Despite persistent legal and social inequities, women everywhere are rising to build stronger, fairer communities. Their voices, leadership and determination are driving meaningful change—on International Women’s Day and every day.
The Barriers Women Confront Worldwide
Women around the world continue to face systemic barriers that prevent them from accessing equal rights and opportunities. Globally, ten percent of women live in extreme poverty, and as of 2026, women hold only 64 percent of the legal rights afforded to men.
In arid and semi-arid lands, climate pressure continues to deepen existing gender inequalities. The heaviest burdens—from hours spent walking to gather water each morning to the erratic rainfall that destroys crops—fall disproportionately on women, while their influence over solutions remains limited.
Laws in many countries systematically disadvantage women, and at the current rate of progress, more than 286 years will need to pass before legal protection gaps fully close.
Meaningful progress takes root in systems that support women’s social and economic empowerment, and real change is built through collective action that demands equal justice for women and girls everywhere.
Across the globe, women are using their voices, advocating for their rights and shaping more equitable futures.
How Communities Are Leading Change
In Paraguay’s Lower Chaco, Indigenous communities are advancing justice and leadership through rights training and women-led gatherings—fostering a future rooted in dignity, advocacy and collective strength.
In Moldova, CWS and its local partners bring together Ukrainian refugees and Moldovan families to create a supportive and healing community. Now, these women are giving back to the community, transforming a forgotten plot of land into a beautiful garden.
In Argentina, Andrea Casamento created ACiFaD following her son’s unjust imprisonment. The group became a space for women who, like her, waited in prison lines carrying heavy bags and heavier silences. Together, they turned isolation into collective power. Through ACiFaD’s partnership with CWS, her work has reshaped policy, elevated lived experience and inspired international action against systemic injustice.
In Tanzania, Matisho Justina plants fruit trees where she lives in Nyarugusu Refugee Camp. These trees are providing more than food—they’re sparking transformation. After joining a tree-planting training through a CWS project, her success ignited a ripple effect throughout her community. Her story has inspired a movement rooted in hope, self-reliance and resilience.
In the United States, women are creating change in their communities—and in their own families. Yathrip Abdelgadir, a CWS Community Organizer, honors the quiet, daily acts of care that mothers—including her own—provide, especially during Ramadan, when fasting requires both spiritual focus and physical endurance.
On International Women’s Day and every day, we’re walking alongside women as they advocate for their rights and build more equitable futures.
Learn more about CWS’s work supporting women and girls around the world here.