Knowledge Repository

This blog, highlighting the environment-gender-development nexus from an African perspective, reviews progress and persistent challenges in the implementation of the two inextricable 1995 Declarations, framed within the context of the recently completed Second World Summit on Social Development.

This contribution is an overview of the GRAN-ESC blog series “The New Hot War on Women’s Rights: 30 Years Post-Beijing.” The series brings together regional and thematic reflections, some of which explore backlash while others focus more broadly on evolving gender equality debates.

This blog will present the gains made by women over the last half century, even as the far right expands in Latin America, and highlights policy progress and growing political will among Caribbean nations to address gender inequality. 

In Europe, the backlash against gender equality is increasingly articulated through the language of “gender ideology,” used by both state and non-state actors to challenge feminist gains and LGBTQ+ rights as well as co-opt gender equality language for other purposes.

When disabled leadership is at the core of our responses to climate breakdown and anti-rights movements, we do not narrow our ambitions. We expand the possible futures available to all of us.

This blog examines how gender politics in the United States and Canada reflect a wider global trend: growing pressure on gender-based rights amid rising authoritarianism. It highlights emerging threats, contrasting national approaches, and the grassroots and policy responses shaping gender justice in North America.

Asia is no exception to the global rise in backlash, where political and social resistance threatens the rights of women and gender minorities. This blog examines how such backlash is articulated in CSW political statements and regional discourses, particularly in contexts shaped by conservative and right-wing narratives. It also considers strategies for accountability and renewed commitment to the Beijing Platform.

The rollback on women’s and gender minorities’ rights is justified through the language of 'tradition,' 'protection,' and anti-'gender ideology'. However, this backlash does not affect all women or gender minorities equally. Those living at the intersections of disability, race, class, migration status, and sexuality, face compounded, often invisible harms as support structures weaken, surveillance intensifies, and public discourse narrows around essentialist, ableist, or nat

As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and the 2025 session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) we...

In the heart of Birmingham, ORT Gallery is reimagining how cultural institutions can operate In the heart of Birmingham, ORT Gallery is...

Gender biases are a real roadblock to achieving progressive change, so how can we move past them to unlock transformation?

The vital importance of emphasising care work to advance gender justice Lauren Danielowski is a PhD student in the department of...

Discover the unseen impacts of 'eco-ableism' as green policies collide with the needs of people with disabilities.

Exploring the role of art in just transition

Social workers and their representative organizations can engage more effectively to foster the creation of new eco-social contracts.

This contribution is published as part of the UNRISD Think Piece Series, The Time is Now! Why We Need a New Eco-Social Contract for a...

In today’s world in which analogue and digital lives are ever more intertwined, the fight for just and sustainable societies must be...

The time is now to put women at the centre of development not only because it is sustainable, but it is the right thing to do.

Esta contribución se publica como parte de la serie de artículos de reflexión, The Time is Now! Why We Need a New Eco-Social Contract for...