“Shaping the International Agenda: Raising Women’s Voices in Intergovernmental Forums"

Secretary-General Chungong,
Ambassador Quinn,
Ms. Blomberg [Acting Representative of UN-Women],
Ms. Bogdan-Martin [Chief of Strategic Planning at ITU],
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is truly a pleasure for me to welcome you to this UNOG Library Talk. A pleasure because today’s event focuses on a topic whose reach is truly global and that affects all of us: gender equality. I would like to thank the UNOG Library for hosting this event. I would also like to congratulate UN-Women and the International Gender Champions on the release of their new report, entitled “Shaping the international agenda: Raising women’s voices in intergovernmental forums”. It outlines the existing frameworks for gender equality and reviews trends in women’s participation in national governments and intergovernmental forums.

In the end, however, the old adage is true: one picture is worth a thousand words. When this photo was taken in late 2016, the United Nations Security Council, the body charged with maintaining international peace and security, was made up of 14 men and one woman. Over 20 years after the landmark Beijing Declaration, half of humanity is still severely under-represented at the highest levels of international governance. At the United Nations General Assembly, for example, only three women have served as President in the 71 sessions held since 1946. These inequalities mirror those found at the national level. At the general debate of the 71 session in 2016, one of the most high-level events at the United Nations attended by heads of state and government, women delivered only 18 of the 197 statements, less than 10%.

Business as usual is no longer an option, especially in forums where vital decisions are made for all of humanity: women and men alike. Equal participation ensures that women’s voices and perspectives inform policies, making our collective action more likely to succeed. In peace processes, for example, the chance of sustainable peace goes up by 35 percent over 15 years when women can meaningfully participate.

The question, then, is what can we do to bring about change? Women themselves already have what it takes to succeed. Empowerment then is about breaking down the systemic barriers. This begins by setting targets, creating benchmarks to measure progress and collecting data. Change also requires a willingness to tackle work cultures and to lead by example. Our new Secretary-General demonstrated both elements when he appointed two women to serve at the apex of his Senior Management Group. Here in Geneva, many of you have also made concrete pledges to empower women through the International Gender Champions – Geneva. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for this and to invite those who have yet to join us to do so.

In our collective effort to tackle gender inequality, the joint report by UN-Women and the International Gender Champions is a valuable resource to understand the challenges, examine best practices and advocate for change. Based on answers from 23 organizations, the report outlines recommendations to Member States, international organizations and other senior officials on how to promote gender balance. It also highlights examples of goals and measurable targets that are both realistic and ambitious. For instance, delegations to the IPU Assemblies are notified when registering that they must include at least one man and one woman or be subject to sanctions.

This report contributes to other efforts by the International Gender Champions and their partners. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Gender Champions and panellists who co-chaired the 2016 Impact Group on women in delegations and the 2017 Impact Group on Representation for their deep and strategic work in this field.

The road to gender equality is long, but progress depends on all of us continuing to push for change, to hold one another accountable – and in that context, I am happy to be able to tell you that the overall female component of our staff at UNOG is 48 percent, and 41 percent for senior positions – up 7.4 percent in a year.

Thank you and I wish you all a successful event.