Gender Equality Architecture

United Nations Advocacy

Gender Equality Architecture Reform

For more information and the latest updates, please visit the GEAR Website.

The UN is a central global site for advancing standards on women’s rights and advocates concerned with human rights must continue to monitor and educate decision-makers in the UN and governments, as their plans move forward. Feminist views must be included in the critical discussions on peace and security, globalization, governance, poverty, and human rights taking place today locally and globally. Based on its history working closely with diverse women in all regions of the world as well as with UN policy makers, CWGL has continued to monitor issues of women’s human rights at the UN as well as continue to engage in strategic thinking with partner groups about policies that will advance the reality of human rights in the lives of women throughout the world.

Since the 2005 World Summit, CWGL has played a lead role for civil society in the UN Reform process, specifically monitoring the gender equality architecture. Working alongside UN officials, government representatives and civil society allies, CWGL has worked tirelessly to achieve a UN entity that works for all women and is now in close conversation with UN Women’s leadership. CWGL has been at the forefront of advocacy and coordination of the Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign’s efforts at all levels to gain support for stronger gender equality architecture at the United Nations. CWGL helped create GEAR in close partnership with a number of organizations including the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), Huairou Commission, International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and with regional focal points.

See the Working Group list for more information.

June 28, 2011: GEAR Campaign Statement at the Second UN Women Board Meeting

March 2011: Civil Society and UN Women Moving Forward Together

March 4, 2011: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in UN Women pressured to do more with less money, by Megan Rowling

February 24, 2011: UN Women Celebration Marks Next Stage for GEAR, CWGL

February 21, 2011: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in U.N.'s New Agency for Women Readies for Takeoff, by Thalif Deen

January 24, 2011: Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar, CWGL, delivers statement at UN Women’s first Executive Board Meeting on behalf of the GEAR Campaign. Click here for statement.

September 14, 2010: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in Michelle Bachelet's Appointment to Head UN Women Widely Applauded, by Daniela Estrada

September 14, 2010: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in Ex-Chilean president Bachelet to head new UN agency to promote women's equality, by Edith M. Lederer

September 14, 2010: The GEAR Campaign Enthusiastically Welcomes the New Under-Secretary-General, Michelle Bachelet, Former Chilean President

August 25, 2010: GEAR Campaign Call to Action

July 16, 2010: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in New UN agency for women – first battle won

July 2, 2010: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in New UN body likely to promote women's equality, by Edith M. Lederer

July 2, 2010: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in UN approves new body to promote women's equality, by Edith M. Lederer

July 2, 2010: UN Creates New Structure for Empowerment of Women

July 1, 2010: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in U.N. Clears Final Hurdle to Create New Gender Entity, by Thalif Deen

June 30, 2010: UN General Assembly resolution on system-wide coherence (A/64/L.56) (paragraphs 49–90 relate to the establishment of UN Women)

June 17, 2010: PRESS RELEASE President of UN General Assembly receives global petition for
urgent establishment of stronger UN women’s agency

June 2010: GEAR Campaign 2010 ECOSOC High Level Segment Written Statement

2010 GEAR CAMPAIGN STATEMENT: The Gender Equality Architecture Reform (GEAR) Campaign, a network of over 300 women’s, human rights and social justice groups around the world urges UN Member States and the UN Secretariat to move swiftly forward to create the new UN gender equality entity. GEAR also urges the UN to set up a transparent process now for recruiting the best qualified Under Secretary-General to head this agency. The United Nations must move without further delay to implement changes that it has repeatedly recognized as critical to fulfilling its mandate of working for gender equality as a crucial component of development, human rights, peace, and security.

June 14, 2010: GEAR Campaign Participates in the UN Millennium Development Goals Informal Interactive Hearings

April 2010: GEAR Working Group

April 8, 2010: Margot Baruch, CWGL's Program Coodinator, featured in UN may finally create agency to address women's issues globally by Rebekah Mintzer

March 2010: GEAR Recap at the 54th Session on the Commission on the Status of Women

March 2010: DSG's Key Messages, Background, Current Status and FAQ

March 26, 2010: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, featured in Rights activist Charlotte Bunch unifies women’s voices at United Nations

March 12, 2010: 54th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women Resolution on GEAR Strengthening the institutional arrangements of the United Nations for support of gender equality and the empowerment of women by consolidating the four existing offices into a composite entity

March 12, 2010: Push to close gender gaps 'slow' By Barbara Plett

March 12, 2010: Gender Confab Marked by Political Uncertainties by Thalif Deen and Anna Shen

March 2010: 2010 GEAR Campaign Statement at the 54th Session of the Comission on the Status of Women

February 2010: GEAR Campaign Response to the Report of the Secretary-General - Comprehensive proposal for the composite gender equality entity

October 31, 2009: NGO ECE Meeting GEAR Caucus Report, Geneva

October 27, 2009: A powerful women's agency: will the UN deliver? by Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar

September 2009: Women’s Rights and Gender at the United Nations: The Case for a new Gender Equality Architecture by Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar (To be published in Vereinte Nationen: German Review on the United Nations, 2009)

September 18, 2009: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, was interviewed by Jeb Sharp of PRI's The World. To listen, visit The World.

