In January 2015, PWDA and WWDA successfully applied for and received funding to support two delegates to participate in the 59th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW59) held at the United Nations in New York from 9-20th March 2015. CSW is the key UN global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women. Every year, State Parties and non-government organisations come together to evaluate progress, gaps and future actions in implementing the key global policy document on gender equality, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPFA). For CSW59, the WWDA delegate, Ms Carolyn Frohmader and the PWDA delegate, Ms Therese Sands worked together as an Australian delegation to represent issues and concerns of women with disability at CSW59. The key purpose of the delegation was to ensure that the intersection of disability and gender was recognised and translated into tangible outcomes for women with disability. This post-event report is made jointly by WWDA and PWDA in recognition of the collaborative role of both organisations in forming an Australian delegation to CSW59.
