Artworks created by women on display at the China National Museum of Women and Children in Beijing on Oct. 16 Photo: IC PHOTO

At 4:35pm on Sept. 15, 1995, 15,000 delegates from 189 countries and regions solemnly witnessed the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action—a landmark moment heralding a new era for the global women’s movement, at the Beijing International Convention Center.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action carry far-reaching significance. They embody the consensus and essence of the four UN World Conferences on Women held in Mexico City, Copenhagen, Nairobi, and Beijing. Infused with the wisdom and aspirations of the international women’s movement, these documents reflect the mission and responsibilities of the United Nations and its member states. Together, they provide a comprehensive blueprint for advancing women’s status and promoting women’s development worldwide. They also establish a “gold standard” for gender equality and women’s empowerment, making the Beijing Conference an enduring milestone in the history of the United Nations and global women’s development—one that remains unsurpassed to this day.

Relevance for world

Both internationally and in China, the impact of the Beijing World Conference on Women has been unprecedented. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action not only laid out blueprints, benchmarks, and policy agendas for advancing gender equality, but also introduced monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to assess implementation. As a result, the Beijing Conference became more than a single event; it initiated an ongoing process. At each five- and ten-year interval following the conference, the United Nations has organized global reviews to assess progress in implementing the Beijing commitments.

Five years after the Beijing Conference, the United Nations convened a special session titled “Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century,” which reviewed the progress made and challenges faced by governments in implementing the two documents. The session adopted the Political Declaration and Outcome Document to further promote the implementation of the Platform for Action at the national level.

During this monitoring and evaluation process, the United Nations Development Fund for Women adopted three core indicators to assess national implementation of the Platform for Action. First, women should account for at least 45% of paid employment in the non-agricultural sector, a target informed by the International Labour Organization’s 1999 “Decent Work” strategy. Second, women should hold at least 30% of seats in national parliaments, an indicator jointly endorsed by the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies and the Beijing Platform for Action. Third, the gross enrollment rate of girls in senior secondary education should reach 95%, reflecting the minimum educational requirement for securing “decent work” in the international labor market then.

At that time, among more than 190 UN member states, only four countries—Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Norway—met all three indicators, while Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, and South Africa were relatively close to achieving them. This underscored the fact that the targets set out in the Beijing Platform for Action were highly ambitious and not easily attainable.

At the 69th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in March 2025, the UN secretary-general’s report provided a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action over the past three decades, with particular emphasis on the most recent five years.

The report highlighted progress across all critical areas of concern, along with new key policy directions: 89% of countries have enacted and enforced laws explicitly prohibiting gender discrimination in employment; 79% have taken steps to strengthen social protection systems to alleviate poverty among women; 77% have prioritized efforts to combat violence against girls; 90% have introduced or reinforced legislation to eliminate violence against women and strengthened law enforcement mechanisms. Nevertheless, the world is still far from meeting the commitments set out in the Platform for Action.

Progress in China

The Beijing Conference also exerted a profound influence on China as the host nation.

First, the Conference prompted the Chinese government to elevate the respect for and protection of women’s rights to the level of a “national matter.” At the welcoming ceremony of the Conference, then President Jiang Zemin made a solemn commitment to the world, declaring “gender equality as a fundamental state policy.” Following the Conference, the State Council issued China’s first Program for the Development of Chinese Women (1995–2000), and subsequently introduced three successive programs for 2001–10, 2011–20, and 2021–30. The Chinese government has also incorporated women’s rights protection into its four-phase National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009–10, 2012–15, 2016–20, and 2021–25), striving to continuously improve and implement relevant laws and policies. National mechanisms for the advancement of women have been steadily strengthened, effectively raising women’s status and promoting their well-rounded development.

Second, the Conference ignited a strong sense of agency and collective identity among Chinese women, encouraging their active participation in sustainable development and gender equality initiatives. Inspired by the spirit of the Conference and supported by national policies and laws, girls across China have gained broad access to equal educational opportunities at all levels. Women in rural areas have changed their destinies by participating in primary-level elections and village governance. Chinese women now stand out in aerospace, scientific research, national defense, industry and the economy, transportation and finance, geological exploration, and public administration, making remarkable contributions while leading fulfilling lives. They have also organized themselves to engage in public welfare efforts, including poverty alleviation, anti-violence initiatives, environmental protection, child welfare, and support for people with disabilities.

Finally, the Conference significantly advanced the development of women’s studies and gender studies in China. In the years following the Conference, the discipline of Women’s Studies gradually developed within Chinese universities and research institutions. In 1999, the Chinese Women’s Research Society—the first national academic organization dedicated to women’s studies established since the founding of the PRC—was founded. The Society coordinates and promotes research on women and gender across the country, enriching and developing Marxist theories on women, and contributing to national legislation and policymaking, education and training, cultural development, social progress, and the improvement of people’s lives.

Liu Bohong is a research fellow from the Women’s Studies Institute of China.