Former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf joined the release of the Beijing+25 ‘Accelerating Progress for Women and Girls’ report, which she helped develop alongside 24 other women leaders taking part in the initiative from around the globe.

The Beijing+25 Initiative was established by The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security (GIWPS) and The Rockefeller Foundation, in collaboration with former US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Its purpose is to provide a strategic review of the Beijing Declaration and make recommendations for a framework that could lead the way towards gender equality.

In 1995, the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women hosted 17,000 participants and 30,000 activists in Beijing, in one of the largest meetings ever held to promote women’s rights. The outcome of the conference was an action plan that aimed, “To advance goals of equality, development, and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of all humanity.” (Beijing Declaration, 1995). 

In the 25 years since the 1995 gathering, there has been significant improvement in the status of women around the world. However, there is still a long way to go. As emphasized by Madam Sirleaf in a recent interview with the Rockefeller Foundation, a clear action plan is needed to deliver real progress:

Madam Sirleaf and the other participants in the initiative worked to identify the largest gaps in progress on the Beijing Platform and the most promising opportunities to accelerate the closing of these gaps. Their goal was to create a new galvanizing call to action for the global community and to deliver on the promise of gender equality across all geographies and sectors. 

The ‘Accelerating Progress for Women and Girls’ report, published this week by The Rockefeller Foundation, addresses the most critical challenges currently faced by women and girls around the world as well as the key pillars for overcoming them and building back better.

Learn more about the initiative and read the full report here.