"Holding up half the sky."

The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women was held in September 1995 and was attended by over 25 women from Alaska. They returned with a desire to carry out the Platform for Action in their own communities and state. Many of those women were instrumental in the founding of the Alaska Women's Network. Our website is organized around the action items in the Platform.

The UN Conference on Women was the largest meeting ever convened by the United Nations. There were 17,000 registrants, including 5,000 delegates from 189 states and the European Union, 4,000 representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and more than 3,200 members of the media.

The related NGO Forum on Women, held in nearby Huairou, drew nearly 30,000 people, mostly women. The Forum had two goals: to influence the Platform for Action that UN member states adopted in Beijing and to hold a substantive and celebratory Forum highlighting women's vision and strategy for the world in the 21st century.

RECOMMENDED PLATFORM FOR ACTION

1. The burden of poverty on women

2. Equal access to education and training

3. Health care and related services

4. Violence against women

5. The effects of armed or other conflicts on women

6. Inequality in economic structures and policies

7. Power sharing and decision-making

8. Mechanisms to promote women's advancement

9. Human rights of women

10. The role of the media

11. The environment

12. The rights of the girl child

5th Worldwide Women’s Conference

The purpose of this interactive website is to create groundswell support for a 5th United Nations International Conference on Women that, in turn, will be an influence on the decision-makers at the United Nations. UN sponsorship makes it possible for women in many countries to obtain government support and visas, without which they would not be able to attend. The last conference held in 1995 in Beijing drew 50,000 participants. Now at the beginning of the 21st century with the state of the world as it is, it is a crucial time for women to come together to make a difference. This conference would be the first since the Internet made worldwide communication easy, and would likely be the largest and most effective gathering of women ever held.



Linked globally by our interactive website, we invite women to demonstrate their courage to risk leaving old conformities by joining with millions of others throughout the world to celebrate women's true worth, to express shared concern for our human family, and to create and support actions that will enable humanity to live together in a balanced, harmonious and peaceful world. (From GTW’s vision statement). Gather the Women is organizing women’s congresses on six continents in 2006 and 2007 Complete information is on the Gather the Women website.

Millennium Declaration

This site is a collaborative effort of the UN Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, the OECD/DAC Network on Gender Equality, and the Multilateral Development Bank Working Group on Gender.

The Millennium Development Goals

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

2. Achieve universal primary education

3. Promote gender equality and empower women

4. Reduce child mortality

5. Improve maternal health

6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

7. Ensure environmental sustainability

8. Develop a global partnership for development

In September 2000, world leaders agreed upon the Millennium Declaration, which distills the key goals and targets agreed to at international conferences and world summits during the 1990s. Drawing on the Declaration, the UN System, World Bank and OECD drew up a set of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) with associated targets and indicators. By the year 2015, all 191 United Nations Member States have pledged to meet the MDGs.

No Progress Without Gender Equality
While Goal 3 reaffirms an international commitment to gender equality, the targets and indicators linked this goal are narrowly defined. But gender equality applies to all the Goals.

Women disproportionately suffer the burden of poverty, are the primary agents of child welfare, are the victims of widespread and persistent discrimination in all areas of life, and put their lives at risk every time they become pregnant. They are increasingly susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other major diseases, play an indispensable role in the management of natural resources, and have the right to gain as much as men from the benefits brought by globalisation.

Recognising women’s contributions and realising and protecting their rights thus impacts across all eight of the MDGs. Failure to address these concerns will lead to failure in achieving the MDGs themselves. Upholding the rights of women brings widespread benefits to everyone. And the links in respect of the MDGs are broad, not narrow.

Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) English
The Office of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI) is headed by the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women and comprises a Principal Social Affairs Office in charge of Gender Mainstreaming and the Focal Point for Women in the Secretariat. The Office's main objective is to promote and strengthen the effective implementation of the Millennium Declaration, the Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women (FWCW) held in Beijing in 1995 and the Outcome Document of the special session of the General Assembly on Beijing+5.

WomenWatch is a central gateway to information and resources on the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women throughout the United Nations system, including the United Nations Secretariat, regional commissions, funds, programs, specialized agencies and academic and research institutions.


Women's E News An international news agency about the women in our world, with features on money, politics, health, support and other women's interests.

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Updated June 1, 2008
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