Speech: When men and women, boys and girls, stand together for gender equality, progress is unstoppable, equality achievable
Remarks delivered by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous at the HeForShe Summit 2024, 10th Anniversary Gala Dinner, at Guastavino’s in New York City, 24 September 2024.
[As delivered.]
Welcome to our glittering celebration of the tenth anniversary of HeForShe!
As you know, this is a very exclusive event. Our gala has been called the hottest ticket in town for this General Assembly. It is indeed, and we agree that you all have earned that ticket. So, you are most welcome.
You have demonstrated through your actions and words that when men and women, when boys and girls stand together for gender equality, progress is unstoppable, equality achievable. And you are making it happen.
My thanks to you all, and not just those of you who are here enjoying this wonderful evening together, but to everyone around the world who has been part of our movement. It is you who have made our shared journey possible. Whatever you do and wherever you sit, whether in government, business, or non-governmental organizations, and no less in your individual lives, you have mobilized men and boys for gender equality.
Over the past 10 years, we have achieved great things. More than two million men and people of all genders have participated since we began our work, reaching close to 40 million, including women and girls in the most crisis-hit parts of the world. Two thirds of our HeForShe Champions have boosted female representation in their organizations.
We have seen new legislation to guarantee equal pay, reduce child marriage, businesses closer to parity on corporate boards and in leadership positions, shrunken pay gaps, and the list is long and admirable. We have championed gender equality on the playing field, reaching millions of sports fans. We have inspired young people globally to challenge social norms, to demand equality, to indeed be the change they want to see.
UN Women applauds your efforts and achievements. And yes, we ask for more. Progress is happening but far too slowly. It has provoked a tangible and sometimes visceral pushback, not least among young men. Some 60 per cent of them told us in a recent survey that women’s equality discriminates against them. That is something we must change, and HeForShe will be part of that change.
Our latest Gender Snapshot report shows that despite progress, including quotas, women still hold only about a quarter of leadership positions in the public and the private sectors. More than half of countries restrict the jobs women can perform. Half lack human rights–based laws on rape. And every year, intimate partner violence affects 1 in 8 women and girls.
Next year, the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action will drive calls to accelerate action for gender equality. I know HeForShe will remain at the heart of that cause. I call on all men and boys who have not yet done so to join this movement, and on those who have done so to step up further.
This is what this moment demands: to use the power you have as men to challenge discrimination; to give us space and give it up without hesitation; to make your community, business, or household a place of equality and justice; to do what you can because the fact that you can means that you must.
We are here tonight to inspire each other. And I know that we will be inspired both here and going forward. I know that we have many HeForShes here tonight, but I also know that we have many SheForShes as well, and we need both of us to continue to move towards gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment.
So, here is to another ten years of progress and achievement together. Happy tenth anniversary!
