Live screening of TEDxPlaceDesNationsWomen

– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73^rd Session of the UN General Assembly

6 December 2018

Your Excellency, Mr. Jürg Lauber, Permanent Representative of Switzerland to the United Nations,

Ms. Alison Smale, Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications;

Ms. Åsa Regnér, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women;

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Welcome to the TEDX screening event, jointly hosted by the Office of the President of the General Assembly, UN-Women and the Department of Public Information.

Having spent a lifetime pushing back against the barriers that we women face, you will understand when I say that women’s empowerment is truly at the heart of my presidency.

This morning we were fortunate to hear from several very inspiring women: We heard from Jennifer Shigoli, a social entrepreneur from Tanzania. Jennifer is committed to helping women and girls by providing affordable sanitary care and jobs for local women. We heard from Maya Ghazal, an aspiring pilot and refugee from Syria, who uses her voice to raise awareness about the barriers faced by young refugees and the critical importance of education. And we heard from Mariana Costa, who has been widely recognized for her work as a social entrepreneur. Mariana does this by giving women the tools they need to launch their career in the tech sector.

Truly, such remarkable, inspiring women.

I’m pleased to say that there is more to come. Later today, you will hear from other women (and a man), who will share their stories. I hope you find these equally as profound.

Colleagues, what these stories show us is that women can be leaders and agents of change when empowered. But they also show us that gender equality benefits not only women but societies as a whole. This is reflected in recent studies, which found that gender equality in the labour force, as well as increasing women and girls’ education, contributes to higher economic growth. 

Gender equality yields positive results in many other areas besides economic growth. A study conducted over decades found that, for every additional year of education for women of reproductive age, child mortality decreased by 9.5 per cent. And when women are included in peace processes, there is a 35 per cent increase in the probability of an agreement lasting at least 15 years.

My friends these are remarkable numbers. Excluding women is truly a wasted opportunity – a waste for the women and their potential, and a waste for societies who stand to benefit immensely from the full contribution of half the world’s population. 

With the Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement requiring prompt action for success, we cannot afford – morally or fiscally – to exclude women from the process. Clearly, we must ramp up our efforts to secure gender equality as well as to better communicate this to women, girls and boys everywhere. At the same time, we, in the UN System, have a responsibility to lead by example.

In this regard, I want to commend Member States for agreeing on the first ever resolution on sexual harassment last week in the Third Committee. This is a positive step and hopefully a sign of more to come.

As we approach the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference of Women and the implementation of its Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that those commitments are realized for all women and girls.  

In closing, I would like to thank you once again for participating in today’s event. I hope that the talks you hear will spark interesting conversations on the challenges we face and the potential solutions.

I trust that by the end of today’s program, you will leave inspired and energized to get out and step it up for gender equality. 

Thank you.