Greetings from the sixty-first session of the Commission on the Status of Women

Main plenary at the 61st session of the UN-Women’s Commission on the Status of Women Summit (CSW61)

A note from Executive Director
Melissa Erlbaum

Greetings from the United Nations Women’s Commission on the Status of Women Summit (CSW61). I am here on behalf of Clackamas Women’s Services, the Oregon Women’s Equity Coalition (OWEC) and the Oregon CEDAW Coalition- CWS is a member of both Coalitions.

UN-Women is the United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. The UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), was established to prepare recommendations on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields.

The CSW61 session provides an opportunity to review progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women, identify challenges, set global standards and norms and formulate policies to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide. The session is also a key opportunity for policy makers, advocates, researchers and activists to network and strategize, mobilize and plan new initiatives and actions to further the cause of gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Cities for CEDAW strategy session at the 61st session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

In my role as a member of the Oregon CEDAW Coalition I am attending a “Cities for CEDAW” strategy session with CEDAW representatives from across the Country to discuss how to implement CEDAW policies at a local and state level across the United States. On Monday, I had the honor of attending sessions on Ending Gender Based Violence in Workplace, the HeForShe Hong Kong strategy, Equity to Equality: Strategies for Women’s Economic Empowerment and Fostering Peace and Co-Prosperity by Creating Intergenerational Collaboration. In the evening I had the special honor of attending the Launch Session of the CSW61- Launch of the Equal Pay Platform where I heard activists, celebrities and governments call to end the global gender pay gap. http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/3/press-release-activists-celebrities-and-governments-call-to-end-global-gender-pay-gap

I look forward to sharing more updates along the way, and even more excited to harness this work to change policy at a local level as we work together to eliminate domestic and sexual violence and promote equity and equality in our communities.

Sincerely, Melissa