Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)

During the First World Conference on Women held in Mexico City in 1975, a recommendation was issued for the creation of a research and training institute devoted to the promotion of women. The following year, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) created INSTRAW, the only United Nations Institute devoted to serve as a vehicle at the international level to promote and undertake research and training programs that contribute to the advancement of women and gender equality worldwide. The mission of INSTRAW reads, “As a major catalyst in gender initiatives, INSTRAW promotes applied research on gender, facilitates information sharing and supports capacity building through networking mechanisms such as GAINS and multi-stakeholder partnerships with U.N. agencies, governments, academia and civil society.”