“Negative perceptions about a girl’s capabilities, whether at home or at school, can lead girls to grow up believing that they can’t succeed in STEM fields,” explains Nevindaree Premarathne, 38, from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

The 60 participants were women politicians from 15 political parties, including 22 legislative candidates or members of parliament and seven party officials; 31 representatives from civil society organizations; and academic researchers.

This Steering Committee will work closely with UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and ESCAP to support civil society contributions in the leadup to the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on the Beijing+30 Review in November in Bangkok including providing inputs to the reviews – both nationally and regionally, including organizing the CSO Forum prior to the conference.

The first “National Conference of Women Judges: Enhancing Leadership Skills" hosted in Kathmandu on 22-23 March 2024, marked a significant milestone in Nepal's judicial landscape.

A first cohort of trainers has been empowered to deliver innovative training developed by UN Women and the UN University Institute in Macau (UNU Macau) to strengthen women’s leadership in preventing online harms, cybersecurity threats and the malicious use of technology in South-East Asia.

Chaired by the Honorable Bhagbati Chaudhary, Minister of Women, Children, and Senior Citizens, the event drew a diverse audience including representatives from the public and private sectors, as well as development partners. Amidst a backdrop of increasing momentum for gender equality, attendees gathered to explore avenues for bolstering women's opportunities in Nepal’s financial landscape.

Are you a young social media influencer from Asia or the Pacific interested in raising awareness of new challenges for the women, peace and security (WPS) Agenda from a youth perspective?

Over 100 representatives from governments across Asia and the Pacific participated in the virtual workshop "Beijing+30 National-level Review and Survey” convened by the UN´s Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and UN Women´s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.

Over 65 representatives from 21 government agencies and international organisations, including the National Police Agency, National Statistics Office, State General Prosecutor’s Office, the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, Coordination Council for Crime Prevention of Mongolia, UNFPA, IOM and Save the Children gathered to initiate and reaffirm their support to the pilot study on 5 March.

Md Shamsud Douza is the Deputy Secretary of the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner (RRRC) Office in Cox’s Bazar. The RRRC is Bangladesh’s government agency in charge of providing relief to Rohingya refugees. As of 2023, the 33 camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf, two sub-districts of Cox’s Bazar, sheltered almost a million Rohingya people UN Women spoke to Mr. Douza to learn more about the RRRC’s strategies to prevent and eliminate violence against Rohingya women and girls.

Recognizing these widespread challenges, in 2023, UN Women and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) launched a joint initiative to use the power of sports as a driver for gender equality. This joint initiative, the Bridging Project, works to develop and empower women and girls to raise their voices in and through sport and increase the capacity of sports organisations to advance gender equality.

The event began with a panel discussion with key PNG representatives, including Jason Peter, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Religion; Jerry Ubase, Secretary of the Department for Community Development and Religion; and Sarah Maim Nali, President of the Wewak Market Vendors’ Association in PNG.

Addressing economic inclusivity, gender equality in the market and advancing women’s participation in the world of work, UN Women Thailand organized and participated in various events to celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) 2024 under the theme Invest in women: Accelerate progress.

Pacific representatives have safely returned home and are now sharing their insights and experiences from the event. The UN Women Multi-Country Office (MCO) for the Pacific had the opportunity to support the participation of Pacific women gender equality advocates at CSW

“Climate change,” Tove Goldmann proclaims, “is the defining issue of our times.” In August, she will complete three fruitful years as a First Secretary at the Swedish Embassy in Thailand.

Increasing sustainable investment in women and girls is key to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and indeed, to achieving all the other 16 SDGs. But results thus far have disappointed.

International Women's Day (IWD) 2024 represented a significant moment as the world united under the theme "Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress." In the spirit of this global call to action, three chiefs of missions from international finance institutions working in Bangladesh offered their perspectives on the significance of investing in women to accelerate sustainable development.

“I wanted to continue my work. But it wasn’t long before I was being followed and tracked. A few months after the fall, I was working with an external media outlet, but I started receiving threatening and anonymous messages, warning me of death and kidnapping. That is why I now live in isolation,” she writes.

To kick off the 2024 commemoration of International Women’s Day (IWD), the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Government, in collaboration with the Ministry for Community Development, Youth and Religion, and alongside the Australian High Commission, United Nations agencies, International Federation of the Red Cross and other diplomatic partners.

To celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March, the United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in Thailand and the Philippine Embassy organized the fourth annual Ambassador for a Day video contest under the theme, Accelerating Financing and Digitalisation for Gender Equality.