17 Dec 2020 The year 2020 marks an important global milestone in gender equality and women’s empowerment: the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action. It also presents the first opportunity to assess it in the context of the bold and ambitious vision of the 2030 Agenda. This synthesis report draws on three sources of data: member States’ submissions of national review reports on progress on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action between 2014 and 2019, available SDG data and secondary literature to present areas of regional progress – as well as challenges – and spotlights promising practices at the country and regional levels. It also considers the extent to which national reports emphasized multistakeholder collaboration and partnerships, demonstrated clear political will, and provided evidence of data-driven decision- and policymaking. The report reflects a synthesis of member State actions to implement the Beijing Platform for Action; identify areas where significant progress has been made on gender equality and women’s empowerment, as well as where challenges persist; and track statistical trends for relevant SDG indicators and other available data, especially in terms of women and girls facing multiple and intersecting inequalities, in line with the clarion call of the 2030 Agenda to “leave no one behind”. It also highlights gaps in the availability of sex-disaggregated data and gender statistics, and the implications of these gaps for the realization of the Beijing Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda. Finally, the recommendations in this report promote promising practices in the region and identify areas where member State actions can be enhanced.