Governments and organizations from around the world have committed more than $40 billion in new investments to accelerate gender equality and address the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for women and girls. 

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka announced these significant commitments during the Generation Equality Forum Opening Ceremony in Paris last week. The Forum brought together international government, business, and activist leaders to discuss and secure concrete measures to catalyze collective action in support of the rights of women and girls. 

The Forum was launched with the goal of reviewing the progress made in the 26 years since the United Nations (UN) Fourth World Conference on Women, where the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, “an agenda for women’s empowerment and… key global policy document on gender equality,” was unanimously adopted by all Member States. However, despite commitments made in 1995 to advance gender equality, progress and implementation have been slow. Today, according to UN Women, “not a single country can claim to have achieved gender equality.” 

To this end, a Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality was launched at the Generation Equality Forum. The Acceleration Plan is driven by six Action Coalitions—“multi-stakeholder partnerships that have identified the most critical actions required to achieve gender equality”—which center around themes including gender-based violence and economic justice. The Acceleration Plan aims to “deliver concrete progress on gender equality across generations to come for girls and women in all of their diversity.”

Speaking at the Forum’s Closing Ceremony, Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka remarked that a monumental moment for women and girls was coming to pass: 

“The Generation Equality Forum marks a positive, historic shift in power and perspective. Together we have mobilized across different sectors of society, from south to north, to become a formidable force, ready to open a new chapter in gender equality.”

The EJS Center is proud to support the Generation Equality Forum as a member of the UN Foundation’s Nest initiative. The Nest brings together networks of women leaders and male allies from across government, business, philanthropy, and more to work collaboratively and mobilize support around Generation Equality.

You can learn more about the Generation Equality Forum here.