As we near the 20th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, a landmark for women’s rights and gender equality, UN Women launches an online course meant to make basic gender equality knowledge accessible to all UN system staff. “I Know Gender: An Introduction to Gender Equality for UN staff” stems from collective efforts by UN Women and sister UN agencies to enhance awareness, knowledge and understanding on gender equality and women’s empowerment for non-gender specialists. Integrating gender equality into daily work and life is at the heart of transforming the UN to achieve the post-2105 development agenda.

At the request of the Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) and supported by the Coordination Division under the umbrella of the UN System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP), the UN Women Training Centre was tasked to develop an introductory course on gender available for the UN system.

The course consists of three core modules which cover gender concepts; the international framework for gender equality; and the promotion of gender equality throughout the UN system. Complementing the course are optional thematic satellite modules, developed in partnership with other UN agencies including: ITC-ILO, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNESCO, UNFPA, and WFP. The topics covered by these satellite modules are gender and work, education, sexual and reproductive health and rights, economic empowerment, violence against women and girls, and leadership and decision making. Additional modules on sexual and gender diversity and human rights, emergencies, and peace and security are also expected to become available shortly.

The basic course is a product of collaboration, consensus and peer review by multiple UN partner agencies, namely, ESCWA, FAO, IAEA, IFAD, IOM, ITC-ILO, OHCHR, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF.

This interactive and user-friendly course can be found on UN Women’s eLearning Campus- trainingcentre.unwomen.org. The Campus will be further enriched with training materials and tools and technically enhanced in the coming months.

Watch her video message “I Know Gender, do you?”