Message of the President of the General Assembly

Dear Executive Director of UN Women Bahous,

CdC Rattray,

Ministers,

Excellencies

Goodwill Ambassadors,

Especially ladies and girls around the world,

We have heard it all:

• When a woman raises her voice, she’s too emotional.
• When she stands her ground, she’s too difficult.
• When she leads, she’s too ambitious.
• If she wears dark suits they whisper ‘why does she always look like a man’
• But oh my gosh! if she shows up in a colorful dresses and high heels….
• When women lead nations through crises they are lucky.
• Yet if they stumble, it becomes the biggest crisis on earth. 

 

Yes, we have heard it all.

As have generations of women before us – even more directly, and with this tone:

“You act like a woman”.

“You run like a girl”.

As if it is something to be ashamed of.

Yet history has proved otherwise.

The facts are crystal clear.

We don’t have to negotiate them again.

• When girls remain in school, economies grow, all over the world.
• When women participate in the workforce, productivity rises all around the world.
• When women sit at peace tables, agreements last longer, all around the world.
• When women lead institutions, they are more resilient.

So, ladies, it’s time to flip the narrative.

Today we are reclaiming #Likeawoman, boldly and proudly.

As sports star Serena Williams once said: you call us crazy, we’ll show you what crazy can do.

Win#LikeAWoman.

Lead#LikeAWoman

Change#LikeAWoman

Especially in the midst of backlash, when it can feel as though, we are forced to fight the same old battles again and again.

Battles from 80 years ago when another so called “difficult woman” Dr. Hansa Metha from India showed what #ChangeLikeA Woman can achieve.

By insisting to change one word in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she changed the whole meaning of it – affirming that “all human beings” and not only men are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

So, Dear Excellencies,

Especially, dear girls out there

Next time they tell you again that gender sensitive language or standing up for our reproductive rights is something “woke”…

Resist like women.

Resist #Like Hansa Metha and remind them that women`s rights are nothing new but have been embedded in the DNA of this institution from the very beginning.

And marking International Women’s Day in 2026 #LikeAWoman means that we will not stop fighting for equal representation and women’s rights – indeed #LikeAwoman: empathetic and ambitious – in suits, and in colorful dresses.

Until the women of Afghanistan are free, and girls worldwide are not being forced anymore to marry before they finish school.

Until we see justice for survivors of sexual abuse, whether it occurs at home or as part of exploitative sexual slavery networks, as exposed in the Epstein files.

Until women are equally paid and represented, whether in newsrooms, in boardrooms, in governments, and yes, at the helm of this institution – our United Nations.

H.E. Annalena Baerbock

UN Women Executive Director's Speech

We have never been so close to achieving gender equality, and never closer to losing it.

Today, stronger laws exist on domestic violence. More girls are in school than ever before. Women’s movements are more connected, more visible, and more crucial than ever before.

And yet, this is also a moment of contradiction.  

Violence is rising, including online. Backlash is organized and well resourced. Rights are being reversed in real time and at unprecedented speed. Impunity is spreading, in homes, online, and in conflicts.

International Women’s Day 2026, under the theme Rights. Justice. Action for All Women and Girls, must be our collective turning point. 

We must stand up, show up, and speak up, for rights, justice, action, so all women and girls can live safely, speak freely, and exist equally. 

UN Women was built for this moment. From crisis zones to courtrooms, from the grassroots to global power.

We stand with women and girls when rights are denied, justice is delayed, and violence is ignored. We support women’s movements. We stand with all survivors of violence, everywhere, always. We push laws, systems, and institutions to deliver for women and girls.

Today, I urge you, for ALL women and girls – to act:

Break the silence. 

Demand rights and justice.

Defend the rule of law.

Fund women’s rights movements.

End impunity.

Deliver equality, in laws, in life, everywhere.

Friends, nothing can and nothing will stop us until the equal rights of all women and girls are realized. 

Happy International Women’s Day!

Sima Bahous

UNESCO Director-General's message 2026

Today, in many parts of the world, women and girls are continuing to face persistent inequalities and are even seeing the roll-back of their existing rights — in access to education, employment, public responsibilities, economic resources and participation in cultural and scientific life.

These inequalities are not only unjust, but they also weaken our societies as a whole.

This year, the theme of International Women's Day is "Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls" — a call to move beyond statements of principle.

Gender equality is one of UNESCO’s two global priorities. It cuts across all our areas of competence — education, science, culture, communication and information — because it determines the possibility of sustainable development, shared innovation and lasting peace.

We work with our Member States to ensure gender equality in education. UNESCO is thus supporting 20 countries in revising their policies, legislation and strategies, with tangible progress in places such as Mauritania, where we supported the adoption of its first national strategy for gender equality in education.

Where rights are being rolled back, UNESCO stands alongside girls and women who are denied access to education, such as in Afghanistan, where we support them with literacy classes, radio broadcasts and income-generating training. Over the next two years, we will multiply these actions through new funding from the European Union amounting to €4.7 million.

We are also working to address persistent imbalances in scientific careers. Through the L'Oréal-UNESCO “For Women in Science” Programme and the Young Talents programme, we support and promote the work of outstanding women researchers and young women doctoral students. We have also launched the gender-inclusive science institutions and systems (GenSIS) project, which includes the creation of committees for equality in science in 12 low- and middle-income countries.

With Sweden's support, we have launched a programme aimed at making cultural policies more gender sensitive. Based on an extensive study conducted in 15 West African countries, we are now running a pilot project in Senegal to improve women's access to finance and training.

Finally, in the digital age, gender equality is a major democratic issue. To ensure greater inclusion of female artificial intelligence (AI) professionals in a field that remains heavily dominated by male scientists, UNESCO has created the Women for Ethical AI Network to connect these women researchers and support their work.

On this International Women's Day, UNESCO reaffirms its commitment to working alongside all stakeholders to ensure that the rights of women and girls become a reality — everywhere and for everyone.

Khaled El-Enany