Author: Sam Chivers

 

This year marks three decades since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), the most progressive blueprint ever for advancing women’s rights globally. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), as the principal global body dedicated to women’s empowerment, has played an essential role in monitoring progress and addressing the remaining gaps.

 

The Beijing Declaration set out a comprehensive framework aimed at achieving women’s equality in various areas, including education, health, economy, and human rights. Thirty years later, while notable strides have been made in many areas, there are still significant challenges, especially regarding women’s access to nutrition.

 

The Beijing Declaration and nutrition

One of the critical aspects of the Beijing Declaration is its focus on the well-being and health of women, which includes their nutritional needs. For women, nutrition is not only about their health status as caregivers and mothers; it’s also about their own personal health and their ability to achieve their potential. Adequate nutrition plays a fundamental role in empowering women by improving their health, productivity, and overall quality of life.

 

Nutrition cuts across all twelve Critical Areas of Concern listed in the declaration.

 

When women are malnourished, they are more likely to be in poverty, as are their families. They’re less likely to be able to climb out of poverty, and their poverty drives further malnutrition of them and their children.

 

When women are malnourished, they are less likely to be able to access education and training, to achieve their potential in education or a career, or be productive at work.

 

When women are malnourished, their health suffers, and they’re more likely to suffer from complications during pregnancy and childbirth, which in turn impacts the survival and development of their children.

 

When women are malnourished, they’re less able to share power and decision-making at all levels. Their voices aren’t heard and nothing changes. Empowering women to make decisions about their nutrition and health is integral to breaking the cycle of poverty.

 

When women are malnourished, the economy of their country is stunted: malnutrition costs the world $3.5 trillion in lost productivity and healthcare costs each year. The human potential lost to malnutrition costs low-income nations up to 16% of their GDP in forgone productivity, which amounts to a permanent 2008-level global recession every year.

 

CSW in 2025

The CSW has been a key body in recognizing the connection between good nutrition and women’s empowerment. It has consistently advocated for policies that ensure women have access to adequate food, healthcare, and nutrition, emphasizing the need for addressing nutrition with approaches tailored to women’s unique biological needs.

 

At CSW69, the world will take stock of the strides we’ve made and confront the ongoing challenges women face in the quest for equality, and for good nutrition.

 

Empowering women to make decisions about their nutrition—whether through access to education, land rights, or income-generating opportunities—can go a long way in closing the gender gap in nutrition. Addressing these challenges requires not only policy changes but also cultural shifts that allow women and girls to have a seat at the table in food systems discussions.

 

The Beijing Declaration was a momentous moment that reshaped the global agenda for gender equality and inspired millions. As we reflect on the past 30 years, we must recognize the urgent need to ensure that women everywhere can access the nutrition they need to thrive, in order to build a more equitable and sustainable world for all.

Since 1912, International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8th and has marked a powerful milestone in the global movement for women’s equality. In 2025, International Women’s Day remains dedicated to urgent action on women’s rights, equality, and empowerment. This year also commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action—one of the most progressive global blueprints for advancing women’s equality.

 

Yet, despite decades of progress, one fundamental injustice persists: the Gender Nutrition Gap. Women and girls continue to face systemic barriers to good nutrition—obstacles that undermine their health, economic stability, and future potential.

 

The Gender Nutrition Gap: An invisible crisis with visible consequences

 

Today, more than one billion women and adolescent girls suffer from undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, or anemia. It is a problem that grows with conflict, climate shocks, and increasing cost of living and is often overlooked, yet has tremendous impacts on women and communities.

 

To take one example: anemia. The rate of anemia is high: one in three adolescent girls and women is anemic. It also hasn’t budged in two decades.

 

Anemia leads to a host of health issues, including fatigue, weakened immunity, and complications during pregnancy, and translates into a staggering sequence of losses of economic growth and human potential for developing countries. Through targeted nutrition interventions or services such as food fortification or multiple micronutrient supplementation, anemia can improve and reduce health care costs and days lost at work, as well as improve school attendance, concentration, and performance with continued benefits through the life cycle and potentially the next generation.

 

In many cultures, women often eat last and least. Women also tend to be more food insecure than men. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that women perform three times more unpaid care work than men, limiting their ability to access paid work, proper nutrition, and health services.

 

The impacts of malnutrition extend beyond individual health— they undermine entire communities. The cycle of malnutrition can persist across generations, as malnourished mothers often give birth to undernourished babies, perpetuating poverty and inequality. This challenge hampers opportunities, reduces economic potential, and continues to entrench cycles of hardship.

 

But there is a silver lining: we have the power to change this narrative.

 

Three Urgent Actions to Close the Gender Nutrition Gap

 

International Women’s Day is the perfect moment to re-commit to viewing nutrition as foundational and fundamental. The Closing the Gender Nutrition Gap: Action Agenda lists three fundamental areas where we can drive meaningful change:

 

1: Prioritize Women’s and Girls’ Nutrition in National Policies

– Governments must integrate nutrition into health, social protection, and gender policies.

– Nutrition interventions—such as multiple micronutrient supplementation (MMS), balanced energy-protein diets, and nutrition counseling—must be scaled up within maternal and adolescent health services.

– Food systems must be gender-responsive, ensuring affordable, diverse, and healthy diets for women and girls.

 

2: Break Harmful Social Norms That Undermine Women’s Nutrition

– Challenge discriminatory norms that force women and girls to eat last or deprioritize their health.

– Promote gender-equitable caregiving responsibilities so nutrition isn’t just a woman’s burden.

– Strengthen school meal programs, breastfeeding support, and workplace policies that empower women and adolescent girls.

 

3: Invest in Nutrition as a Pathway to Women’s Economic Empowerment

– Undernutrition limits productivity—yet investing in nutrition offers some of the highest economic returns of any global development action.

– Governments, donors, and the private sector must increase funding for women’s and girls’ nutrition as it is critical for driving economic growth and ensuring societal progress. Recognizing the importance of equitable nutrition will enable healthier, more productive generations, ultimately benefiting us all.

 

Investing in women’s nutrition isn’t just beneficial to women—it’s an economic necessity. When women and girls have access to nutritious food, they are more likely to stay in school and earn higher wages. Every $1 invested in women’s nutrition yields up to $35 in economic returns. Stronger women build stronger families, communities, and economies.

 

This International Women’s Day, let’s turn awareness into action. Read The Gender Nutrition Gap Action Agenda to learn how you can be part of the solution. Raise your voice, advocate for policies that put women’s nutrition first, and demand investment in programs prioritizing gender-equitable nutrition. When women are nourished, societies prosper.

 

The time for change is now. Join us.