NOON BRIEFING HIGHLIGHTS
Spokesperson for General Assembly President Csaba Kőrösi
United Nations Headquarters, New York
Wednesday, 8 March 2023
IWD
President Csaba Kőrösi today called for closing gender gaps in STEM fields, to allow women and girls to thrive fully – and safely – in the digital economy.
He warned that too many women and girls still cannot access the opportunities offered by technology.
And those who do are 27 times more likely than men to face online harassment or hate speech. As a result, they rarely report it but almost always limit their online activity, which just reinforces the digital divide.
According to some evaluations, the exclusion of women from the digital world has shaved $1 trillion from the GDP of the low-and middle-income countries in the last decade.
The President pointed to new technologies, saying if used well, they could be an equalizer to the gender divide.
He made the remarks to the commemoration of International Women’s Day, which is held this year around the theme of “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.”
The President paused before giving his remarks to note that he seldom sees the General Assembly Hall so packed and so full of energy. It was a full room today – the seating capacity is 1,800 in that Hall. Related tweet: https://twitter.com/UN_PGA/status/1633499428920197123/photo/1
The President welcomed all the participants to what he called “one of the most important halls of deliberations in the world” and said their presence is a “clear indication of the noble goals that we are all celebrating and representing today”.
His full remarks are in your inboxes and online: https://www.un.org/pga/77/2023/03/08/pga-remarks-to-commemoration-of-international-womens-day-on-the-theme-of-digitall-innovation-and-technology-for-gender-equality/
WOMEN IN ISLAM
Earlier today, the President participated in a side event on “Women in Islam” organized by the Permanent Mission of Pakistan.
He noted that while scholars point out that the Islamic law in certain situations gives preference to the protection of the interests of women and children, women in Muslim communities are often perceived as having an unequal status to men.
The President said he was very interested to hear from the group to hear the gaps between the perception and reality, and what countries will do to fully ensure women’s rights.
He also said that it was important for men to be show support for gender equality through words and action. And that is why he was taking part in this event.
The President said that given the multiple crises we face, equal rights and opportunities for men and women must be reached and maintained all over the globe.
You have his full remarks in your inboxes and online: https://www.un.org/pga/77/2023/03/08/pga-remarks-to-side-event-on-women-in-islam/
CONVERSATION ON TECHNOLOGY
In about an hour… there will be a conversation on “the role of technology in addressing violence against women and girls”.
The conversation will be led by President Kőrösi, with senior leaders from Governments, the UN system, parliamentarians, the private sector and civil society.
The event will be held in the Dag Hammarskjold Library Reading Room at 1:30PM ET.
You will have a press release from me summarizing the main ideas.
BILATERALS
Turning to bilaterals today…
The President met with the Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Ms. Doreen Bogdan-Martin. The meeting was in the context of today’s events.
The President will meet later today with Ambassador Mher Margaryan, the Permanent Representative of Armenia.
And the President started the day with a visit from Dr. Ross “Rusty” Butler and students from Utah Valley University, who are here for CSW.
QUESTIONS
There were no questions for the Spokesperson.
