The Women’s Major Group has a mandate to work on Sustainable Development, including implementation, monitoring, follow-up and review of Agenda 2030. See Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Agenda 2030 encompasses the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and indicators, the Means of Implementation (financial and non-financial) and the process for follow-up and review at all levels. The home for global follow-up and review is the High Level Political Forum, which links to regional, national, thematic and other process reviews. Agenda 2030 must be integrated with agendas for financing (Addis Ababa Action Agenda), climate change (Paris Agreement), disaster risk reduction (Sendai Framework for DRR), environment (UNEA), cities (HABITAT), women’s rights (CSW), population and development (CPD), to name just a few – which means the WMG must be aligned with its members, partners and other women’s constituencies working in those spaces.

The Women’s Major Group develops policy positions, background papers and factsheets on issues that should be addressed in the negotiations on sustainable development, Agenda 2030, the SDGs, environment, financing for SD, and elsewhere. This includes the thematic areas (decent work, sexual and reproductive health and rights, women’s rights, environment, migration, financing, technology, climate change, biodiversity, education, macroeconomics, and more), the cross-cutting issues and the systemic and structural challenges that are at the heart of achieving sustainable development and gender equality.

Learn More. The processes we work on through our advocacy include Sustainable Development as an overarching and key priority, including implementation, monitoring, follow-up and review of Agenda 2030 – Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• High Level Political Forum (for follow-up and review)
• Indicators (via the Interagency Expert Group)

We also work on other processes, through the relevant women’s groups/networks and constituencies: Financing for Development (Addis Ababa Action Agenda and Women’s Working Group for FfD); Climate Change (Paris Agreement, the UNFCCC and the Women & Gender Constituency); Disaster Risk Reduction (Sendai Framework for DRR & UNISDR); Environment (UNEP & UNEA and the Women’s Major Group); Urban areas and human settlements (HABITAT and the Women’s Partner Constituent Group); Women’s Rights (CSW); Population and Development (CPD); Others…

The Women’s Major Group is global, but its members are mostly focused in their own regional, national and local context. The WMG structure strives to reflect the geographic diversity. The 2014 elections for OPs resulted in 5 regional partners, most of which host a listserv. The regions are Africa; Asia & Pacific; Europe; Latin America & Caribbean; and North America. Visit each page for further details. As WMG membership and capacity continues to grow, we will strive to have OPs from other regions (e.g. MENA) and sub-regions.

The WMG facilitates advocacy by its members, including through an Advocacy List that is made up of non-government and non-UN WMG members. The WMG advocacy incorporates multiple aspects: development of position papers and common messaging; communications via traditional and social media; meetings with delegates and allies; mapping statements and position of Member States; and hosting side events. The advocacy work aims to represent the diversity of the WMG voices and interests, global/regional/national levels and thematic focus, while also developing common positions and messaging. The WMG also ensures that advocacy content incorporates all dimensions of sustainable development and those positions are equally represented when meeting in person with delegates or when writing positions.