Five Ways to Engage in CSW70

Here are five ways you can engage in the 70^th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) — whether online or in person — from 9 to 20 March 2026.

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the UN​’s principal global intergovernmental body dedicated to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women. The 70^th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) will focus on strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including through inclusive legal systems, the elimination of discriminatory laws, and addressing structural barriers that perpetuate inequality and discrimination.

The session brings together governments, United Nations entities, civil society organizations, feminist movements, youth advocates, and other stakeholders from around the world to review progress on gender equality commitments, negotiate global policy outcomes, and strengthen accountability for women’s rights and gender justice.

As CSW70 approaches, MenEngage Alliance, together with members and partners, will engage in this important political space in solidarity with feminist, youth, and LGBTQI+ movements working toward transformative social change and justice for all.

This update highlights key opportunities and entry points for members, partners, and allies to participate in CSW70 — whether attending in New York or joining virtually — including ways to engage in feminist movement spaces, connect with policy discussions, support youth-led advocacy, and contribute to advancing gender-transformative approaches to justice and equality.

1. Learn from feminist movements and connect with civil society from around the world at NGO CSW

In parallel to CSW each year, the NGO-CSW Forum is organized by and for global civil society, non-governmental organizations, and feminists to connect them with the official UN CSW process. 

The Forum allows civil society organizations to organize Parallel Events that are free to attend, with both in-person and online attendance options. In-person sessions are organized in close proximity to the United Nations Building. One does not need ECOSOC accreditation, nor a UN Ground pass, nor affiliation with any particular organization in order to attend the parallel events. While some of the parallel events may require prior registration to be able to attend.

The NGO CSW Forum provides a vibrant, diverse, and powerful space for feminist, youth, and LGBTQI+ dialogue, debate, and agenda setting at CSW, and the field of women’s rights and gender justice more broadly.

There are hundreds of Parallel Events at this year’s session — a number of them being online or live-streamed. Register here to participate and find information about the parallel sessions. 

Once registered, you can check if any of the events resonate with you and register to join individual sessions.

2. Watch the official UN Plenary Sessions or join a Side Event

Official CSW70 multi-lateral deliberations between Member States will take place through the Official Agenda. You can tune in to official CSW70 proceedings at webtv​.un​.org, to listen to the discussions online. To participate in person, you require a UN ground pass to enter the UN premises.

A key document guiding these negotiations is the zero draft, which outlines the initial framework for the agreed conclusions on strengthening justice for all women and girls. This year, the negotiations are taking place prior to the beginning of CSW, with Member States engaging to review and refine the draft. MenEngage Alliance has been monitoring the language on men and masculinities throughout the rounds of negotiations. 

Side Events are official CSW events that are co-organized by the UN and member states. Civil society organizations can participate in co-organizing a Side Event if done in partnership with a government or the UN itself. Most are held within the UN premises and require a UN ground pass to attend or prior registration.   See the calendar of CSW Side Events. 

3. Learn and support youth demands and organizing at CSW70 and beyond

Read the CSW70 Global Youth and Adolescents recommendations here: Beyond Access: Justice, Power, and Young Feminist Leadership.

The recommendations call upon Member States, UN entities, corporations, and all relevant actors to adopt gender-transformative, intersectional, intergenerational, multi-stakeholder, and movement-led approaches to ensure that normative commitments translate into justice and lived rights. 

The document provides a comprehensive breakdown of the political, economic, and patriarchal systems that obstruct justice for all women, girls, and gender-diverse people, and the transformations needed to address these injustices, strengthen accountability, and the meaningful leadership of young people, adolescents, and feminist movements.

The Global Youth Reference Group of MenEngage Alliance participated in the CSW70 virtual youth forum— the primary platform to share and socialize the Global Youth and Adolescent Recommendations. The Youth Reference Group will be represented by three members at CSW70 who will be leading and participating in key parallel events. 

