Gender Academy 2025 Advancing Equality and Inclusion in a Changing World of Work
Gender Academy 2025 Advancing Equality and Inclusion in a Changing World of Work
24 November–5 December 2025
Introduction to the course
Gender equality remains a cornerstone of social justice, sustainable development, and decent work. Yet, across the globe, progress is facing intensified resistance. From political and cultural backlash to shrinking civic space, the foundations of gender rights are being actively contested. Meanwhile, economic crises, climate emergencies, digital transformation, and armed conflicts continue to widen inequalities and disproportionately impact women and marginalized groups in the world of work. The Gender Academy emerges at a critical moment-one that calls for renewed commitment, intersectional thinking, and collective resilience. This edition of the Academy invites participants to reflect deeply on where we stand, what is at risk, and how to strategically move forward to advance gender equality in the world of work. Hosted by the International Training Centre of the ILO (ITCILO), the Gender Academy is a unique global learning space that brings together a vibrant community of gender equality advocates, policy actors, and practitioners. Over two weeks, participants will engage with cutting-edge tools, peer exchange, and practical strategies to respond to today's challenges and co-create a more inclusive future of work.
Who attends this course?
The Gender Academy welcomes a diverse and global community of professionals committed to advancing gender equality, inclusion, and social justice in the world of work. Participants typically include: - Government officials working on gender, labour, social protection, and development policies - Representatives of workers' and employers' organizations - Staff from UN agencies and international organizations, including multilateral development banks - Private sector actors promoting diversity, equal opportunity, and responsible business practices - Researchers and academics focused on gender, work, and inclusive development - Civil society organizations advancing rights-based and community-led approaches - Independent consultants and professionals engaged in gender equality, DEI, and organizational change initiatives
What topics does this academy cover?
A combination of plenary lectures, panel discussions and keynote speeches will guide you through a transformative agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the world of work.
At the same time, you will also be able to customize your learning journey by choosing among a variety of parallel elective workshops, designed as stand-alone units of one training day, but also “stackable” in a modular structure.
During the two weeks, plenary sessions and hands-on elective workshops may include:
- Gender equality and the future of work;
- Care work and the care economy;
- Ending violence and harassment in the world of work: the global mandate, perspectives and practical tools for action;
- Pay equity and gender pay gaps;
- Gender, climate change and a just transition to environmentally sustainable economies;
- Social dialogue for gender equality;
- Gender-transformative leadership;
- The role of men and transformative masculinities;
- Women workers on the move: the gender dimension of labour migration;
- Gender and informality: challenges, solutions and experiences;
- Gender mainstreaming – tools, methods and frameworks;
- Intersectional discrimination at work: what it means, how to tackle it;
- Organisational gender assessment methods: introducing the ILO Participatory Gender Audit;
- Gender transformative approaches to result-based management;
- Accelerating gender equality in technology and innovation in the digital age;
- Communicating and training for gender equality.
- Gender-responsive budgeting
- Breaking gender stereotypes
What will I learn?
A combination of plenary sessions, discussion and hands-on elective workshops will guide you through a transformative agenda for gender equality and women’s empowerment in the world of work, including:
- the ILO experience in normative and policy action for gender equality;
- the latest concepts and approaches in the UN and international gender equality discourse, in a world in transformation;
- innovative tools, methodologies, successful practices and strategies for gender equality and women’s empowerment.
What will I be able to do?
- Analyse the world of work and workplaces from a gender equality and non-discrimination perspective;
- Identify measures to prevent and address workplace gender inequalities, discrimination, violence and harassment;
- Refer to state-of-art information, data, good practices and methods;
- Gather evidence and build effective arguments to support your policy advocacy efforts;
- Develop strategies and use tools for changing mind-sets, forging alliances and initiating sustainable change.
Why should I join?
The Academy will allow you to:
- Stay up to date on the latest developments and salient issues around gender equality, through plenary lectures and panel discussions with top experts, while at the same time networking with professionals working on gender equality and women’s empowerment from all around the globe;
- Customize your learning journey by choosing among different elective workshops based on your interests;
- Engage through innovative and participatory learning methods;
Connect, network and share knowledge and insights with fellow professionals and organizations from all over the world
