Op-ed: A month after the blast, let's rebuild Beirut as the Arab region's first feminist city

Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2020

While we mourn, we must not romanticise the Beirut we lost. Lebanon before 4 August was one where inequalities were rife and insufficiently addressed

Op-ed: How COVID-19 can bring gender justice

Date: Thursday, July 23, 2020

In the midst of another pandemic, we are still fighting hard for gender equality, with the coronavirus crisis amplifying existing inequalities and power imbalances and disproportionately affecting women – including in the devastatingly sharp increases in domestic violence. Yet the pandemic is also an opportunity to ‘build back better’ and transform structural gender inequalities.

Op-ed: The role of digitalization in the Decade of Action

Date: Monday, July 6, 2020

In an op-ed on the role of digitalization in the decade of action, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka addresses the role of digitalization in achieving the SDGs, and the importance of technology and innovation to achieving gender equality and inclusive development has never been clearer nor more urgent.

Op-ed: Put women at the centre of Syria crisis response

Date: Thursday, July 2, 2020

By UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and UNFPA Executive Director Natalia Kanem, on the occasion of the Brussels IV Syria Conference

Op-ed: Build back better: women at the centre of decision-making

Date: Friday, June 26, 2020

In an op-ed on the occasion of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2020, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka says: "It is critical now to ensure that women lead and participate fully in decision-making on COVID-19 response and recovery."

Op-ed: On the Black Lives Matter protests and other mass demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality

Date: Monday, June 22, 2020

United Nations Senior African Officials, including UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka commit to harnessing their expertise and leadership to address the root causes and structural changes that must be implemented to bring an end to racism.

Op-ed: Personal Protective Equipment standards must respond to women’s needs to ensure the safety of all front line workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020

UNECE Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova and UN Women Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Alia El-Yassir highlight the need for gender-responsive standards for Personal Protective Equipment that respond to the differentiated needs of women and men.

Op ed: The pandemic’s gender imperative

Date: Friday, May 15, 2020

Given that the COVID-19 crisis affects men and women in different ways, measures to resolve it must take gender into account. For women and girls, vulnerabilities in the home, on the front lines of health care, and in the labor market must be addressed.

Op-ed: We cannot allow COVID-19 to reinforce the digital gender divide

Date: Wednesday, May 6, 2020

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and CEO of Plan international Anne-Birgitte Albrectsen highlights the alarming lack of connectivity girls, women, and marginalized groups continue to face as the COVID-19 pandemic has moved so many aspects of daily life online.

Op-ed: Can we turn the tide on gender equality

Date: Thursday, April 9, 2020

In an unequal world, a health crisis like the one we face today hurts women disproportionately. We call on leaders to act now to include strong gender dimensions in the response.

Step it up G7: An extraordinary time requires extraordinary solidarity 

Date: Monday, April 6, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic intensifies and the implications on women become more clear, members of the 2018 and 2019 G7 Gender Equality Advisory Councils urgently called on G7 member states to take into account the gendered dimensions of the crisis and to prevent the deterioration of gender equality and women’s rights worldwide.

Op-ed: It is time for action! Uniting for Africa’s transformation

Date: Monday, March 9, 2020

In a joint op-ed, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Sahle-Work Zewde call to support African women in taking their rightful place in the next chapter of the continent and building a future where women and girls can live out their lives freely, in purpose and happiness.

Chapter by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka for Lumos: Gender-Based Discrimination as a Driver for the Institutionalization of Children

Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2019

First published in Lumos’ publication,  A Goal Within Reach: Ending the Institutionalization of Children to Ensure No One is Left Behind , September 2019. At Makola Market in Ghana , women traders and vendors are proving that childcare services designed for and managed by the workers themselves have the potential to change women's and families lives. Photo: UN Women/Ruth McDowall Many children living in orphanages or other institutions worldwide are there...

Op-ed: Every G7 country should have a feminist foreign policy

Date: Friday, August 23, 2019

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, actor and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson, President/CEO of Women Deliver Katja Iversen, and Co-founder of the White Ribbon Campaign Michael Kaufman urge countries to ditch archaic and discriminatory laws and promote empowerment

Op-ed: ‘Homes for equality in a changing world’

Date: Tuesday, June 25, 2019

Op-ed by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director, UN Women, on the occasion of the launch of UN Women's flagship report, Progress of the World's Women 2019-2020, Families in a Changing World.

Op-ed: Unequal under the law

Date: Monday, June 24, 2019

Too many countries enshrine different legal rights for men and women. Why is this, and how can we rid legal systems of this long-standing prejudice?

A Father’s Day message from HeForShe Champions

Date: Monday, June 17, 2019

On Father's Day, HeForShe Champions call upon other leaders, employees, and men globally to take a stand for gender equality in families and in society

Op-ed: Empowering women through sport

Date: Tuesday, April 2, 2019

In an op-ed for Olympic Review UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka describes sport as one of the great drivers of gender equality.

Op-ed: Women and climate action

Date: Friday, November 9, 2018

Women and girls bear the brunt of the impacts of climate change. Empowering women to fulfil their potential must therefore be at the heart of adaptation strategies

Op-Ed: Fostering an unstereotyped culture for a legacy of gender equality

Date: Tuesday, October 2, 2018

By Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women