Remarks by Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, at the Global Land Forum in Jordan (via video).

The leadership and participation of young women and girls are at the heart of all these efforts. On International Girls in ICT Day, let us work together to prioritize girls’ access to technology, and to ensure meaningful connectivity in a safe and empowering environment.

In the Pacific region, as in other parts of the world, women are spearheading climate adaptation and mitigation strategies — something Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, a second-generation Pacific Fijian feminist has championed throughout her three-decade journey in the women’s rights movement.

On 16 March, at a high-level dialogue against the backdrop of the 66th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66), UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous gathered with Action Coalition Leaders and global Generation Equality actors to reflect on the concrete progress made since the Generation Equality Forum in Paris and to share her bold vision to ensure future success.

At a side event on 16 March, under the umbrella of the 24-hours of Generation Equality at the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66), the Global Alliance for Care gathered its Members alongside diverse Generation Equality advocates to highlight that tackling climate change and building resilient societies is dependent on the development of sustainable care systems.

Opening remarks by Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, at the corporate side event, Generation Equality: The Journey Ahead – High-level Multistakeholder Intergenerational Dialogue, at the 66th session of the Commission on the Status of Women

On 1 March, Koç Holding announced the mobilization of its Group companies in support of Generation Equality, launching far-reaching new commitments to the Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation for Gender Equality. The Action Coalition, of which Koç Holding is a Leader, is one of six multi-stakeholder action groups convened by UN Women to accelerate global implementation of gender equality by 2026, under the umbrella of the Generation Equality Forum.

At a high-level event marking the International Day for Women and Girls in Science, the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Technology and Innovation convened global leaders to explore ways to support women and girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and remove the obstacles women and girls face in pursuing careers as inventors and entrepreneurs. The Coalition and its event are part of a global multi-sector mobilization to accelerate gender equality implementation by 2025, kick-started by the 2021 Generation Equality Forum.

On the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (25 November), global leaders endorsed the powerful steps being taken by the Action Coalition on Gender-based Violence to inspire action across all sectors and ignite lasting change.

Countries and non-state actors have come forward with new commitments and initiatives that will strengthen the resilience of women and girls in the face of climate-related impacts, while empowering them within climate action, at today’s COP26 Gender Day in Glasgow.

Caryn Dasah, 29, is a peacebuilder and social justice and gender equality advocate from Cameroon. Dasah, a member of the Beijing+25 Youth Task Force, was recently elected General Coordinator of the Cameroon women’s peace movement, which is a constellation of women-led civil society organizations.

On 29 September, diverse actors convened against the backdrop of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly to unveil and celebrate the impressive list of Generation Equality Commitment Makers, who have made over 1,000 commitments to advance gender equality, and to discuss strategies to ensure the robust execution and global accountability of these commitments over the coming five years.

The mural recognizes 2021’s landmark Generation Equality Forum and is a partnership of UN Women, Street Art for Mankind, the City of New York and the Governments of France and Mexico, with support from BNP Paribas

Madhura Dasgupta Sinha has more than 25 years of banking and leadership experience, and is now the CEO and Founder of Aspire For Her, which motivates young women to enter and stay in the workforce. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021, with only 22.3 per cent of Indian women in the labour force and less women in leadership roles, India’s gender pay gap has increased this year. Aspire For Her is a Generation Equality Ally, a new communications and advocacy initiative under UN Women’s flagship campaign in India. UN Women spoke with Dasgupta Sinha on the occasion of Equal Pay Day, 18 September 2021.

Kehkashan Basu is the Founder-President of Green Hope Foundation, a global social innovation enterprise that works at a grass roots level in 25 countries, empowering young people, especially those from vulnerable communities, in sustainable development. Basu is a member of the World Humanitarian Forum Youth Council and Co-Lead of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Feminist Action for Climate Justice. She is committed to amplifying the voices of young people, women and girls, in decision-making processes.

At the age of 16, Isidora Guzmán, a young Chilean activist, already has among her achievements the development of an app that helps people with disabilities to find adequate parking spaces in her municipality. She was born prematurely, at six months of gestation, which resulted in cerebral palsy and spastic diplegia, which affected her motor skills and led her to use a wheelchair.

At the Generation Equality Forum in Paris, UN Women convened a high-level dialogue to highlight what is needed to ensure transformative change in the lives of women and girls with disabilities as the world accelerates the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and builds back better from COVID-19.

Mete Belovacıklı, 59, is Editor in Chief of one of the oldest newspapers in Turkey, Milliyet. As a strong defender of gender equality, he has led Milliyet in becoming a partner of UN Women’s Global Media Compact. Milliyet is the only media organisation that became a commitment maker at the Generation Equality Forum with five-year commitments on economic justice and rights.

The private sector and philanthropic foundations announce bold investments and actions for gender equality

We invite you to join us for the virtual closing press conference of the Generation Equality Forum, held today, Friday 2 July, from 6:30-6:55pm Paris time / 12:30-12:55pm ET time.