International organisations, especially those under the United Nations, are very important for the IAS exam. It is important to know their mandate, achievements and impact, especially with a focus on India. In this article, you can read all about the UN organisation dedicated to working in the field of women empowerment and related issues, UN Women for the IAS exam.
UN Women UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here
Aspirants would find the article very helpful in their preparation for the examination.
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UN Women
UN Women is the wing of the United Nations that engages in the field of women empowerment and gender equality. The entity was formed to accelerate the progress of achieving the needs of women and girls all over the world.
- UN Women works with the members of the UN in their march towards achieving gender equality.
- It works with governments and civil society to come up with policies, laws, programmes and services required to ensure that global standards set to achieve gender equality are effectively implemented, and women and girls worldwide are actually benefitted.
- UN Women works on four strategic priorities, namely,
- Governance systems facilitate women to lead, participate in and actually benefit them.
- Women have economic autonomy, income security and decent work.
- Women and girls are not affected by any form of violence against them.
- Women and girls contribute to and have greater influence in building sustainable peace and resilience, and benefit equally from the prevention of natural disasters and conflicts and humanitarian action.
- UN Women works to place gender equality as a fundamental ideal to the Sustainable Development Goals. It works for a more inclusive world.
- The governing body of UN Women is its Executive Board. It governs the operational activities and provides operational policy guidelines to UN Women.
- The Executive Director of UN Women is Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
- UN Women is headquartered in New York.
Go through the Reports Published by International Organizations .
UN Women Role
The chief roles of UN Women are:
- Supporting intergovernmental bodies (like the Commission on the Status of Women) to formulate global standards, policies and norms.
- Assisting member states to implement these policies, providing financial and technical support when requested, and forming effective partnerships with civil society.
- Leading and coordinating the UN system’s work on gender equality.
UPSC aspirants can read in detail about the Role of Women’s Organization at the linked article.
When was UN Women formed?
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) created UN Women in 2010 by merging four parts of the UN system that worked in the field of women empowerment and gender equality. These were:
- Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
- International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
- Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
- United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
Why Gender Equality is Important
Gender equality is important not only as a basic human right but also because it has several socio-economic ramifications. Yes, it is to be achieved because it is an end in itself. However, there are several good reasons why countries and organizations should push for gender equality and a more inclusive setting.
Empowering women fuels thriving economies, spurring productivity and growth. In many regions, women are denied decent work, suffer from gender pay gaps and occupational segregation. Not only do they suffer from violence and discrimination, but they are also denied basic healthcare and education. They also do not find adequate representation in political and economic decision-making.
Download UPSC Notes on Gender Equality in India at the linked article and prepare for the upcoming civil services exam.
UN Women and India
The UN Women’s office in New Delhi is a multi-country office of the entity for four countries namely, India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The following image shows the six priority areas of UN Women in India.
Candidates should go through the relevant links provided below to do preparation for UPSC exam even better-
Get the list of International Organizations and their Headquarters on the given link.
Aspiring Civil services candidates can check out the links for detailed information-
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