This 1980s and 1990s saw the collapse of authoritarian regimes in many parts of the world. This revitalized the debate over democratic and participatory governance and gave a major impulse to human rights agendas. In this context, women's movements flourished as strong advocates of women's rights and attained a considerable number of legal and institutional advances. From their diverse regional perspectives, the contributions to this volume reflect on the gender content of the new policy agenda and how it has been translated and contested in disparate local contexts. Some of the commissioned papers which appear here were presented and discussed at an UNRISD Workshop that took place in New York on 3 June 2000, coincide with the General Assembly Special Session for the Beijing Plus Five Review.