Diversity, Equity and Inclusion shine at CSW69

The participants have spoken — attendees of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) last month answered the question: What did you find most valuable about attending CSW69? 

Here are a few representative answers:

• The opportunity to meet and share with women from all over the world — expanded my horizons.
• Witnessing the diversity from all over the world and listening to change being made everywhere.
• The wealth of knowledge gained from attending the side event and parallel event sessions, where we learned about issues such as poverty, toxic masculinity, female genital mutilation, unequal educational opportunities, land rights, online violence, sexual assault and rape and the need for policies for gender safety and inclusion.
• Entering the diplomatic world stage that is the United Nations.
• As a virtual attendee it felt awesome to be part of such an amazing community of scholars/activists working for change and transformation.

Perhaps one of our students best summed up CSW by noting that “attending really opened my eyes to the vast amount of effort and organization that exists promoting women’s rights, and it inspired me to continue my own activism as well as pursuing a future in nonprofit or political science work.”

The Welcoming …

Our 40 attendees began arriving on April 6, and we were some of the first in line to gather grounds passes and enter the U.N. general assembly hall for the celebration of International Women’s Day (you can watch that event here). That evening we held a “friendraiser” event in collaboration with one of our new community partners, Mary’s Pence.

More groups arrived over the weekend, with many attendees enjoying Teen Orientation sponsored by the Working Group on Girls — participants of all ages appreciated the opportunity to get inspired, reflect on what they wished to learn and gain answers to questions.

The 69th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women unfolded at a moment of deep turmoil around the globe. We are seeing unprecedented changes to the international order and increasing opposition to women’s rights around the world — all taking place during the 30th anniversary of the landmark Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

The First Week …

Was a rush, full of sessions, learning experiences and a meet-and-greet to get to know other members of the Loretto/BVM Delegation and our community partners, Mary’s Pence and Sisters Rising Worldwide. Former Loretto Volunteer Teresa Blumenstein, global coordinator of the Justice Coalition of Religious, shared the perspectives of a young professional. 

We were thrilled to welcome groups from St. Mary’s Academy in Englewood, Colo., Loretto Academy in El Paso, Texas, and Wahlert Catholic High School in Dubuque, Iowa, along with Katherine Wojtan and Mabel Martinez (Mary’s Pence), Sr. Roberta White BVM and Sr. Irene O’Neill CSJ. A highlight occurred at a town hall with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez when former Wahlert Catholic high school principal Mariah Reeves advocated for the educational rights of rural girls around the world, asking that they not be forgotten or left behind.

The Second Week …

When we welcomed eight participants from Nerinx Hall High School in St. Louis, turned out to be equally exciting, with insightful documentaries, the opportunity to attend the Rainbow Caucus of the Committee on the Status of Women, sessions about challenges associated with child marriage and a visit to the Irish Mission.

You can find more coverage through the Sisters Rising Worldwide blog post about Catholic Sisters Week and this Global Sisters Report article. Here is a link to our excellent intergenerational, interfaith Parallel Event supporting rural women’s economic advancement, held in collaboration with Mary’s Pence.

In Sum and Next Steps …

We had yet another transformational learning experience, and broke all past records with a 60% response rate to the evaluation form. Throughout the months of April and May we will be holding a series of “report-back” events via Zoom for the Loretto Community — plus screenings of the inspiring documentary about the first female Irish President, Mary Robinson. We’ll also be following the ways in which students bring what they’ve learned back to their communities — starting conversations, launching advocacy initiatives or supporting local efforts aligned with their passions.

To conclude, in the words of one of our teen participants, “Attending CSW has solidified my belief that meaningful conversations can inspire real progress, and that advocacy is not just about speaking up, but also about listening, learning and challenging perspectives, including my own.”

Please continue to watch for social media with the hashtag #EducateGirls2025 to follow our efforts to empower future generations through follow-up efforts to #CSW69 and beyond.