During today’s CSW sessions, representatives from each of the regional groups gave updates on the progress achieved and remaining gaps and challenges in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA).

Bader Al-Dafa, the Executive Director of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), mentioned that many countries in the region have passed laws allowing women to pass their citizenship to their children and have established quota systems for women’s political participation. Nineteen out of the twenty member states have passed CEDAW many have removed their reservations. Areas of improvement include the need for greater political participation of women and better sex disaggregated data to show where the problem areas lie.

Jan Kubis, the Executive Director of the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE), stated that there was great diversity within his region, but that there were several areas of regional progress such as a substantial increase in the criminalization of domestic violence and promotion of women’s access to equal employment. However, remaining areas of concern include women’s access to financial resources, the gender wage gap, lack of social protection for women and the insufficient implementation of gender budget reforms.

Lalla Ben Barka, the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), focused primarily on education for women, stating that while the gender gap in primary education had been achieved, the gap in secondary education was the next target. She also mentioned that women in Africa must have strengthened inheritance rights, better access to maternal health, and greater participation in local level politics. African countries have had great success implementing quotas to increase the number of women in high-level government positions. Many countries have also been working to eradicate FGM and including a gender perspective in their environmental policies and practices.

Sonia Montano, Chief of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) Women and Development Unit, reported that several Latin American and Caribbean countries have elected women heads of state in the last five years, many countries have put political quota systems in place, and have made gains in education for women and gender based violence. The legal frameworks of most countries must still be changed to give women greater equality and to ensure that the changes reach the targeted women.

The U.S. delegation to CSW also gave a briefing today at the U.S. Mission. Meryl Frank, Ambassador to CSW, stated that this year’s delegation strived to achieve balance among its representatives, including politicians, academics, and business leaders. According to representatives Beth Brooke, Connie Evans and Ellen Chelser, they highly value the input of NGO delegates that are working similar issues. Ambassador Susan Rice explained the U.S. government’s commitment to the new gender entity at the UN, ending violence against women in war, and improving access to education for girls in the Muslim world. Finally, Tina Tchen from the White House Council on Women and Girls outlined the objectives of the Council, including integrating a gender perspective into all government agencies and budgets and advocating for issues of women in the workplace, such as equal pay, paid leave models, and work/life balance.