After a tumultuous beginning to 2025, we are still taking the time to reflect on 2024 and plan for all that is ahead, uncertain as it may be. Globally, 2024 was a year marked by some major “firsts” for women’s public leadership - including Mexico and Namibia electing their first women presidents. However, there were stark reminders that we still have a long way to go towards achieving parity in public leadership. 2024 saw the slowest rate of growth in women’s representation in parliaments in over 20 years. And in two-thirds of the countries where elections were held last year, the number of women elected fell rather than rose.
These trends are concerning, especially when seen in the context of growing threats to women’s rights, crackdowns on vulnerable communities such as refugees, and overall democratic backslide. But we are keeping hope and motivation as we progress through the year. In 2025, our mission to advance women’s leadership in politics and peacebuilding is more important than ever. By redoubling our efforts to help women secure positions of influence, we can create more peaceful and inclusive societies, while addressing some of the most critical challenges facing our world.
Amidst the uncertainty, it is important for our global community to take this moment to reflect. Marking the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action—the global blueprint for achieving gender equality—is a key moment to do so. At the Commission on the Status of Women, we will take stock of the progress that has been achieved toward our shared goals over the last three decades and the lessons that have been learned along the way. The anniversary’s theme is “accelerating the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls” is also a rallying cry to find new pathways to catalyze change.
Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration, women continue to be persecuted for their gender around the world. In countries including Afghanistan, Sudan, and Iran, women and girls are bearing the brunt of regressive policies that threaten their very existence. Where conflict is an everyday reality, women and girls are disproportionately cut off from access to essential services, exacerbating inequality. The violence affecting Palestine, Ukraine, Syria, Haiti, and Myanmar pose serious and immediate threats to the safety of women and girls. For lasting stability to be achieved in these countries and others, it will be critical to ensure that women have a seat at the table in both policymaking and peace processes.
With this context in mind, as we look to the year ahead we will continue to focus our work on three key areas:
- Empowerment: We will continue to provide training and capacity-building for women who are working to advance gender equality in countries around the world. We will also help them to create supportive communities amongst themselves, including through our partnership with The Archewell Foundation’s Welcome Project.
- Advocacy: We will raise awareness about the global rollback on women’s rights, ensuring that advancing gender equality remains on the policy agenda. We will also work to ensure that women facing persecution and repression have their voices heard, building on our co-hosting of a special screening of the powerful documentary Bread & Roses, which tells the stories of brave Afghan women who are continuing their advocacy work under Taliban rule.
- Security and protection: Will will continue to help protect the safety and security of women leaders at risk of violent reprisals, no matter where they are. This will include scaling up our work to provide emergency cash assistance to women human rights defenders and peacebuilders.
Since our founding, we have supported over 2,500 at-risk women leaders and their families to leave volatile situations where persecution is an everyday reality; dispersed emergency cash assistance to over 1,100 women leaders and human rights defenders; and trained over 360 women through capacity-building programs. As we progress through 2025, we will build on this momentum, with the support of our dedicated partners.
More women leaders means more peace, especially in the most uncertain times. By making a donation to Mina’s List, you can help us build the capacity of women leaders worldwide, advocate for their rights, and protect their safety. Join us in our mission to build just and peaceful societies by standing for and with women leaders.
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