Gender equality
Update
International Day of the Girl Child: empowering girls before, during and after crises
11 October 2017
11 October 2017 11 October 2017The International Day of the Girl Child, marked every year on 11 October, highlights and addresses the needs and challenges that girls face, while promoting their empowerment and human rights.
In many parts of the world, one of the key challenges that adolescent girls face is HIV. Globally, every week 6900 adolescent girls and young women aged 15–24 years are newly infected with HIV, yet only one in three adolescent girls and young women have comprehensive and correct knowledge of how to prevent HIV. In sub-Saharan Africa, three in four new HIV infections among 15–19-year-olds are among girls.
The theme of the International Day of the Girl Child 2017 is “EmPOWER girls: before, during and after crises”. War and conflict exacerbate the vulnerability of girls to child marriage, intensify inequality and make women and girls susceptible to both household and intimate partner violence, all of which increase the vulnerability of women and girls to HIV.
Women who experience intimate partner violence can be 50% more likely to acquire HIV than those who do not experience such violence. And adolescent girls are more vulnerable to intimate partner violence—in 22 of 32 countries with available data, young women experienced more recent intimate partner violence than older women.
International human rights obligations and the bold targets of the 2016 United Nations Political Declaration on Ending AIDS call for ending all forms of violence against women and girls, including in conflict, post-conflict and humanitarian settings. Only through promoting gender equality, eliminating violence and investing in girls empowerment together with the other targets in the Political Declaration will the world be on track to ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.
Quotes
“Violence against women and girls is a stain on our social fabric. On the International Day of the Girl Child, I call for countries to honour their commitment to end all violence against women and girls.”
Campaign
Update
UNAIDS fully compliant with UN-SWAP
22 August 2017
22 August 2017 22 August 2017UNAIDS has been recognized for meeting or exceeding all of the 15 performance indicators of the United Nations System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP), a year ahead of the deadline established by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination.
In a letter sent by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, to Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS, the organization is commended for its significant dedication to gender equality and women’s empowerment at all levels. UNAIDS has achieved overall gender parity at the professional and higher levels and has created an enabling work environment through extended maternity leave and flexible working conditions.
The findings of UN-SWAP reaffirm UNAIDS’ role as a leader for gender equality and the empowerment of women across the United Nations system. UNAIDS meets or exceeds the requirements of 100% of the UN-SWAP performance indicators, compared to only 64% for the overall United Nations system. In addition, UNAIDS exceeds the requirements for 53% of the indicators, compared to 19% for the overall United Nations system.
Since the inception of UN-SWAP, UNAIDS has demonstrated continued progress in each annual report and has commitment to improving its UN-SWAP scoring in at least one performance indicator over this year.
UN-SWAP is a United Nations system-wide accountability framework designed to measure, monitor and drive progress towards a common set of standards for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Sixty-five entities, departments and offices of the United Nations system report on it every year.
Quotes
“Gender equality and women’s empowerment is at the heart of ending AIDS. We are proud to have achieved all UN-SWAP performance indicators and will continue to work to achieve even better results, while sharing our experiences to inspire more and quicker progress across the United Nations system.”
Related
Documents
UNAIDS Secretariat Gender Action Plan AT A GLANCE
04 July 2017
Remaining at the forefront of efforts on gender equality and the representation of women provides UNAIDS with important opportunities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.
Related
Documents
UNAIDS Secretariat Gender Action Plan
04 July 2017
The rationale for eliminating gender inequalities and empowering women in the workplace is clear: the connection between gender balance and organizational performance has been well documented. Organizations with a more balanced representation of women at the senior management level considerably outperform their counterparts with a lower representation of women in senior levels. Research has also shown that gender-balanced teams have greater potential for creativity and innovation.
