rights issues. Where they cannot roll back legal and policy gains altogether, they seek to block or slow their implementation. Almost one quarter of countries reported that backlash on gender equality is hampering implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action.
FIVE PRIORITIES TO MAKE FASTER GAINS AND PREPARE FOR AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE
The global progress review defined five cross-cutting recommendations fundamental to achieving the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for all women and girls:
1. CLOSE THE ACCOUNTABILITY GAP Fortify institutions to lead and coordinate policy action on gender equality, put gender at the centre of all policies and programmes and improve data to measure change.
2. ELEVATE WOMEN’S VOICES Achieve equal participation and influence in decision- making at all levels, including for marginalized groups of women and girls, and open and protect spaces for women’s groups to operate.
3. CLOSE THE FINANCING GAP Make catalytic investments through national measures, such as budgets aligned with gender equality and progressive taxation, and realign global financial systems based on equity and solidarity.
4. HARNESS TECHNOLOGY Close digital gender divides in access and benefits, ensure women and girls can lead the digital and artificial intelligence revolutions and mitigate the risks of technology-facilitated gender-based violence, privacy violations and bias.
5. SHOCK-PROOF SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Establish gender-inclusive crisis prevention and response to avoid sudden rollbacks on the rights of women and girls and prioritize gender equality in humanitarian action.
Download the UN Report:
Women’s rights in review 30 years after Beijing
Watch the Video
Source: UN-Women (United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women). 2025. Women’s Rights in Review 30 Years After Beijing. New York: UN-Women.
