More than fifty years of civil society leadership.
Since 1972, NGO CSW/NY has created space for women's rights organizations and feminist advocates to exchange knowledge, build collective power, and bring their voices to the United Nations.
Organizing for a global movement.
NGO CSW/NY was founded in 1972 under the auspices of the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations (CoNGO). It was formed in preparation for International Women's Year in 1975, the UN Decade for Women from 1975 to 1985, and the First World Conference on Women held in Mexico City in 1975.
Its original mandate was to provide a forum for the exchange of information and cooperation among member organizations. Over time, that role expanded to include supporting the international community's implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action—adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995—and other United Nations agreements.
As NGO CSW/NY has developed and grown, it has remained a vital platform for international advocacy advancing women's human rights, gender equality, and the empowerment of women and girls.
A movement shaped across generations.
NGO CSW/NY's history is inseparable from the global women's movement and the growing role of civil society within the United Nations.
NGO CSW/NY is founded
Established under the auspices of CoNGO to provide a forum for cooperation and the exchange of information among civil society organizations.
International Women's Year
Civil society organizes around International Women's Year and the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City.
The UN Decade for Women
A decade of sustained global organizing advances the international agenda for women's rights, equality, development, and peace.
The Beijing Platform for Action
The Fourth World Conference on Women establishes a landmark global framework that continues to guide advocacy and accountability.
Five decades documented
The History Working Group publishes a 50-year account of NGO CSW/NY, preserving the reflections of former Chairs and the movement they helped shape.
A global civil society forum
NGO CSW/NY continues to convene advocates from around the world during the annual UN Commission on the Status of Women and throughout the year.
A history told by the leaders who lived it.
The History of NGO CSW/NY: A Look at the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, NY from 1972 to 2023 documents the organization's first fifty years and its connection to significant milestones in the global women's movement, particularly at the United Nations.
Each chapter represents a former Chair's tenure in their own words—preserving their experiences, challenges, successes, and perspective on how civil society advocacy changed over time.
- Five decades of institutional memory in one volume
- First-person reflections from former NGO CSW/NY Chairs
- A record of civil society's evolving role at the United Nations
Help carry the story forward.
Join a global community committed to gender equality and to ensuring that women's rights organizations have a meaningful voice at the United Nations.