United Nations, 30 January 2019 – First ever meeting of Gender Equality Leaders paves the way for High Level Event on Women in Power, 12th March 2019 at the Trusteeship Council Chamber, UN Headquarters

The President of the UN General Assembly has announced a new advisory group of eminent persons to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in local communities and around the world, following the successful conclusion of the first meeting of the Group of Gender Equality Leaders in New York. The goal of the new group is to continue to raise awareness over the challenges that women and girls have to face and to put this issue at the heart of the UN General Assembly’s work.  The advisory group comprises a diverse set of women and includes;

  • Isabel de Saint Malo de Alvarado, Vice President and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Panama
  • Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and UNDP Administrator
  • Aurelia Frick, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Liechtenstein
  • Isabel Plá, Minister of Women and Gender Equality of Chile
  • Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance of Indonesia 
  • Ana Dias Lourenço, First Lady of Angola
  • Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Chairperson of Qatar Museums
  • Kathy Calvin, President and Chief Executive Officer, UN Foundation
  • Folly Bah Thibault, Principal Presenter, Al Jazeera English
  • Natalia Vodianova, supermodel and philanthropist

The President of the United Nations General Assembly said; ‘As the fourth woman elected as the President of the General Assembly in 73 years, I have dedicated my term to women and girls around the world. I strongly believe that as leaders and influencers, we have a responsibility to lead by example. The barriers and stereotypes that women face are similar and sadly familiar. They can take the form of discriminatory laws and practices but can also be less tangible, like social norms, deeply entrenched stereotypes and unconscious bias. This is why this eminent group from such a diverse background in politics, economics, media fashion and philanthropy have come together. Across the world, women will be looking and learning from the experience of this group as to how to break through the ‘glass ceiling’.

The President also announced that a High-Level Event on Women in Power will take place on 12th March 2019 in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, UN Headquarters. The event will bring together senior leaders and other participants from government, the UN system, private sector and civil society and feature two high-level roundtables; How Women Leaders Change the World and The Future of Women’s Leadership*.

*Further information will be available nearer the time.

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Media Contacts:

Office of the President of the UN General Assembly: Mark Seddon Tel: +1 917 378 1659 seddon@un.org and Monica Grayley Tel: +1 212 963 6988 | grayley@un.org

 

Notes for Editors: Women’s Leadership

  • Women continue to be under-represented in leadership positions in every region of the world.
  • Only around 5% of elected Heads of State, 5% of Heads of Government and 24% of parliamentarians globally are women. Last year, women made up 5% of Fortune 500 CEOs.
  • Some countries are implementing quotas for women’s participation in parliaments and we see more Heads of Governments appointing gender -balanced cabinets.