CEDAW

United Nations Convention on Elimination of all forms of discrimination Against Women

LWVFA, represented by Jill Follows, worked tirelessly with multiple groups on a year-long campaign for the passage of a Resolution supporting CEDAW by the Fairfax Board of Supervisors. More information and the pictures of the signing of the Resolution are posted below .

On March 8, 2022, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted a Resolution in support of CEDAW, the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The Fairfax County Resolution, adopted on International Women's Day, calls for the review of existing initiatives and identification of additional measures necessary to raise awareness of the status of women in our community.

The resolution resulted from the year-long campaign of the Fairfax Working Group for CEDAW to take measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls. "We have expectations of our elected representatives, and those expectations include their support for promoting and protecting women's fundamental universal human rights," said Jill Follows, Fairfax Working Group for CEDAW.

The Working Group calls for the collection of data, disaggregated by gender, from all County boards, authorities, commissions, and County staff. It also calls for the creation of a committee to oversee the implementation of CEDAW principles and receive notice of claims of discriminatory practices, and for a review of County laws, policies, and practices to identify discriminatory practices affecting women's economic security, safety, health, education, and participation in our democratic system of government. "We agree with Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Former Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court, who said, 'Women belong in all places where decisions are being made,'" said Jill Follows.

The Working Group extends an invitation to Fairfax County organizations and residents to join the Group in this vital effort to improve the lives of women in our community. Contact Jill Follows at jill.follows@lwv-fairfax.org for more information.

The Fairfax Working Group for CEDAW received the County Resolution in support of women’s rights on International Women’s Day. The working group included:

League of Women Voters - Fairfax Area, Fairfax County Commission for Women, Zonta Club of Fairfax, AAUW of Virginia, American Association of University Women of Virginia, United Nations Association of the United States of America - National Capital Area, Reston-Dulles Section National Council of Negro Women, Inc.; ReflectUS, ASHA for WOMEN/ Ashiyanna, The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International for Key Women Educators, Beta Delta Chapter, Fairfax County NAACP, and the Human Rights Special Interest Group

Learn more about CEDAW by reading the May 2021 Fairfax Voter, EF-1 through EF-5.

Read the Guidebook on CEDAW here.

Read the Resolution here.