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This report documents progress made by the Commonwealth's 53 member countries in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment.
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Gender Equality in the Commonwealth
Main page for this area of work
A young Nigerian woman who is helping thousands of sexual and domestic abuse victims, has been named Commonwealth Young Person of the Year. Twenty-eight-year-old Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, from Lagos, was presented with the award by Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland at Marlborough House.
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Nigerian woman named Commonwealth Young Person of the Year for abuse support programme
High commissioners and women’s rights activists have joined Secretary-General Patricia Scotland to salute the unwavering courage of women in their struggle for equality.
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Commonwealth focus is on equitable laws to achieve gender equality
Women rights campaigners, lawyers and officials joined Secretary-General Patricia Scotland to stand in solidarity with survivors of gender-based violence and to call for a robust response to end it.
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Activists set path to end gender-based violence
Climate change affects women more profoundly than men. Often, women bear the brunt of extreme weather events because they lack economic, political and legal power, especially in developing countries.
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Blog: Gender and Climate Change – where are we and what next?
The Commonwealth has taken part in a two-day meeting to enhance women’s political participation and leadership in the English-speaking Caribbean.
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Commonwealth highlights research results at Caribbean conference on women’s political participation
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has urged bold action to close the persistent economic gap between men and women and help pave the way to achieving the SDGs.
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Secretary-General: Empowering women ‘integral’ to achieving the SDGs
Secretary-General Patricia Scotland today encouraged young diplomats to take the lead in tackling the globe’s pressing social and economic challenges.
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Secretary-General inspires young diplomats
This Trade Hot Topic explores the possibility of incorporating gender issues into multilateral trade negotiations at the WTO, as well as discussing the likely implications for least developed countries (LDCs), small, vulnerable economies (SVEs) and sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.
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Women's Economic Empowerment and WTO Trade Negotiations
Seychelles loses over USD 65 million each year to violence against women and girls (VAWG). That’s according to a new report to be launched by the Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on her first official visit to the country.
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New Commonwealth study to reveal true cost of violence against women and girls
A gathering of senior women commentators, columnists and activists heard about the Commonwealth’s practical action towards achieving gender equality across its 53 member states by 2030.
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Gender equality by 2030, Secretary-General tells top women
The Commonwealth has reinforced its commitment to get more women leading and participating in sport.
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Removing gender equality hurdles in sport discussed in Botswana
The Commonwealth Charter underscores our common commitment to the values of equality and respect for the protection and promotion of human rights.
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International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia 2018
One-stop health centres should be established across the Commonwealth to help address the scourge of gender-based violence and offer vital support to victims.
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Specialist centres could offer vital lifeline to victims of gender-based violence
The Indian MP and Bollywood legend, Kirron Kher, has called for Commonwealth member states to speed up their efforts towards achieving gender equality in their respective countries.
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We need to change the male mind-set says Indian MP
Abolish laws that allow discrimination and replace them with legislation that protect women’s rights. This was one of 14 big asks presented to Foreign Ministers today from the Women’s Forum.
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‘Silence is not an option anymore’: women call on governments to repeal discriminatory laws
Collective action to help women overcome barriers to entrepreneurship makes good economic sense. This is the message that rang loud and clear as government leaders, ministers, activists and world-renowned professionals met to deliberate women’s economic empowerment on the second day of the Commonwealth Women’s Forum in London today.
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Giving women a slice of the pie will boost economies
Female genital cutting (FGC) is one of the more hidden, yet wide reaching, barriers to the empowerment of women and girls in at least 45 countries all over the world. It intersects with a variety of other issues.
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It is possible to end female genital cutting (FGC) within a generation
The Commonwealth Women’s Forum today endorsed a set of recommendations for getting more women into political leadership.
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Forum endorses recommendations on women’s political participation
The Second Commonwealth Women’s Forum begins in London on Monday with a call for women’s rights to be firmly on the agenda of leaders when they meet later in the week.
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Forum to urge leaders to invest in women
The Commonwealth is far from achieving gender equality when it comes to women in political decision-making roles.
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A Handbook for Gender-Inclusive Elections in Commonwealth Africa
The Judicial Resource Book on Violence Against Women for Asia deepens our understanding of the varying forms of VAWG and raises awareness of the important role that the judiciary can play in tackling them. It is designed to be used by judicial officers and other professionals as a practical contribution towards promoting justice and fairness in the judicial process for women who have been victims of violence.
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Judicial Resource Book on Violence Against Women for Asia
To commemorate International Women’s Day, the Commonwealth’s Gender Section hosted an event at Marlborough House entitled ‘Progress for Women and the Vote in the Commonwealth’.
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International Women’s Day 2018: ‘Progress for Women and the Vote in the Commonwealth’
Forced labour, child labour and exploitation were all addressed at an event marking International Human Rights Day.
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Commonwealth marks International Human Rights Day
The horror of sexual violence in conflict must be challenged by educating women about their human rights and empowering men and boys as champions against such abuses, says leading women's rights activist Dr Denis Mukwege.
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Women survivors must be at centre of fight against sexual violence