2 November 2022

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Colleagues,

I welcome you to the First Meeting of the Advisory Board on Gender Equality.

I am honoured to follow in my predecessors’ footsteps in re-establishing this Advisory Board.

For joining this Board, I am very grateful to:

· The Permanent Representatives of Bulgaria, El Salvador, the Maldives, Qatar, Rwanda, South Africa, and Switzerland,

· The Executive Director of UN Women,

· The Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights,

· The CEO and Executive Director of the UN Global Compact

· The Chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women

· And the USG for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance for joining us as an observer

 

Your diverse backgrounds and perspectives are critical to this Board’s success.

 

Distinguished colleagues,

During the Second Week of my Presidency, I convened the first meeting of the UN General Assembly Women Leaders Platform together with UN Women.

I wish to thank the Executive Director of UN Women for her excellent partnership in organizing this event.

Seven female heads of state and government discussed women’s important contributions to society and leadership, as well as the obstacles they face in their everyday lives and careers.

I left the meeting reminded of and impressed by women’s critical role in crisis management and global governance.

Transforming our societies to be more equal and inclusive requires women’s meaningful involvement in decision-making. Women must feel ownership over the decisions taken at the UN.

We are faced with serious emergencies:

Healing from the lingering impacts of Covid-19, building bridges over the trenches that divide us, and surviving the waves of climate change that are already crashing down on us.

All these crises have gender dimensions.

Now is therefore the time to take a leap in gender mainstreaming in the General Assembly.

Integrating the lens of gender into each of the issues we face.

The preparations for next year’s SDG Summit and the Summit of Future in 2024 must account for the fundamental role women’s empowerment plays in the achievement of a sustainable future.

I look forward to hearing your suggestions on how to ensure that gender equality remains a focus of these preparations.

The UN has to lead by example. It has to walk the talk.

In the daily work of the GA, what are concrete solutions that we can implement to further gender equality?

Last year, my predecessor and this Board refurbished the lactation rooms at UNHQ, creating a more inclusive workplace for women with infants.

This session, I offer two “deliverables” to this Board:

Firstly, I suggest implementing training on gender equality and prevention of sexual harassment for the staff of Permanent Missions.

These courses are compulsory for UN staff.

We have all heard of incidents of harassment and discrimination occurring in our workplaces. And sadly, most women can corroborate these experiences.

Encouraging Mission staff to complete these courses is a first step towards achieving respectful and inclusive workplace dynamics here at the UN.

Secondly, I suggest establishing “family rooms” in the Headquarters.

Between unaffordable childcare, school closures and the ongoing pandemic, my proposal would be a hybrid space consisting of workstations and a playroom under adult supervision to help parents juggle their responsibilities.

As we return to in-person work, this would be both a timely initiative, and the next logical step after the lactation rooms.

But I also hope that this decision reduces the pressure of the infamous “second shift” – women working a full day in the office and heading straight into a second shift at home.

I believe taking these steps in our Headquarters first is critical to galvanising momentum for the achievement of SDGs globally.

I look forward to hearing your feedback on these proposals and am eager to hear your suggestions.