Bridging the Great Divide: UN Women Sets the Agenda for a Gender-Equal Future at the Doha World Summit.
As the global community prepares to gather in the vibrant city of Doha, Qatar, from November 4 to 6, 2025, the stakes for international development have never been higher. The Second World Summit for Social Development (WSSD2) arrives at a critical juncture, serving as a high-stakes progress report for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This landmark event is not merely a diplomatic gathering; it is a historic bookend to three decades of advocacy, marking 30 years since the groundbreaking Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and the visionary Beijing Platform for Action. For UN Women, the Summit represents an unmissable opportunity to pivot from rhetoric to radical action, ensuring that the quest for gender equality is not a secondary concern but the very engine of social and economic progress.
The backdrop of the Summit is one of both urgency and frustration. Despite thirty years of international agreements, the structural barriers preventing women from achieving full social and economic parity remain stubbornly in place. The data tells a sobering story of stagnation. Current projections indicate that one in every ten women globally continues to live in extreme poverty. Perhaps even more staggering is the gap in social safety nets: of the 3.8 billion people worldwide who lack any form of social protection, a disproportionate 2 billion are women and girls. These figures are not just statistics; they represent a systemic failure to protect the world’s most vulnerable populations from economic shocks, health crises, and the indignities of old-age poverty.
At the heart of the Doha discussions are the three core pillars of social development: the eradication of poverty, the achievement of full and productive employment with decent work for all, and the promotion of social integration. UN Women argues that none of these goals can be met without a gender-responsive lens. The labor market remains one of the most visible battlegrounds for this struggle. Currently, the gender gap in labor force participation is stalled at 27.7 per cent. While 92 per cent of men aged 25 to 54 are active in the workforce, only 64.5 per cent of women in the same age bracket are employed or looking for work. This disparity has shown remarkably little improvement over the last two decades, suggesting that traditional economic policies are failing to address the unique burdens—such as unpaid care work and discriminatory hiring practices—that keep women on the sidelines.
UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous is set to lead a high-level delegation to Doha, carrying a mandate to integrate gender equality into the Doha Political Declaration. Her presence at the High-Level Round Tables signifies a push for a “transformative agenda” that looks beyond surface-level fixes. The organization is championing a strategy that addresses the “life-course” of inequality. This approach recognizes that the disadvantages a girl faces in education translate into a lack of decent work in adulthood, which eventually culminates in a precarious, impoverished retirement.
One of the most anticipated segments of the Summit is a series of UN Women-organized events designed to showcase practical, scalable solutions. On November 5, a session co-organized with the governments of El Salvador and Morocco will tackle the “feminization of poverty.” This event will highlight the Arab States Flagship Initiative, which aims to surge women’s employment by 5 per cent before 2030, specifically targeting the burgeoning Green, STEM, and Care economies. By focusing on these high-growth sectors, the initiative seeks to move women out of the informal, low-wage labor that has historically defined their economic participation.
The “Care Economy” will also take center stage in Doha. On November 6, UN Women, alongside the governments of Chile and Spain and the International Labour Organization (ILO), will advocate for a total redefinition of development through “care politics.” The argument is both moral and economic: by closing policy gaps in the care sector and expanding affordable, quality services, the global economy could create nearly 300 million new decent jobs by 2035. This transition would effectively turn what is currently an invisible burden on women into a formal sector that drives GDP growth and social stability.
The Summit will also address the darker realities of the modern workplace. In a virtual session on November 4, Deputy Executive Director Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda will join representatives from Sweden and the Kering Foundation to discuss the evolving nature of violence against women. As the world of work transforms through technology and remote participation, new forms of sexual harassment and economic abuse have emerged. The session aims to spotlight effective strategies and policies that protect women in these shifting environments, ensuring that progress in the workplace is not undermined by safety risks.
Furthermore, the Summit will look closely at the intersection of gender and aging. In partnership with UNFPA and the Government of Finland, UN Women will advocate for older women, who often find themselves at the intersection of ageism and sexism. As pension systems in many countries remain tied to formal employment history—which many women lack due to years spent in unpaid care—older women face a heightened risk of destitution. The Doha discussions will explore inclusive pension systems and “silver economy” innovations that ensure dignity for women at every stage of life.
The role of “soft power” and community building is not being ignored either. A unique session titled “Policy Meets the Pitch” will explore how sports can be integrated into social inclusion agendas. Co-organized with the International Olympic Committee and the Government of Qatar, this initiative views sport as a low-cost, high-impact tool for delivering social benefits to disadvantaged communities. Sima Bahous is expected to emphasize how equitable funding in sports can foster leadership skills in young girls and challenge the gender stereotypes that limit their potential from an early age.
Governance, too, must evolve if these changes are to be sustainable. Mohammad Naciri, UN Women’s Chief of Staff, will speak on “Transformative Governance for Caring Societies.” This session focuses on the “new social contract,” proposing that care governance be treated as a structural pillar of the state rather than a private family matter. By using intersectional and territorial approaches, governments can ensure that care systems are inclusive of the most marginalized groups, including indigenous women and those living in rural areas.
As the Second World Summit for Social Development concludes, the goal is a renewed political commitment backed by adequate financing. The 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action serves as a reminder of how far the world has come, but the discussions in Doha will serve as a stark reminder of how much work remains. UN Women’s message is clear: the 2030 Agenda cannot be achieved on the backs of unpaid and unprotected women. True social development requires a world where every woman and girl—from the student in a STEM classroom to the grandmother in a secure retirement—has the power, protection, and opportunity to thrive. The Doha Summit is the moment for the global community to decide if it is ready to pay the price for that progress or if it will allow another thirty years of potential to slip away.
With the eyes of the world on Qatar, the hope is that the Doha Political Declaration will not just be another document, but a roadmap for a future where gender equality is the foundation of a just and inclusive global society. Through strategic partnerships, innovative financing, and a steadfast commitment to human rights, UN Women and its partners at WSSD2 are setting the stage for a transformation that is three decades in the making.
