Commission on the Status of Women CSW

Established by the Economic and Social Council in 1946, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), centers itself around the promotion of female rights and gender equality. Using economic, diplomatic, and legal means, this committee focuses on improving the conditions that underpin gender inequalities and discriminatory policies. Over time, CSW has worked to decrease women’s poverty by investing in programs that develop female leadership and economic mobility. On a broader scale, CSW contributes to the United Nations’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by accelerating the inclusion of women in macro-level policymaking. This year, CSW will consider the elimination of gender-based violence and protections in informal economies around the world.

Topic A: Combating Gender-Based Violence
Gender-based violence and harassment both remain widespread challenges across diverse cultural, geographical, and economic contexts. While often addressed through legal and social reforms, the physical environments in which people live—from urban infrastructure to reporting systems—can significantly influence the frequency of violence and the safety of victims. This topic explores how these structures, both physical and digital, contribute to the vulnerability and protection of women. With this topic, delegates will focus on promoting justice, safety, and access to reporting violence while taking into account individual and unique cultures, values, and religions.

Topic B: Protecting Women in Informal Manufacturing Economies
In many industries around the world, primarily in the Global South and lower income countries, women are unequally represented in the informal sector. When working in the manufacturing economy outside of formal institutional frameworks, women receive lower wages, risk unsafe conditions, and lack legal protections. As a result, delegates will work to construct ways in which women can be protected when working in these sectors. Some examples include legal standards for increased safety in the workplace, improving parental paid leave, and policies that target the gender wage gap on a macro level. This committee will focus on the manufacturing and textile industries in order to facilitate more focused discussions on wages and working conditions. Relatedly, delegates will consider why women enter the informal workforce and the impact of domestic responsibilities that affect women, in turn developing nuance in protecting women while maintaining the flexibility toward care-related duties that drew them to informal work in the first place.

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