Commission on the Status of Women

The Commission on the Status of Women is a global policy-making body within the United Nations Economic and Social Council dedicated to gender equality and advancement of women. 

UN member states meet annually to discuss and evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards, and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and women's empowerment worldwide. The principal output is the agreed conclusions on priority themes set for each year. 

CSW66

The sixty-sixth session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) took place from between 14-25 March 2022 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York (15-26 March 2022 NZT). Due to the ongoing impact of COVID-19, CSW66 took place in a hybrid format (a mixture of both online and in-person sessions). The events were live-streamed on the UNTV website, and recorded sessions are available on the UN Women website.

The priority theme for CSW66 was: “Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”.

You can read the Agreed Conclusions, the outcome document negotiated by all UN Member states, on the UN Women website.

Representatives for New Zealand included: Hon Jan Tinetti (Minister for Women), Carolyn Schwalger (New Zealand’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations), officials from Manatū Wāhine and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and two civil society representatives.

Minister Tinetti delivered New Zealand’s National Statement virtually on Monday 14 March 2022 EST (Tuesday 15 March NZT). You can read this statement on the Beehive website.

The following day (Tuesday 15 March EST/Wednesday 16 March NZT), Minister Tinetti delivered a second statement during a high-level Ministerial roundtable focused on: “Climate, environment, and disaster risk governance: advancing gender equality through holistic and integrated actions from global to local”. You can read this statement on our website.

During CSW66, New Zealand supported and signed onto several joint statements with:

CSW66 side events

In addition, New Zealand was involved in several virtual side events over the course of CSW66. These included discussions on:

  • the importance of gender-statistics in the fight against climate change, with the Government of Fiji and UN Women Fiji Multi-Country Office;
  • sex workers’ labour rights, with the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Count Me In! Consortium; and
  • “Equal pay is everyone’s business”, with the Canadian Government and Equal Pay International Coalition (EPIC).

Recordings of these events will soon be made publicly available.

The full calendar listing all CSW66 events is on the UN Women website. Some events were recorded. Advertised events on the calendar may include a link to access the recording post-event, or details on how to contact the organisers for the link.