Related
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Evelyn Siula: A journey of strength and solidarity
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Documents
UNAIDS Secretariat Gender Action Plan 2013-2018
04 July 2017
Related
UNAIDS calls for rights, equality and empowerment for all women and girls on International Women’s Day
06 March 2025
Global leaders commit to accelerating global efforts to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030
13 December 2024
Young people living with HIV urge world leaders to partner with them in the AIDS response
19 September 2024
UNAIDS Terminology Guidelines
01 July 2024
Update
UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board calls for equal representation of women and men
28 June 2017
28 June 2017 28 June 2017The UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board (PCB) has called for equal representation of women and men in all PCB delegations, at its latest session, taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 27 to 29 June.
Tabled by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and seconded by Ghana, a decision point inviting delegations to continue to encourage and support equal representation of women and men in delegations to the PCB was adopted by consensus. The decision point came in response to a report by the UNAIDS Executive Director, Michel Sidibé, in which he highlighted gender equality and the empowerment of women as one of the core pillars of the Fast-Track approach to ending AIDS and a key priority in the repositioning of the Joint Programme.
The PCB members reflected that governing bodies are central to embedding gender equality in organizations and noted that this is an area in which UNAIDS can again demonstrate its commitment to gender equality.
The UNAIDS Executive Director noted how fostering a culture that empowers women within organizations leads to progress in parity. He shared results from the UNAIDS Secretariat Gender Action Plan, including an increase in women in country director positions (from 27% in 2013 to 48% in 2017) and an increase in the percentage of women in middle management and higher levels, from 44% in 2013 to 48% in 2017.
Gender parity on delegations of governing bodies has been strongly advocated by the International Gender Champions. UNAIDS and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Co-Chair the International Gender Champions impact group on change management, which aims to identify and overcome institutional barriers that prevent women’s influence and advancement.
Quotes
“To effectively end AIDS in an inclusive manner that leaves no one behind, we need both women and men to engage meaningfully in decision-making and implementation of the AIDS response at all levels.”
“I am proud to see the UNAIDS Programme Coordinating Board recognize the importance of equal representation of women and men in delegations. The achievement of gender equality at all levels is an integral part of the AIDS response and, as such, a priority for UNAIDS.”
Related
Update
Partners come together for gender-responsive change management
08 June 2017
08 June 2017 08 June 2017Partners from across the United Nations system came together on 30 May in UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss how behavioural, institutional and cultural change can accelerate progress for gender equality.
In her keynote speech, Jan Beagle, Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS, emphasized that if change management is undertaken in a gender-responsive manner, barriers to gender equality in the workplace can be addressed and overcome. She shared the progress that UNAIDS has made in gender equality, including near gender parity among staff, 40% of UNAIDS country directors being female and 100% compliance with the performance indicators of the United Nations System-Wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. She also underlined the need to shift organizational cultures to empower staff everywhere. UNAIDS is taking gender out of isolation and mainstreaming equality and inclusion throughout the Secretariat.
Julian Braithwaite, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva, who delivered the other keynote speech, reaffirmed the commitment of the United Kingdom to empowering women and girls, while emphasizing the importance of creating organizational cultures that uphold gender equality. He reflected on the potential of Geneva as an international hub for human rights, trade and humanitarian work that brings together the collective power of the United Nations and its Member States.
The participants represented the broad array of United Nations entities in Geneva, including senior advisers on human resources, change management and gender. The meeting was organized by the International Gender Champions Geneva, UNAIDS and the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva.
The workshop is the first of a series of initiatives to be undertaken by UNAIDS and the Permanent Mission of the United Kingdom, who Co-Chair the International Gender Champions change management impact group. Through the impact group, the Co-Chairs seek to identify and overcome institutional barriers that prevent women’s influence and advancement in Geneva-based international organizations.
Quotes
“If we can better harness our collective power to achieve change that places gender equality and women’s empowerment at the centre, we will be a powerful force.”
“Transforming our organizations in ways that gender equality becomes embedded across structures, processes and levels is our collective responsibility. We need your commitment and your leadership and we also need you to bring others on board.”
“It’s time to change our institutional DNA and create the environments for genuine gender equality.”
