by Ann Marie Morrow, AWC Finland
They have a meeting just for women? When is the meeting for men?
That is what I overheard outside the entrance to the UN buildings in New York City on my first day of attending CSW69 in March 2025. It was said half-jokingly by a middle-aged man who worked at the UN to his colleague, who was explaining why there were thousands of women lining up and entering the headquarters on that beautiful sunny day.
CSW69 had started. It is the 69th Commission on the Status of Women, a conference that gathers advocates and representatives from countries around the world to assess progress and advocate for women’s rights and gender equality.
The Joke that Isn’t a Joke.
He said it jokingly, but it is a sentiment that is percolating lately in societies where women have gained many rights over the years, and men are sometimes left wondering why women need or want meetings that address their issues of progress in the world.
Here’s why: There is no country in the world where women are statistically equal to men. Yet a room full of women advocates raises eyebrows, but a room full of men can still be seen as business as usual.
Say to a man you know: “Close your eyes. Now think of all the rights you have.”
That is what women want. Nothing more. Just those same rights. Until that vision comes true, we will continue to have meetings for women.
- When did women get the right to vote?
- When did Indigenous women get the right to talk in their native languages?
- Do widows have rights to land ownership?
- Can a woman get credit in her own name?
The Fragility of Progress
The rights above were given and can be taken away, as we have seen in some countries. There is also rollback, pushback, or whatever you want to call it, in many countries where we thought we had “won” the fights for some rights for women. One of the main takeaways I have from the conference is that you can’t sit back and think that once a right is “given” that is the end of the story. Because equality was never the default, especially for women, widows, Indigenous people, women of color and LGBTQ+ individuals; there are those who will resist these extensions of justice.
I used to think that once a right was granted, it was settled law. That progress, once achieved, would stay. I was wrong.
Progress earned has to be progress maintained.
There are well-funded and well-organized groups that are working to take back some of the rights that I thought were settled. It wasn’t a nice realization. I really hoped that society would be able to expend energy in other ways. But, my bubble has burst, and I’m more realistic now.
Realistic that we have to celebrate the progress we have made. There is a lot of positive development. But I am also realistic that our aspirations need action to keep the progress. I was empowered to see thousands of women – and men – attending the two-week conference to share ideas, experiences and strategies.
We have aspirations for gender equality.
And we’re taking action to make it a reality.