Equality Now began our journey in 1992. There, three human rights lawyers, Jessica Neuwirth, Navanetham “Navi” Pillay, and the late Feryal Gharahi, came together to ensure women’s equality, often relegated to the realm of culture, was brought squarely into the field of human rights. This shift would help ensure that countries prioritize women’s rights, afford resources, and elevate it to an international concern.
While the second half of the 20th century saw a rise in many progressive social and cultural movements, gender inequality remained embedded in virtually every country’s laws and policies. Domestic violence was just “life,” female genital mutilation and child marriage were cultural practices, and sex trafficking was not addressed in the law. Jessica, Navi, and Feryal saw that discrimination in the law, including the lack of recognition of various forms of violence against women, was a fundamental impediment to gender equality. Women’s rights were not yet considered a foundational part of human rights.
Led by these visionary women, Equality Now did some groundbreaking work:
In 1995, together with civil society and governments from around the world, we attended the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.
At the conference, 189 countries adopted The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (“Beijing Platform”), a ground-breaking global framework for advancing women’s rights. It outlines commitments to deliver gender equality in all aspects of life. Crucially, countries pledged to “revoke any remaining laws that discriminate on the basis of sex.”
In 1999, we launched our flagship report, Words & Deeds, tracking sex discriminatory laws worldwide. It becomes a central tool for accountability and reform, updated every five years.
We opened offices in Nairobi (2000) and London (2003).
In 2004, we co-founded the SOAWR Coalition in 2004, helping to drive the Maputo Protocol’s ratification across Africa.
We opened our Beirut office in 2018, launched the Hurra coalition in 2023, and continue to build regional networks across South Asia, Eurasia, and Latin America.
To mark our 30th Anniversary, we celebrated 30 women and changemakers who have helped to shape our work to make equality a reality.
Learn more about these 30 women and changemakers as told by members of our staff and board, including Gloria Steinem’s tribute to Wilma Mankiller.
Now in 2025, we are championing women’s rights in 85 countries, with 80 team members across 23 countries leading legal and policy reforms for a more just world.
We’ve grown from a small legal team to a global network of lawyers, researchers, strategists, storytellers, and survivors — united by a shared belief: Equality must be enshrined in law.
“When we launched in 1992, we had a deep conviction that we could and must act against the violation of women’s rights around the world. Equality Now has become a standard for activism on the ground where we try to translate women’s needs into national, regional and international law, policy, and practice…”
— Jessica Neuwirth, Co-Founder
Over 30 years of progress for all women and girls