Region/country
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Update
Every woman and every child healthy and empowered
24 April 2017
24 April 2017 24 April 2017The health and well-being of women, children and adolescents are central to building peaceful, sustainable and inclusive societies. This is why in 2010 the then United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, launched Every Woman Every Child, a global movement to mobilize and intensify action by governments, multilateral organizations, the private sector and civil society to address the major health challenges facing women, children and adolescents around the world.
Showing his support for these efforts, on 21 April United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres became the third and senior Co-Chair of Every Woman Every Child, alongside the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn. The announcement was made at a meeting of the Every Woman Every Child steering group, held on the margins of the spring meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund.
Every Woman Every Child unites its partners to deliver on an integrated agenda for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and well-being. It also puts into action a Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, a road map to ending all preventable deaths of women, children and adolescents within a generation and ensuring their well-being.
The core partners of Every Woman Every Child include the H6 (UNAIDS, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children’s Fund, UN Women, the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group), the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, the Global Financing Facility in support of Every Woman Every Child and the Every Woman Every Child Innovation Marketplace.
Over the past seven years, the movement has galvanized ambitious action and coordinated efforts across sectors. Since 2015, more than 60 country commitments and 150 multistakeholder commitments totalling more than US$ 27 billion have been made by the partners of Every Woman Every Child to deliver on the promises of a sustainable future for all by 2030.
Quotes
“Peace cannot exist without development and development cannot exist without health and well-being, for healthy and empowered women, children and adolescents can bring about the change needed to create a better future for all.”
“We have a unique opportunity to address the health challenges facing women, children and adolescents. I am committed to Every Woman Every Child and will continue to work to help ensure a better future for all.”
“We have made progress, but it has been uneven. We need to accelerate our efforts and actions to help women, children and adolescents to survive, thrive and transform.”
Update
#WhatWomenWant: HIV prevention that works for adolescent girls and young women
06 April 2017
06 April 2017 06 April 2017UNAIDS is championing the inaugural #WhatWomenWant Day on 6 April. Led by the Athena Network, the day sees the launch of the report #WhatWomenWant: a transformative framework for women, girls and gender equality in the context of HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The report is based on six months of consultations with adolescent girls and young women around the world. It calls for sustained investment in women-led partnerships and civil society in order to advance gender equality and meet the ambitious targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals.
#WhatWomenWant is an online campaign that uses social media to amplify the voices of young women, allowing them to share expertise and life experiences, explore solutions and build strengthened networks across gender-related issues, sectors and movements.
To get engaged, follow @NetworkAthena and use the hashtag #WhatWomenWant.
UNAIDS has supported this effort and continues to work with a broad range of partners, including governments, civil society, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, to ensure that women and girls everywhere are empowered and enabled to protect themselves against HIV and that all women and girls living with HIV have immediate access to treatment.
Quotes
“UNAIDS welcomes this creative and participatory platform, led by the Athena Network, empowering adolescent girls and young women and amplifying their message. Let’s build on the knowledge and solutions of adolescent girls and young women and make sexual and reproductive health, including HIV prevention and treatment services, work for them and with them.”
“Policy-makers have always been able to know what women need, but now it is time for us to speak out openly about what women want.”
“Adolescent girls and young women need to have the information, safety, freedom, education, rights and autonomy to make healthy and informed decisions about their health and the trajectory of their lives.”
Partners
Documents
#WhatWomenWant: a transformative framework for women, girls and gender equality in the context of HIV and sexual and reproductive health and rights
06 April 2017
The report is based on six months of consultations with adolescent girls and young women around the world. It calls for sustained investment in women-led partnerships and civil society in order to advance gender equality and meet the ambitious targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Related
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06 March 2025
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02 December 2024
Resilience amid crisis: strengthening the HIV response for displaced communities in Ethiopia
02 December 2024
Take the rights path to end AIDS — World AIDS Day report 2024
26 November 2024