4. Connect with MenEngage Alliance activities and events

Click here to see the calendar of events in which MenEngage Alliance members and partners are participating in CSW70. The event calendar also includes key official sessions, as well as feminist, youth, and other relevant partner spaces (side and parallel events) that you may be interested in joining. 

If you are a MenEngage member involved in an event and it’s not reflected in this calendar, please email email hidden; JavaScript is required, so we can add it. 

Some events that MenEngage Alliance and members are co-organizing include:

Global Trends and Strategic Responses to Anti-Feminist and Anti-Rights Backlash 

🗓️Monday, 9 March 2026, 10.30 – 12.00

📍Salvation Army, Auditorium, 221 E. 52^nd St., New York, NY 10022

This session will explore global trends in anti-feminist and anti-rights movements and examine strategic responses within the context of democratic decline. 

Organizers: United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES).

• Attend MenEngage Alliance Caucus Meeting

🗓️Monday, 9 March 2026 from  3:00 – 4:30 PM

For those who will be attending CSW70 in person and are members of MenEngage Alliance, you are invited to join the MenEngage Opening Caucus Meeting. Please note that participation will be in person only.

Our Caucus meetings at CSW provide a dedicated space for members to connect and strategize, build relationships, and shape our shared agenda and strategies during CSW70. The session will be facilitated in English.

Call to Action: Progressive Policy Approaches to Engage Men and Boys in Gender Equality

🗓️Thursday, 12 March 2026 | 15:00 – 17:00 hrs

By invitation only. Address will be provided upon registration. 

This high-level event will launch the resource ​“Call to Action: Progressive Policy Approaches to Engage Men and Boys in Gender Equality.”   The session will explore how patriarchal masculinities shape current political dynamics and policymaking, and offer policy-makers with strategies for advancing feminist-informed policy-making and programming inclusive of engaging men and boys. It will showcase evidence-based examples of policy and programmatic approaches from governments, UN entities, and civil society to advance coordinated action for gender equality among these actors. 

Organizers: Men, Masculinities and Countering Backlash Collective

Reframing Masculinities: Shifting Power, Delivering Justice

🗓️Friday, 13 March 2026 | 12:30 – 14:00 hrs

📍In Person. Open to all participants. 

This in-person CSW70 parallel event, organized by members of MenEngage Alliance, will examine how patriarchal masculinities limit women’s and girls’ access to justice and explore ways to challenge male privilege that normalizes inequality and impunity. The sessions will present evidence-based approaches from South Asia that engage men and boys as allies in strengthening justice systems, communities, and policy frameworks, while highlighting concrete legal and policy entry points and offering actionable strategies to embed masculinities into justice and accountability mechanisms worldwide.

Organizers: Azad Foundation, Breakthrough, Feminist Dalit Organisation (FEDO), and MenEngage Global Alliance

Drawn Masculinities: Comics for political education & critical reflection on gender norms

🗓️Friday, 13 March 2026 | 17:00 – 19:00 hrs

📍Goethe-Institut New York, 30 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003

Drawn Masculinities is an interactive workshop that will explore how comics can be used as a political and artistic method to reflect on masculinities and gender norms. 

Organizers : Bundesforum Männer, an umbrella organization for gender equality-oriented men’s policy in Germany, and member of MenEngage Alliance

5. The political agenda to transform masculinities to achieve justice for all

MenEngage Alliance, together with its members Equimundo, Let’s Breakthrough, Rwanda Men’s Resource Center (RWAMREC), and Sonke Gender Justice, jointly developed a written statement to provide the network’s collective political agenda for CSW70​’s theme. 

Read our statement for an analysis of how eliminating discriminatory laws and addressing barriers to justice requires the active and accountable engagement of men and boys, especially those in positions of power.

Also, read more about MenEngage Alliance’s CSW70 political agenda and policy recommendations in this discussion brief — Making Justice Systems Just: CSW70 Policy Recommendations on Addressing Patriarchal Masculinities, developed from a dialogue convened by MenEngage Alliance, UN Women, and the Bahá’í International Community.