UN Women
16 Jul 2025, 00:52 GMT+10
The Beijing Platform for Action was more than a conference outcome. It was a global consensus for change that called for governments to act decisively. It outlined 12 critical areas of concern: from education and health to violence and poverty; from governance and political voice to conflict and environmental destruction. Since 1995, feminists have used the Beijing Platform for Action to take gender equality from the margins to the center of policymaking. It is a universal agenda, for all countries, underpinned by an unwavering commitment to human rights.
Thirty years later, even as faith in multilateralism is waning, that call still resonates. More than 150 countries reported progress in implementing the Beijing Platform, proof of its continued relevance. Significant efforts have been made by governments in every region:
Despite these efforts, results have fallen short:
Most alarmingly, we are witnessing a dangerous global backlash against women’s rights, weaponizing misogyny as a political tool and choking the civic space where feminist voices once flourished. One in four governments say that backlash against gender equality is a barrier to their progress on implementing the Beijing Platform for Action.
This is no accident. It is a calculated strategy by some actors – in both governments and civil society – to undermine gender equality and erode democratic institutions. Traditionalist policies are being rebranded as “family values.” Women’s autonomy over their choices, bodies, and voice in both public and private spaces is under attack.
An economic system on track to create five trillionaires in the next decade is a major part of the problem. While billions of people in low and middle-income countries lack access to health, education, social benefits, and protection from the escalating climate emergency, a handful of individuals live in unimaginable opulence.
Achieving the gender-related SDGs targets would cost USD 420 billion annually – a small price to pay for a more just and equitable world. Mobilizing these resources means canceling unsustainable debt for poor countries, strengthening tax systems so the wealthiest people and corporations pay their fair share, and increasing development aid. Public resources need to be spent on fighting poverty, not fighting wars.
The 30th anniversary must not become a nostalgic celebration. It is a rallying cry for urgent recommitment and bold acceleration. It needs to be relevant for new generations of young feminists and activists. Fortunately, the tools for change already exist. We have an opportunity to build on the lessons of the past three decades. The Beijing+30 Action Agenda, defined through global consultation and based on evidence of what works, outlines six powerful levers to drive real progress:
A digital revolution: close the gender digital divide and empower women in the digital economy.Freedom from poverty: invest in public services and social protection to lift women and girls out of poverty.Zero violence: enforce and fund national action plans to end violence against women and girls.Full and equal decision-making power: use quotas and special measures to accelerate women’s leadership.Peace and security: fund women-led peacebuilding and crisis response.Climate justice: center women’s rights in environmental and biodiversity initiatives.We cannot afford to look away. As inequality grows, authoritarianism rises, and anti-rights rhetoric spreads, the international community must act with courage, unity, and urgency:
We are not starting from scratch. We have the frameworks, the data, the evidence, and the people power. The next five years are critical. Let us seize this moment to finish what the previous generation of feminists started in Beijing. We must reignite our collective commitment – and sustain it – to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, everywhere.
Laura Turquet is Deputy Chief of Research and Data at UN Women. She leads major research and data initiatives that inform the organization’s advocacy objectives and empower civil society and governments to seek and implement change, including three editions of Progress of the World’s Women and most recently Feminist Climate Justice: A Framework for Action.
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