Last Friday, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly voted unanimously to create a new entity to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide. For many years, the UN has faced serious challenges in its efforts to promote gender equality globally, including inadequate funding and no single recognised driver to direct UN activities on gender equality issues. The new UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (or UN Women) merges the work of four previously separate divisions: the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) and the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI).
Read the full press release on the UNIFEM website.
