Examining the representation of women UN Women's Beijing+20 Campaign

Abstract

The Beijing+20 campaign was conceived by UN Women as a way to celebrate the advancements in the realm of women's rights and equality. Despite the decades of work by feminists and NGO's, some critics suggest that the voices advocating for women are not representing a diverse group of women and, therefore, not representing a diverse range of concerns. Using the theoretical framework of transnational feminism, this research employed textual analysis of 235 articles to discover how women, and women's issues, are represented in a global context. This research particularly focussed on the areas of health, violence, and gender equality. Results, while not as polarizing as previous studies, found that there are still strong undercurrents of thought and assumptions that frame the way women are thought about in an international context. These assumptions are particularly evident when framing women in relation to culture, tradition, and the private and public spheres. Results suggest that large organizations advocating for women should diversify the voices speaking for them and highlight the complexities of the issues under discussion.