September 15, 2009: Charlotte Bunch, CWGL's Founding Director and Senior Scholar, was interviewed by Ritula Shah of the BBC. To listen, visit the BBC's The World Tonight and click on Listen (33 minute 40 second).

September 14, 2009: GEAR Campaign Statement on Adoption of SWC Resolution by the UN General Assembly

September 14, 2009: CWGL GEAR Press Release

September 14, 2009: U.N. Approves Long-Awaited New Women's Agency by Thalif Deen, IPS

September 14, 2009: System Wide Coherence Resolution A/RES/63/311 (paragraphs 1-3 refer to the new gender entity)

September 14, 2009: The GEAR Campaign is pleased that the General Assembly expressed strong and unanimous support in adopting a resolution today that will enable the creation of the new gender equality entity to be headed by a new Under Secretary‐General (USG). Women and their allies from around the world have been advocating for three years for a stronger better resourced agency on gender equality and women’s empowerment, and look forward to its creation early in 2010 ‐ during the fifteen anniversary year of the historic UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

September 5, 2009: U.N. May Shelve Creation of New Women's Body by Thalif Deen, IPS

August 2009: GEAR Campaign Statement on the report of the Co-chairs of UN System-Wide Coherence Process and Upcoming General Assembly Resolution (English, French, Spanish).

August 2009: Regional focal point letters calling on Member States to adopt the resolution for the new United Nations Gender Entity during the 63rd General Assembly: femLINKPACIFIC (Pacific), African Women’s Development and Communication Network (Africa), Asia Pacific Women's Watch (Southeast Asia), and South Asian Campaign for Gender Equality (South Asia).

August 2009: Report by the Co-Chairs which summarizes the issues related to UN System wide Coherence process on which the UN General Assembly should decide in September 2009, including the reform of the UN gender architecture.

July 2009:Talking Points Paper for speaking with representatives of your government in the next few weeks and before the first week of September especially in capitol and/or in New York or Geneva.

July 2009: As of July 2009 the GEAR Campaign has 307 organizational signatories.

May 2009: Revised recommendations on Civil Society Participation in a new women’s entity.

March 2009: UPDATE
At the conclusion of the last session of the General Assembly in September 2008, Member States adopted a resolution by consensus requesting the Secretary General to develop a paper on institutional options for the new gender entity, addressing the identified gaps and challenges of the current United Nations system. The modalities paper, as it is known, was made available at the closing of the 53rd Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) on Friday March 13, 2009, and presents all four Options initially outlined in a previous DSG paper including A) the status quo, B) an autonomous fund/programme, C) a department and D) the composite. The paper assesses the ability of each option to fulfill the functions previously outlined in the DSG's papers (August 1, 2007; July 23, 2008) with a particular focus on the composite entity (option D). At the “system wide coherence” meeting the Secretary General endorsed the composite, or hybrid, option as “the most promising.” The GEAR Campaign still favors the composite option with meaningful participation of civil society and an ambitiously funded entity, led by an Under-Secretary General. GEAR believes that the Composite entity would retain the best elements of the four women's organizations of the UN, while significantly increasing funding, strengthening country level and policy-setting work, and creating a position of Under-Secretary General to lead the new body with further emphasis on civil society participation.March 2009: Updated Campaign Statement & Key Messages (English, Spanish)

March 2009: GEAR Petition (English, French, Spanish)

February 2009: GEAR CSW Submission (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish)

September 2008: IMPORTANT UPDATE UN RESOLUTION MOVES GENDER ARCHITECTURE DISCUSSION INTO GENERAL ASSEMBLY
On Monday, September 15th, at a final meeting of the 62nd session of the UN General Assembly, member states adopted by consensus a resolution that will officially move forward the gender architecture discussion into the next GA session. This means that states have agreed to take next steps toward strengthening the UN system in relation to gender equality and women’s empowerment. States also called for the Secretary General to provide a further, detailed modalities paper in respect to the options set out in the Deputy Secretary-General’s paper…focusing in particular on the 'Composite Entity' option with a view to facilitating substantive action by the General Assembly within the 63rd session. The Composite model (which was formerly called the hybrid or option D) is the one supported by the GEAR Campaign as the most promising; it could potentially create a new women’s entity that, if developed as GEAR supporters have been advocating for, would have strong country presence, significant funding capacity, high level leadership and a strategic normative and policy making function. For more information on advocacy for how to ensure that this work is strengthened, visit http://gear.collectivex.com/main/summary .