On March 11, HM Queen Elizabeth II signed the newly agreed Commonwealth Charter at a reception to mark Commonweath Day, attended by SI Programme Director Hilary Ratcliffe. It is the first time one document has been agreed by all 54 member states to enshrine a comprehensive range of principles and

Soroptimist International welcomes the Agreed Conclusions on violence against women and girls that were agreed at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) late last night in New York. The agreement, hailed by Michelle Bachelet of UN Women as “historic”, was reached after several days of tough negotiation and

Speaking at the ECOSOC session at the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN in New York today, Soroptimist International expressed alarm at the increasing incidence of femicide - the killing of women and girls because they are female - and called for urgent, concerted action. "Femicide is growing

Soroptimist International and other women's organisations have expressed anger and disappointment at attempts to backtrack on existing international agreements on violence against women and girls at the 57th session of the UN's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57), currently taking place in New York.   "It is alarming that states are continuing to negotiate established

UN Women and UN Global Compact invited Soroptimist International of Europe to join Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet to discuss Women’s Empowerment along with some 250 Global Business leaders. New York, Wednesday 6 March 2013 – Ulla Madsen, President elect of Soroptimist International

See the latest updates and photos on our Facebook page! Soroptimist International clubs around the world are taking part in a global day of action to call for an end to violence against women on International Women's Day, March 8.  SI clubs in many countries around the world, including Australia, India, Nepal,

Grassroots in action: marching for women’s rights, a special courtroom established, a “centre of excellence” becoming a reality - these are just some of the recently reported projects undertaken by Soroptimists around the world to enable, educate and empower women and girls. Here are some pictures of Soroptimists making a

 The Soroptimist International delegation is hard at work at the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW57) in New York, lobbying, sharing experience and learning from others.  You can read the latest updates from CSW at www.soroptimistinternational.org/CSW57 and see photos below.  SI is calling for CSW to send out a

The 54th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is currently meeting in Geneva to consider the progress of countries that have signed the CEDAW Convention in securing equal rights for women and men. The Committee will also hold a general discussion on access to justice.  The CEDAW Committee's

The 57th session of the UN's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which opens next week, provides a unique opportunity for Governments to send a strong message that violence against women must end. Soroptimist International is urging that CSW must deliver a strong outcome document, which addresses the needs of gender-violence