United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

Reference Articles United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) is a branch of the United Nations (UN), based in New York City. The UN is an international organization founded after the end of World War II in 1945 to foster international peace. The UNCSW was organized to promote the civil, economic, educational, political, and social rights of women, including equal pay for equal work.

Along with peacekeeping missions and disaster relief, the UN works to promote human rights. This includes gender equality and the advancement of women. The UN Commission on the Status of Women is a branch of the UN Economic and Social Council. In addition to holding World Conferences on the Status of Women in 1975, 1980, 1985, and 1995, UNCSW delegates meet annually to evaluate progress on gender equality. From 2000 to 2015, delegates held a series of reviews every five years.

Founding of the UNCSW

The UNCSW first met in 1947. Throughout its history, the group has differed from other UN branches by maintaining a majority of women delegates.

During its first session, the UNCSW declared that its guiding principles would be (1) to raise the status of women—regardless of nationality, race, language or religion—to equality with men in all fields of human enterprise; and (2) to eliminate all discrimination against women, whether in legal statutes or in the interpretation of the law.

The UNCSW's 15 original delegates represented Australia, the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (today Belarus), the People's Republic of China, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Syria, Turkey, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (led today by Russia), the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela.

Dorothy Kenyon

The U.S. delegate, Dorothy Kenyon, had previously served on the League of Nations Committee for the Study of the Status of Women. She was named to represent the United States on the UNCSW from its inception in 1947.

But in 1950, during the second anti-communist Red Scare, Kenyon was attacked by right-wing U.S. senator Joseph McCarthy (R-WI) as a "radical" who was affiliated with communist groups.

After calling McCarthy a "lowdown worm," Kenyon was defended by the press and public figures such as former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. However, though Kenyon was vindicated, the ordeal tarnished her reputation, and she did not receive another appointment to the UNCSW.

Raising Global Awareness

From 1947 to 1962, the UNCSW focused on setting standards and presenting international conferences to raise global awareness of women's issues. The UNCSW contributed to drafting the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights—led by Eleanor Roosevelt—arguing successfully against using the word men as a synonym for all humanity, as in "the rights of men." The UNCSW succeeded in making UN language more inclusive. To support its data work, the UNCSW launched a worldwide assessment of the status of women covering the political and legal standing of women worldwide. The UNCSW also sponsored many international conferences, such as the Convention on the Political Rights of Women, held in New York on March 31, 1953.

This gathering initiated the first international law recognizing women's political rights. The conference was also responsible for promoting the first international study of women's rights in marriage.

Conferences and Declarations

In 1963, the UN General Assembly asked the UNCSW to draft a declaration—"Elimination of Discrimination against Women"—that the General Assembly adopted in 1967 to consolidate standards on women's rights. This was followed by "Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women," also drafted by the UNCSW, in 1979.

As part of its 25th anniversary celebration in 1972, the UNCSW recommended designating an International Women's Year. The proposal was endorsed by the UN General Assembly to draw attention to women's contributions to peace as well as their progress toward equality with men.

In 1975, the First World Conference on Women was held in Mexico City. This was followed by the designation of 1976–1985 as the "UN Decade for Women: Equality, Development, and Peace."

The Second World Conference on Women was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1980; the Third World Conference was in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1985; and the Fourth was in Beijing, China, in 1995.

The Beijing Conference received worldwide recognition when a speech by then-U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton included the rallying call "Human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights."

Today, the UNCSW continues to implement policies promoting the worldwide advancement of women, gender equality, and the prevention of violence against women and girls.

Nancy Hendricks