The Political Declaration recently adopted at the CSW69 raises important concerns among civil society organizations and trade unions. Despite its ambitious objectives, the document has shortcomings in several crucial areas. Notably, the Declaration lacks explicit guarantees for public care systems and includes problematic references to Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), which could lead to the commodification of essential services.

While it mentions violence and harassment in the world of work, no reference to ILO Convention 190 was included in the Declaration. Equally troubling is the removal of references to just transition and the absence of language on sexual and reproductive health rights. These gaps could significantly impact the advancement of women's rights and gender equality.

PSI and other Global Unions have pointed out these limitations while acknowledging some positive elements, such as the recognition of decent work - which highlights the importance of social dialogue and collective bargaining - and universal access to social protection systems - a key commitment to reducing poverty and the vulnerability of millions of women, particularly those in informal jobs, low-paid sectors or in precarious situations. However, they emphasize that these advances come with important caveats.

Key actors in this process, PSI together with other Global Unions worked on four additional priorities for the Declaration beyond access to decent work: 1) gender equality as the foundation for social justice and peace; 2) recognition of women's labor rights as human rights; 3) guarantee of equal pay for equal work and 4) elimination of violence and harassment in the workplace.

The 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69), held at UN headquarters in New York, marks 30 years since the Fourth World Conference on Women. While the Declaration reaffirms the commitments made in Beijing in 1995, progress remains incomplete. No country has fully achieved equity for women and girls and structural gaps persist - as well as gender-based violence, the feminization of poverty and the exclusion of vulnerable groups remain central challenges.

Looking ahead, trade unions and civil society organizations emphasize the importance of maintaining pressure on governments. The success of the Beijing Declaration and CSW69 agreements will depend to a large extent on active monitoring by the trade union movement and sustained advocacy for rights-based policies with adequate funding.

PPPs in care services

PSI has been particularly critical of the risks of PPPs in care services. "While private sector investment in care services may appear to be a viable solution, experience shows us that PPPs do not effectively attract private investment for public services. In many cases, what they generate is further casualization of work in the care sector and the risk of turning fundamental rights into business," warns Verónica Montúfar, PSI's Global Equality Officer. "They typically result in public resources financing private profits without guaranteeing universal access."

CSW69 declaration closes with a reaffirmation of commitments, but also with the certainty that there is still a long way to go. The struggle for gender equality and women's empowerment continues to face resistance, but the global mobilization of trade unions, feminist and human rights organizations will be key to transforming agreements into concrete and sustainable changes for women around the world.