Blog - Soroptimist International

Closing the Gender Gap in Education: Long Term Barriers and Emerging Challenges

The Office of the President of the General Assembly and UN Women presented an in-person event at CSW68 titled ‘Closing the Gender Gap in Education: How to Address Long-term Barriers and Emerging Challenges in a World of Complex Crises? How can we make sure we are intersectional in closing the

Access to finances locally for Women through Gender Budgeting

On 14 March, Soroptimist International (SI) hosted an online parallel event during the Commission on the Status of Women in partnership with Women for Water Partnerships. The session featured key speakers Mariet Verhoef-Cohen, Lesha Witmer, and Maria Fornella, who delved into the critical relationship between gender equality and access to

Socio-economic empowerment policies for HIV prevention

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) is an inter-governmental organisation headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. SADC hosted a side event at CSW68 on 15 March 2024 to discuss socio-economic empowerment policies for HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young women. During the event, Nazneen Damji from UN Women stated that it

CSW Side Event: Taiwan Coalition Against Violence

This article provides a review of the Taiwan Coalition Against Violence (TCAV) side event held during the Sixty-Eighth Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) earlier this month. Our reporter, Soroptimist international’s (SI) Advocacy Policy Advisor Hana Smith, in collaboration with Joseph Mason, SI’s Advocacy and

The Intersections of Gender, Poverty and Climate Change

Soroptimist International President Siew Yong Gnanalingam opened the CSW68 parallel event/webinar, introducing the topic of gender poverty and climate change. President Siew Yong discussed how women are over exposed to the effects of poverty and climate change, illustrating how social factors restrict women’s access to resources, economic opportunities and decision

CSW68: Financing for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

This article examines key insights from a recent side event held by the Permanent Mission of India during the Sixty-Eighth Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) last week. Crafted by Soroptimist International's Advocacy Policy Advisor, Hana Smith, who attended the event, in collaboration with the

‘Women Standing Up for Women to Mitigate Poverty’ – SIGBI’s CSW68 parallel event

At CSW68 Soroptimist International of Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) held a virtual event, titled ‘Women Standing Up for Women to Mitigate Poverty’ which showcased Federation projects that help women and girls around the world. SIGBI has 6,000 members in 270 clubs covering 18 countries including Great Britain, Ireland and

Women’s Economic Empowerment: The Key Component to Development

Blog of Hana Smith, SI Advocacy Policy Advisor. On Sunday 10 March, SI Advocacy Policy Advisor Hana Smith attended an event held by the Commonwealth Secretariat, which discussed Women’s Economic Empowerment as a Key Component to Development. The first session, which focused on gender and FinTech (Financial Technology), was opened

Addressing Gendered Poverty: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Amidst the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, Soroptimist International (SI), alongside our five Federations, orchestrated a parallel event titled 'Addressing Gendered Poverty: Best Practice and Lessons Learned'. This in person event sought to illuminate successful projects fostering gender equality through empowerment, education, and leadership among

UNEA-6: Reflecting on the third high-level plenary

Blog of SI President, Siew Yong Gnanalingam. On the unique date of February 29th, the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) complex became the epicenter of global environmental discourse as Heads of States convened for the cultural opening of the 3rd High-Level Segment of the Assembly. This gathering of world leaders