The United Nations Decade for Women was a period from 1975 to 1985 focused on the policies and issues that impact women, such as pay equity, gendered violence, land holding, and other human rights. It was adopted December 15, 1975, by the United Nations General Assembly by Resolution 31/136. The Decade formally consisted of three international meetings and conferences in Mexico City for "consciousness raising", Copenhagen for creating "networks", and Nairobi for "the solidarity of women world-wide" along with several regional meetings with specific UN agencies (UNESCO, WHO, ECLA, EEC) and nongovernmental organizations (YWCA, World Council of Churches, National Association of Women). History The first UN Women's Conference was held in Mexico City in 1975. There it was declared that the UN Decade for Women would began in 1976 due particularly to the efforts of Letitia Shahani and U Thant. Members of the UN, aimed to increase literacy, vocational training, education, and employment opportunities for women. They also planned to improve health education and services, family planning education, and welfare services for women. Texts The Conference's Declaration, formally titled the Declaration of Mexico on the Equality of Women and Their Contribution to Development and Peace, was made to promote the wellbeing of women of all socioeconomic statuses, though there was a particular focus on the protections and outreach to colonized countries. It called for an institution of a New International Economic Order. The Declaration made 30 principles that called for specific measures and areas to focus on for the development of women's rights. Many of these focus on the care for children and family life, access to education and communication, economic independence, rights to political engagement, choice in marriage, sexual autonomy and right to not be assaulted, and more. The inclusion of provisions for the elimination of Zionism was very controversial. In December 1975, the UN's General Assembly committed to the Plan of Action and Declaration. With this, they established a United Nations Voluntary Fund for the Decade on Women (UNIFEM) and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. In 1979, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. UN Women's Conferences Copenhagen, Denmark, 1980 This conference was used to reflect on progress made since the 1975 conference in Mexico. As the organization began to reflect upon the progress that had been made so far, some