16 years advancing gender equality, rights, and autonomy for all women and girls

Sixteen years ago, UN Women was created to advance gender equality, the autonomy, and the rights of women and girls in all their diversity, and to strengthen those who make this progress possible across all sectors.

Since then, UN Women has supported laws, public policies, social movements, community leadership, and partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean that have transformed lives and shown that change is possible.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, we know well the transformative power of women.

We are a region of historic progress and vibrant feminist movements. Thanks to sustained efforts between governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, and multilateral organizations, we now have strong normative frameworks and societies that demand equality, justice, and democracy.

This is why it is essential to protect and strengthen gender equality norms and standards, increase institutional accountability, and expand the autonomy, leadership, and decision-making power of women and girls, especially those facing the greatest barriers.

These achievements show us the way forward. They also remind us that gender equality and women’s rights do not progress on their own - they must be sustained and expanded. This means building comprehensive care systems that recognise, reduce, and redistribute unpaid work, and that make care a pillar of well-being, decent work, and economic sustainability.

Today, more than ever, we need to move from commitments to action. It is necessary to close digital gaps and ensure that women fully participate in the technological, climate, and productive transformations of our time.

We need to invest more, and invest better, in equality and in strengthening and financing those who defend and advance women’s rights, especially civil society organizations, feminist movements, and youth. This is essential for these achievements to endure and reach further.

UN Women remains committed to working to prevent and on ending violence against women. Recognising that with increased focus on online interactions and AI, technology-facilitated violence is a growing global crisis that threatens women's safety, freedom of expression, and participation in public life; UN Women will continue to invest in this critical area of work.

This sixteenth anniversary is therefore a moment to renew our commitment to continue working with conviction, evidence, and close engagement at the local level, and to reaffirm our collective commitment to gender equality.

Because when women’s rights advance, our societies move forward.

This is the commitment we reaffirm today: to build a world where all women and girls have equal rights, live free from violence, and lead lives full of possibilities.

That is the reason for UN Women’s existence.