30 Years After the Beijing Agreement: Between Legacy, Challenges and New Horizons for Women's Rights

Introduction

In September 1995, in Beijing, 189 countries signed a founding text that would redefine women's place in the world: the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Thirty years later, as world leaders gathered again in Beijing for the Global Leaders' Meeting 2025 to mark this historic anniversary, one question stands out: where does the promise of Beijing really stand?

Has gender equality become an established fact, or does it remain a horizon yet to be reached?

I - The Beijing Agreement – Declaration & Platform for Action: an overview

The World Conference on Women in Beijing (4–15 September 1995) was a decisive turning point. For the first time, the international community adopted a comprehensive and ambitious framework to guarantee women their fundamental rights and full participation in development.

The Beijing Declaration reaffirms states' determination to achieve gender equality, while the Platform for Action identifies 12 critical areas of concern: poverty, education, health, violence, armed conflict, the economy, decision-making, human rights, the media, the environment, institutional mechanisms and the situation of the girl child.

This text has become an international compass for governments, international organisations and civil society, inspiring laws, public policies and social initiatives on every continent.

II - Where things stand 30 years later

Thirty years after Beijing, progress is undeniable, even if uneven.

• Political and institutional advances

Since 1995, women's representation in parliaments has more than doubled, rising from 11% to nearly 27% in 2025. More than 120 countries have introduced quotas or parity laws. Women are now at the head of institutions, governments and companies on an unprecedented scale.

• Access to education and health

Girls' enrolment in primary and secondary school has caught up with boys' in most regions of the world. Maternal mortality has fallen by about 34%, and access to reproductive health and contraception has widened. Recent debates now include mental health, often neglected in public policy.

• Economic empowerment

More than 600 million women have joined the labour market since 1995. Women entrepreneurs are emerging as key actors in economic transformation, supported by local initiatives, microfinance programmes and digital platforms.

• Changing mindsets and social discourse

Feminism has gone global and digital: movements such as #MeToo, #BalanceTonPorc and #AfricanFeminism have freed speech and helped redefine the notions of power and respect. In the media, culture and business, women's voices are asserting themselves as an essential lever of collective progress.

• China's role in this dynamic

Thirty years after hosting the founding conference, China now asserts itself as a major diplomatic and economic actor in promoting women's rights. The country has strengthened its programmes for girls' access to education, actively supports women entrepreneurs through inclusive innovation policies, and promotes digital and technological training to reduce the gender divide. At the Global Leaders' Meeting 2025, President Xi Jinping recalled China's commitment to "placing women at the heart of development and international cooperation", reaffirming Beijing's role not only as a symbol, but also as an engine.

III - Challenges and prospects

Despite these advances, the road remains strewn with obstacles.

• Persistent violence and inequalities

One woman in three in the world still suffers physical or sexual violence. Armed conflicts, humanitarian crises and climate disasters hit women and girls head-on, often on the front line without adequate protection.

• Economic gaps and unequal leadership

Women still earn 18% less than men for equivalent roles. They remain under-represented in leadership bodies: fewer than 10% of Fortune 500 CEOs are women. Access to property, credit and technology remains limited, especially in Africa and South Asia.

• New issues: digital, climate, peace

The digital gender divide still deprives nearly 250 million women of Internet access. Yet digital skills are now essential to take part in the global economy. On climate, women, especially in rural areas, are guardians of ecosystems and actors of resilience, but their contributions remain undervalued.

• Future prospects: Beijing+30 and beyond

The global relaunch of the Beijing+30 process aims to integrate these new issues:

• Inclusion of young women in decision-making processes,
• Green finance and gender,
• Protection of women leaders, journalists and activists,
• Recognition of women's spiritual and community leadership,
• Structural transformation of institutions towards truly inclusive governance.

Conclusion: from promise to transformation

The Beijing Agreement remains a universal and moral pact between generations. It is no longer only a matter of "demanding equality", but of rebuilding our political, economic and social systems to make it tangible. Women are not asking to be included in the march of the world: they are its engine.

Thirty years after Beijing, the real tribute to this agreement lies not in speeches, but in collective action. Because every step forward for a woman is a victory for all of humanity.