UN Women Executive Director establishes her new Civil Society Advisory Group

UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, has established her new Civil Society Advisory Group (CSAG) for the term 2017-2019. The CSAG, comprising internationally renowned feminist leaders from women's rights organizations, male gender equality networks, youth and LGBTI Groups, Trade Unions and media, will play an advisory role to the Executive Director on key strategic and political issues.  

“I established this Group with an idea in mind: we must not leave anyone behind in our work to build a transnational gender equality movement,” stated Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka in her first message to the members of her CSAG. “I need your advice and counsel on how we can work together as feminists, to accomplish this and what leadership UN Women can take to make this happen.”

In line with UN Women’s efforts to engage youth and the new UN Women Strategy on Youth and Gender Equality, the CSAG has five young women and men (40 per cent of the Group) from all parts of the world, whose leadership and creativity will be critical in closing the generational gap in the work UN Women does in feminist movement building. 

The Executive Director’s new CSAG will continue to gather strength from diverse grassroots movements and coalitions and boost her collaboration with the world’s leading feminists and gender equality advocates towards fulfilling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.   

The first UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group was established in May 2012 by former Executive Director Michelle Bachelet, as an international advisory body and advocacy platform for UN Women. Since then, UN Women has set up 40 Civil Society Advisory Groups at the regional and national levels, as an institutional mechanism of regular dialogue with civil society and frontline allies in the fight for gender equality.