The International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD) brings together governmental and intergovernmental entities with diverse civil society organisations (CSOs) and faith-based organisations (FBOs). It aims to bring greater and institutionalised communication and coordination between religious and secular actors in the spirit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The PaRD Gender Equality and Empowerment work-stream commissioned the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI) to undertake research to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The JLI is an international collaboration of academics, practitioners, and policymakers interested in research and evidence
on the role of religion in development.

The purpose of this report is to assist the work-stream in

1. reviewing the roles religious actors have played in advancing and hindering gender equality since the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action in 1995;
2. identifying strategies to overcome current barriers;
3. understanding the roles attributed to religious actors in UN policy documents.

The report is based on a literature review, prioritising literature published within the last decade, as well as research outputs of JLI members, and the author’s doctoral research study. In total 154 journal articles, research reports, and policy briefs were reviewed. Case studies were sourced from JLI members, google searches, and academic articles and development reports reviewed for this study. The gender themes covered in this report mirror the six targets under the Sustainable Development Goal 5.

View the Report Launch here

PaRD Annual Forum 2020 on this report