This plain language summary contains a Budget Analysis, Donor Overlap, Merger Costs, Savings Stress Test. The four parts correspond to the four components of the cost-benefit analysis scope of work.
Summary Findings:
- Staff costs for bothe entities are rising. UN Women ran a shortfall in 2024, and its operational reserve has not kept up with its budget. There is no financial buffer for transition costs.
- Every major donor is cutting aid. The funding environment is contracting, not expanding.
- UN Women's own 2010 formation shows that mergers cost more than estomated, and save less than expected.
- The savings claim is unverifiable and contradicted by the Assessment Repor's own data.
This analysis was prepared for the Feminist Cross-Coalition UN80 Working Group by Terry McGovern, JD, Professor and Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs, City University of New York Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH) and Clarisa Bencomo, MA, Project Director for Gender Justice, CUNY SPH Sexual and Reproductive Justice Hub; and Karan Babbar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Plaksha University.
