Prompted by the global conversations of ‘progress’ around the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, this ALIGN briefing paper reflects on the progress that has been achieved on shifting gender norms. To do so, it uses a long-view lens to draw on both global statistics and in-depth case studies in Uganda and Nepal undertaken with women, including professional women of all ages and some men, to reflect on progress for women over the past 50 years in these two countries.