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Generation Equality Forum: overview of the commitments

Published 3 August 2021 in News

Summary of the commitments announced at the Generation Equality Forum

The Generation Equality Forum is an international initiative in favor of gender equality, organized by UN Women and co-chaired by the governments of France and Mexico, in partnership with civil society.

Twenty-six years after the last World Conference on Women in Beijing, 500 speakers and nearly 50,000 participants from all over the world came together from June 30 to July 2, 2021.

Commitments from Governments

The full list of commitments can be viewed on the Generation Equality Forum’s world map.

The Forum marked the launch of a Global Acceleration Plan for Gender Equality, a set of targeted actions in six key areas that impact the lives of girls and women (the six Action Coalitions).

The Forum resulted in commitments from governments, philanthropic organizations, civil society, youth organizations and the private sector. In total, UN Women announced $40 billion in financial, policy and programmatic commitments to advance gender equality over the next five years.

Governments and the public sector committed $21 billion, the private sector $13 billion, and philanthropic organizations $4.5 billion. United Nations entities and international or regional organizations have committed a total of $1.3 billion.

The government of Burkina Faso, along with Benin, Guinea, Mali, Niger, and Togo, has committed to providing free health care to pregnant women and children under the age of five, and to taking legislative and social measures to end harmful norms such as female genital mutilation and child marriage.

Norway reaffirmed its role as a "global political and funding champion" for sexual and reproductive health and rights through a $1.2 billion commitment..

The United States committed $1 billion to support national programs to end gender-based violence, and $175 million for international programs.

The Global Care Alliance, launched by Mexico and UN Women, now includes 39 countries, including Canada, which has committed $100 million to address inequities in the global care economy.

France’s commitment

An additional 100 million euros to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights:
- 90 million euros to the UNFPA Supplies program for the purchase and distribution of contraceptives and sexual and reproductive health products
- 5 million to the new Shaping Equitable Market Access for Reproductive Health (SEMA) program to support equitable access to sexual and reproductive health commodities hosted by AMREF (pledged funding to date: $50 million)
- 5 million to Le Centre ODAS (Organization for Safe Abortion Dialogue) in West and Central Africa, supported by the NGO Ipas
A new 50 million euro commitment for the French Muskoka Fund until 2026 to reduce maternal and infant mortality in West Africa
The French Development Agency (AFD) will pursue its commitment to sexual and reproductive health and rights at the same level as in previous years by mobilizing 250 million euros via the bilateral channel on SRHR for the next five years.
As part of the replenishment of the Global Partnership for Education for the period 2021-2026, France will contribute 333 million euros to the Partnership, half of which will be allocated specifically to actions in favor of girls and gender equality in education
The President of the Republic announced the launch of an initiative to support human rights defenders and the organizations that support them around the world, and to provide a safe haven in France for women and men who are particularly threatened.

France has also been involved in the launch of other initiatives, including:

"Paris Call for the Equality Generation in Sport", with UN Women and the International Olympic Committee
The first international ISO standard for gender equality
A Charter to tackle gender stereotypes in the cultural and creative industries
Launch of the third national action plan on the "Women, Peace and Security" agenda and involvement in the "Women, Peace and Security and Humanitarian Action" Compact
Launch of the parliamentary process to authorize the ratification of ILO Convention 190 o eliminate violence and harassment in the workplace. A first review of the text of the law took place on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 in the National Assembly.
Launch of an initiative on women in healthcare with the WHO and the NGO Women in Global Health
Launch of the "2x Challenge Collaborative", with the French Development Agency and other public development banks, a new mechanism for tracking and monitoring funding for international companies involved in reducing inequality.

The private sector, international organizations and foundations engaged alongside governments:

PayPal will invest more than $100 million to promote financial inclusion and economic empowerment of women and girls.
The World Bank has pledged to invest $10 billion over the 2021-2026 period in programs to address gender inequality, particularly in 12 sub-Saharan African countries.
The Ford Foundation announced a commitment of $420 million for five of the six Action Coalitions over the next five years to address gender inequality.
The Bill et Melinda Gates Foundation will spend $2.1 billion over the next five years to promote women’s economic empowerment, sexual and reproductive health, and support women’s leadership.
The Open Society Foundation: at least $100 million over five years to fund feminist political mobilization and leadership.
The Global Financing Facility for Women, Children and Adolescents (GFF) launched a plan to accelerate sexual and reproductive health and rights in collaboration with Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Buffet Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundat

Next Steps

Accountability: The issue of monitoring commitments was emphasized throughout the discussions. An accountability mechanism is being developed and is expected to be presented at a side-event at the UN General Assembly in September 2021.

UN Women, as the Secretariat of the Action Coalitions, will produce an annual report that will track the implementation of the commitments. A next global milestone is envisaged in 2023, at the halfway point in the implementation timeframe of the Action Coalitions’ commitments.