“Where women are full participants in a country’s politics or economy, societies are more likely to succeed. And that’s why we support the participation of women in parliaments and peace processes, schools and the economy.”
– U.S. President Barack Obama
Objective: Harness Geneva’s multilateral fora and enhance opportunities to develop and promote gender-equal leadership opportunities.
Where We Are
Women have made strides in terms of gender equality and empowerment in the past twenty years since the Beijing Commission on the Status of Women. Unfortunately, there is still far to go to achieve gender equity, particularly in regard to equal pay and attainment of senior leadership positions. There are still significant gaps in gender parity at the highest levels in the UN system. More needs to be done to identify the unspoken and unwritten cultural norms that prevent more women from seeking and being appointed into senior roles. Ultimately, when there are fewer women in senior or policy level positions, younger or mid-career women have fewer role models. These barriers stand between each woman and The Future She Deserves.
What We Need…
is Geneva’s collective action to develop and promote gender-equal leadership opportunities, including gender parity within the UN, to set a standard for greater women’s participation in leadership roles across governments and civil society. Women need more opportunities to build networks and identify mentors among senior female leaders.
How We’ll Do It
Geneva offers a unique platform to promote women in senior leadership roles. Together, we can identify targeted interventions at Geneva-based international meetings and programs that foster opportunities to strengthen partnerships and linkages across sectors. Collectively, member states, civil society, and experts can influence how United Nations agencies and others ensure that women and girls have equal leadership opportunities. First steps should include:
- Strengthen and promote leadership opportunities for women across Geneva platforms;
- Leverage political power of the member states to implement the UN System-wide Action Plan on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-SWAP);
- Request UN agencies report regularly on recruitment and retention of women, particularly for leadership positions; and
- Expand public-private partnerships to promote women’s leadership.