Gender Equality on the UN Agenda and the 75th Anniversary of the Universal Organization

The 2020 is rich in anniversaries: the world community celebrates the 75th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) and the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, a mass meeting of more than five thousand participants in Beijing in 1995. A three-day special event is planned during the September Session of the UN General Assembly in New York (2020), dedicated to the celebration of “Beijing Plus 25”. At these meetings governments from around the world are expected to commit to speeding up and scaling up the promises made in the historic Beijing Platform for Action. And the last 2019 was marked by the fortieth anniversary of the most important document in the field of gender equality – the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women – CEDAW, which is rightfully widely known in the world as “The Bill on the Rights of Women” (1979). Anniversary dates increase motivation to comprehend the role and place of events and phenomena associated with them. Moreover, the UN theme and gender equality is a hot topic, which is due to two main circumstances.  On the one hand, the UN is a unique global organization that has a significant impact on international processes. On the other hand, the problem of gender equality is the basis of social stability, a condition for development and an instrument for creating the quality of life. Bridging the gender gap in all areas of life is vital to achieving sustainable development and fulfilling the promise of the 2030 Agenda. To achieve the sustainable development goals, it is necessary to ensure full and equal access for and participation in women and girls. Despite progress, women and girls are still systematically underrepresented as users and leaders in critical areas of human life. The fight against stereotypes and myths occupies a key place. There is a wide range of options available to address both the causes and symptoms underlying gender stereotypes and social norms. The emphasis on a sound strategy with a gender perspective is something that can contribute to achieving gender equality for the sustainable development of the civilized world, this is what the UN insists on.

1. (2005). Women in Parliament: Beyond Numbers. A Revised Edition. Stockholm, Sweden: International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. 265 p.

2. (2020). Inter-Parliamentary Union. 2020. Women in parliament: 1995–2020 – 25 years in review. URL: https://www.ipu.org/resources/publications/reports/2020-03/women-in-parliament-1995-2020-25-years-in-review

3. Norris P., Krook M.L. (2014). Handbook on Promoting Women’s Participation in Political Parties. Warsaw: OSCE. URL: http://www.osce.org/odihr/120877

4. Norris P., Inglehart R. (2019). Cultural Backlash: Trump, Brexit, and the rise of authoritarian-populism. New York: Cambridge University Press. 540 p.

5. Faludi S. (1991). Backlash: The Undeclared War against Women. New York: Doubleday. 592 p.

6. Dragiewicz M. (2011). Equality with a Vengence: Men’s Rights Groups, Battered Women and Antifeminist Backlash. Boston: Northeastern University Press. 154 p.

7. Kimmel M. (2018). Healing from Hate. Berkeley: University of California Press. 263 p.

8. Kalabikhina I.E., Rimashevakaya N.M., Yakovets Yu.V. (2009). Global’nyj prognoz “Buduschee tsivizatsij” na period do 2050 goda. Moscow: MISK. 600 p.

9. Shvedova N.A. (2006). Gendernoe ravenstvo i ustojchivoe razvitie: novye tendentsii [Gender Equality and Sustainable Development: New Tendencies]. Zhenschina v rossijskom obschestve. No. 4. P. 3–21.

10. Shvedova N.A. (2014a). Gendernaya politicheskaya kul'tura: novyye tendentsii [Gender Political Culture: New Trends]. Rossiya i Amerika v 21 veke. Elektronnyy zhurnal. 2014. №1. URL: https://rusus.jes.su/s207054760010823-2-1/ (accessed: 21.02.2018).

11. Shvedova N.A. (2014b). Mezhdunarodnoye soobshchestvo o gendernom ravenstve [The International Community on Gender Equality]. Zhenshchina v rossiyskom obshchestve. No 4. P. 32–39.

12. Shvedova N.A., Soboleva I.V., Kalabikhina I.E., et al. (2004). Gendernye problem v Rossii: po natsional’nym publikatsiyam 1993–2003 gg. [Gender Problems in Russia: in Accordance with the National Publications 1993–2003]. Moscow: Aleks. 240 p.