A/HRC/38/46 Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, held in Beijing, the global average for women’s political representation has doubled.4 The introduction of quotas in some countries that were undergoing political transition resulted in significant increases in women’s parliamentary representation. Positive trends have also been seen in terms of extending special measures and affirmative action to other areas of public life beyond parliamentary representation (see A/HRC/23/50). 19. In recent years, women demanding dignity and rights have marched worldwide and have increasingly used social media to take action. Technology has enabled new forms of women’s political expression and engagement. Movements denouncing gender-based violence against women, such as #NiUnaMenos and #MeToo, have swept much of the globe, following decades of advocacy from women’s rights movements demanding an end to violence against women in environments that normalize discrimination against women. Gender-based violence is one of the worst manifestations of such discrimination.5 20. Significant progress has been made in closing the gender gap in education, and women have increasingly participated in the cultural and scientific lives of their communities and nations. 6 Women’s labour force participation has increased significantly and women entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized enterprises have made considerable contributions as crucial economic actors. Initial efforts have been made by some countries to increase women’s participation in economic and financial leadership by imposing gender quota requirements for corporate boards. Moreover, in times of crisis, some countries have chosen alternatives to austerity measures to ensure women’s continued economic inclusion (see A/HRC/26/39). 21. The right of women and girls to equality in the family has been recognized in international human rights law and guaranteed in most modern legal regimes, which have reformed family law systems to enshrine gender equality. In some countries, progress has been made in challenging gender stereotypes and the unequal roles and responsibilities attributed to women and men in the family. A considerable number of countries have developed laws criminalizing domestic violence and providing protection for victims (see A/HRC/29/40). 22. Efforts to combat negative stereotypical messages regarding women’s bodies have been deployed by civil society organizations and international entities and have been incorporated in national policy by many Governments (see A/HRC/32/44). Women’s sexual and reproductive rights have been increasingly recognized in international standards. Maternal mortality has been almost halved over the past 20 years. 7 23. An impressive body of regional and international human rights standards has been developed over the past few decades, in which recognition and protection of women’s right to equality has been central and prioritized. Considerable progress has been made in the number of national constitutions guaranteeing gender equality and laws enacted to prohibit sex discrimination and gender-based violence. In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women consolidated the hard-fought progress and achievements by agreeing on a comprehensive plan to advance women’s right to equality: the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. In 2010, the Human Rights Council decided to establish the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice as part of its independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms. While the founding of the Working Group is undoubtedly a success in terms of strengthening the women’s rights machinery, it also reflects the recognition by the international community of the persistent discrimination against women worldwide. 24. Despite these achievements made over long years of struggle, discrimination against women and impunity for the violation of women’s rights persist in both the private and public spheres, in times of conflict as in times of peace, and in all regions of the world. Not only is the advancement of women’s rights and full equality too slow, uneven and far from a global 4 5 6 7 6 See www.ipu.org/wmn-e/classif-arc.htm. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22759&LangID=E. See A/72/155 and www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-sciences/priority-areas/gender-and-science/. See www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/9789241507226_eng.pdf.