World Conference on Women, 1980

The World Conference on Women, 1980, or the Second World Conference on Women, took place between July 14 and July 30, 1980 in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the mid-decade assessment of progress and failure in implementing the goals established by the World Plan of Action at the 1975 inaugural conference on women. The most significant event to come out of the conference was the formal signing of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which took place during the opening ceremony of the conference. Marred by conflict and the politicization of international and national events that had little to do with women's issues, the conference was viewed by some participants as a failure. They were able to secure passage of a modified World Programme of Action to expand on previous targets to improve women's status and establish a follow-up conference for the end of the decade.