Women’s Rights in the Workplace
The ACLU Women’s Rights Project works to protect women’s rights in the workplace and pushes for systemic change in institutions that discriminate against women. The project addresses issues such as employment, violence against women, and education. These issues contribute to persistent disparities in women’s income, wealth, and economic security.
The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the most comprehensive treaty on women’s rights. It condemns all forms of discrimination against women and men and reaffirms equality of the sexes. It was adopted on 18 December 1979 and entered into force on 3 September 1981. As of May 2014, there were 188 states that have ratified the Convention.
The United Nations’ Human Rights Committee has recognized that women are entitled to specific protection from violence. In 2012, the Commission on the Status of Women adopted a resolution, A/RES/67/146, that ends female genital mutilation. The resolution recognizes that women are entitled to equal treatment before the law.
Women’s human rights are guaranteed by international and regional treaties. Most of these treaties prohibit discrimination based on gender and obligate States to protect women’s human rights and realize them in all areas. They may also include the rights of other vulnerable groups. In addition to the human rights of women, they are often granted specific additional rights by law.
During the first decade of the twentieth century, the women’s rights movement had a difficult history. During the early nineteenth century, the women had very little power. Despite the fact that their rights were guaranteed by statute, women were not allowed to vote in most of the United States. The first state to grant women the right to vote was Wyoming, in 1869, after women had been denied their rights for 25 years. After this, the women’s rights movement gained momentum, and in 1890, the women gained full voting rights in the western states.
The world continues to face many challenges in advancing women’s rights. Unpaid care work, lack of job security, and poor working conditions are just a few of the issues that continue to undermine women’s rights. Furthermore, women have less economic opportunity than men, and are underrepresented in decision-making roles.
Progress in women’s rights is an ongoing process, and the UN has conducted several studies on women’s progress. Their Progress of the World’s Women series is provocative, insightful, and draws on research and analysis from leading organizations and experts to examine the status of women around the world. The report provides a valuable overview of the status of women in various countries.