International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, while making a worldwide call to action to strengthen efforts for supporting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.

The United Nations theme for the observance of IWD 2022 is "Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”. This theme recognizes the crucial contribution around the world of women and girls in climate adaptation and mitigation and resilience building. It is also aligned with the priority theme of the 66th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women "Achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes”.

Empowering women and youth to ensure their full participation in climate change adaptation decisions and frameworks is crucial for achieving a more sustainable and equitable world. Women and girls are still too often underrepresented in important decision-making processes regarding climate change solutions. A sustainable future requires women to have equitable access to productive resources and services and a meaningful participation in governments, parliaments and other important decision-making bodies, and good representation in institutions and organizations. This year’s International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to demonstrate the potential and achievements of women and girls as agents of change and resilience builders, while at the same time making a call to action to increase the participation of women in leadership roles in planning climate actions and solutions.

The Rome-based Agencies will pay a tribute to women leaders, young and old, from different socio-economic backgrounds and Indigenous groups, highlighting their achievements while calling on policy and decision-makers to assure that their voices are adequately heard in climate change negotiations and planning.