Declaration of 1970-1980 as the decade for women

The United Nations Decade for Women was a period from 1975 to 1985 focused on the policies and
issues that impact women, such as pay equity, gendered violence, land holding, and other human
right. It was adopted December 15, 1975, by the United Nations General Assmebly.[1]
The Decade formally consisted of three international meetings and conferences in Mexico City for
"consciousness raising", Copenhagen for creating "networks", and Nairobi for "the solidarity of
women world-wide" along with several regional meetings with specific UN agencies (UNESCO,
WHO, ECLA, EEC) and nongovernmental organizations (YWCA, World council of churches,
National association of Women.

The first UN women first conference was held in Mexico City in 1975. There it was declared that
the UN Decade for Women would began in 1976 due particularly to the efforts of Letitia Shahani
and U Thant. Members of the UN, aimed to increase literacy, vocational training, education, and
employment opportunities for women. They also planned to improve health education and services,
family planning education, and welfare services for women.

The focus on women during the decade brought about a lot of changes in policies impacting
women.
A year after the conference in Nairobi, the UN published the first “World Survey on the Role of
Women in Development”. To do the reporting every year, governments had to establish "women's
departments", appoint cabinet ministers for women's affairs, and begin considering the roles and
statuses of women in their countries.Prior to these appointments and specific studies, women often
went "invisible" in global economic reports, as their labor is typically unpaid.

This conference was used to reflect on progress made since the 1975 conference in Mexico.
As the organization began to reflect upon the progress that had been made so far, some issues that
prevented the advancement of women were noted, including:
* Lack of sufficient involvement of men in improving women’s role in society;
* Insufficient political will;
* Lack of recognition of the value of women's contributions to society;
* Lack of attention to the particular needs of women in planning;
* A shortage of women in decision making positions;
* Insufficient services to support the role of women in national life, such as co-operatives, day-care
centres and credit facilities;
* Overall lack of necessary financial resources;
* Lack of awareness among women about the opportunities available to them.

References
1 O'Brien, Jodi (2009). Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. Thousand Oaks, California:
SAGE Publications. pp. 866–868.
2 Zinsser, Judith P. (November 1990). "The United Nations Decade for Women: A
Quiet Revolution". The History Teacher. 24 (1): 19–29
 3 Gorman, Robert F. (2001). Great Debates at the United Nations: An Encyclopedia
of Fifty Key Issues 1945-2000. West Port, CT: Greenwood Press. pp.