In recent years a number of countries have adopted constitutions or enacted legislation that ban discrimination on grounds of gender. And there is now relatively widespread acceptance of a woman's right to vote. This fundamental right however has yet to translate into meaningful change in the lives of millions of women in many parts of the world. By the close of the twentieth century women comprised two thirds of the world's one billion illiterate population. Women continue to bear the double burden of both work and childcare, owning less and earn less than men, and are systematically excluded from significant social decision making, including even decisions over their own bodies.

In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women took place in Beijing highlighting the central role of human rights in the struggle for women's rights generally. Since that conference, two significant achievements have been the adoption in 1998 of the treaty to establish an International Criminal Court (ICC), and the adoption of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Both of these measures should strengthen women's access to justice. The conference also analyzed issues related to women’s rights including poverty, education, violence, environment and armed conflict, among others.

The environment is a matter of concern for all peoples, of course, but it has also developed a particular niche referred to as "ecofeminism." The Women’s Environment and Defense Organization asserts, "Women are often most sensitive to changes in the environment because they are in closest contact with the home and the land; they are the first line of defense. Survival of women and their families is closely linked to the health of the land, forests, fisheries and other natural resources. There is strong evidence of the irrevocable damage caused by environmental assaults during various stages of the life cycle, particularly to the fetus and growing child."