Equality Now is a worldwide human rights organisation dedicated to securing the legal and systemic change needed to end discrimination against all women and girls, everywhere in the world. Since our inception in 1992, we have played a role in reforming 135 discriminatory laws globally, positively impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of women and girls, their communities and nations, both now and for generations to come.
Founded in New York in 1992, Equality Now has grown from a visionary idea into a global powerhouse for women’s rights. We are a global organisation, with a team of experts located around the world and registered offices in Kenya, the UK, and US. We are proud to be working alongside more than 3000 individuals and organisations, with 267 partners across 52 nations, and as part of 38 national, regional, and global coalitions
Over the next five years, we will take bold new steps in our mission to achieve legal and systemic gender equality, securing rights in laws that will help to transform the lives of hundreds of millions of women and girls – to the benefit of everyone, now and for generations to come.
Our work is shaped by five strategic priorities, reflective of the unique challenges and opportunities of the day, as well as a commitment to continue building on the resilience and effectiveness of our organisation, namely:
Equality Now works with partners in the United States to call for the universal recognition and implementation of the Equal Rights Amendment, and in the US and Canada to address harmful practices like FGM and child marriage, eliminate online sexual abuse and exploitation, and improve access to justice for survivors. Our New York office is also central to our engagement with the United Nations mechanisms, including at the Commission on the Status of Women, the High Level Political Forum, and the UN General Assembly.
We work with governments, legal professionals, policymakers, and civil society to craft better laws and guide more effective implementation in every part of the world.
Our work to eradicate exceptions to child marriage laws across all US states continued, with 2025 seeing reforms in Maine, Oregon, Washington DC, and Missouri, reducing the number of states with child marriage exemptions from 37 to 34. Meanwhile, in April 2025, the Washington DC Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act came into effect, comprehensively banning FGM and strengthening legal protections for women and girls in the District.
We work at national, regional, and global levels to build coalitions, facilitate and strengthen movements, and support partners, promoting dialogue and leaderful action.
In the Americas, we are members of state-level, national, regional and global coalitions, including ERA Coalition, which works to advance the ratification and implementation of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. As a key partner, Equality Now brings a global human rights lens to the campaign, highlighting how constitutional equality aligns with international obligations.
In the United States, we are also a steering member of the National Coalition to End Child Marriage and the U.S. End FGM/C Network.
We engage policymakers and hold power to account through targeted advocacy, campaigns, and litigation, while platforming and amplifying the voices of those most affected and marginalised.
For example, we worked together with Brisa De Angulo on her case against Bolivia that she first presented to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2010. The judgment from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) in 2023 continues to have a positive impact.
In mandating legal reforms, training for law enforcement, and concrete measures to prevent violence and hold perpetrators accountable, this progressive judgment set a powerful precedent, not only in Bolivia but throughout the wider region. We have provided technical advice on multiple bills seeking reform following the judgment.
In 2025, Oaxaca in Mexico reformed its Criminal Code to introduce a consent-based definition of sexual offences and to strengthen provisions involving crimes against adolescents – changes that are expected to strengthen protection and improve access to justice across the state for the estimated 1.1m women and girls at risk from sexual violence.
Equality Now, Inc. is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation. We believe in open transparency; our annual returns are available for public inspection.