Skip links


Soroptimists and the UN

Shortly after the founding of the United Nations in 1945, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the UN set up the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in February 1947, dedicated exclusively to the promotion of gender equality.

The CSW is instrumental in promoting the rights of women and girls around the world and is the principal body documenting the reality of women and girls’ lives, shaping global standards and driving the advancement of women.

While UN member states vote on resolutions, selected NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) are given consultative status and actively invited to participate in the work of the CSW and play a key part in holding member states to account.

Since 1984, Soroptimist International is very proud to be one of the official organisations awarded general consultative status at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland was awarded special consultative status since 2017.

See more information on the set up of the UN and CSW.

Our Role and Impact

The CSW holds a two-week session every year at the UN headquarters in New York. The Presidents of Soroptimist International and Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) attend, along with representative Soroptimist members. We attend Commission sessions where representatives from the UN Member States, civil society organizations and other NGOs with consultative status all attend to focus on the rights of women and girls in political, social and economic fields.

Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland (SIGBI) Press Release coming soon.

Since 1995 the CSW has had a specific focus; to discuss progress – and gaps in implementation – of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA).  This is a global framework, set out and adopted at the CSW in 1995 which sets out 12 areas of focus. As Soroptimists our work impacts on all these areas and we work hard to hold governments and decision-makers who have signed up to the resolutions in the BDfA to account, ensuring they make progress and deliver on their promises.

Soroptimist members are invited to attend the CSW in New York (via ballot). Many of our members do so and find the experience exhilarating.

For more ways to engage with the CSW in session: