Women leaders we admire

Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Women’s leadership is at the forefront of unfolding discussions at the UN’s largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment, the 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, from 15 to 26 March. UN Women brings inspiring voices of women leaders from around the world

UN Secretary-General Remarks to the opening of the high-level segment of the 46th regular session of the Human Rights Council

Date: Monday, February 22, 2021

In his remarks at the opening of the high-level segment of the 46th regular session of the Human Rights Council, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: "No human rights scourge is more prevalent than gender inequality".

Take five: “Women should lead the conversation on gender equality”

Date: Thursday, February 18, 2021

Hayat Mirshad is a 32-year-old Lebanese feminist, human rights activist and gender, communications and advocacy expert. As co-founder of the feminist collective FE-MALE in Lebanon, she advocates against discriminatory gender norms and policies and works closely with UN Women’s Men and Women for Gender Equality programme funded by the Government of Sweden. The programme works to change behaviours and social norms for gender equality in the Arab States. Mirshad is also a member of UN Women’s Gender Innovation Agora and was recognized as one of the BBC’s 100 most inspiring and influential women of 2020 for her activism on women’s rights. In this interview, she shares her journey of fighting gender inequity and explains how to rally for wide-reaching and sustainable impact.

Statement: UN Women calls upon all stakeholders to listen to the voices of women in Myanmar in response to political events

Date: Thursday, February 11, 2021

Today, UN Women stands in solidarity with the women and women’s civil society organizations of Myanmar as they seek to exercise their fundamental right to demonstrate peacefully and express their hopes and desires for the future of their country.

Ana Šaćipović: Building a bridge between two worlds

Date: Thursday, December 31, 2020

Ana Šaćipović is a social worker from Serbia who advocates for the rights of Roma women, fighting prejudice and discrimination. In 2005, she founded the Osvit (Dawn) Roma Association, an NGO which supports and promotes women's interests throughout the community and beyond.

In the words of Nahla Haidar: “States have a due diligence responsibility on the protection of women human rights defenders”

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Nahla Haidar is a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). She has over 30 years of professional experience mainly within the United Nations System, ranging from social development, to relief coordination, to peace-building and human rights. Ms. Haidar is CEDAW’s rapporteur on reprisals and covers cases on women human rights defenders.

From where I stand: “Together, we are building peace and equal rights in our territories”

Date: Monday, August 17, 2020

Johana, a trans woman, is the founder of the Johana Maturana Foundation, an organization that promotes LGBTI people’s rights in the Chocó Department of Colombia. She stresses the need for financial resources to reach local communities and that communities must shape humanitarian action.

Advice from activists: Pride is a protest, and marginalized communities must be centre-stage

Date: Friday, June 26, 2020

This year Pride goes digital, but its activism is as vibrant as ever. To commemorate Pride Month, we asked a few members of the LGBTQI+ community what Pride means to them, and what building-back-better from COVID-19 means.

Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, on the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter  

Date: Friday, June 26, 2020

In a statement released today on the 75th anniversary of the UN Charter, UN Women Executive Director stressed, "The words of the Charter resonate now more strongly than ever before. They reiterate our shared work across all parts of the UN ‘to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom’. Today we in UN Women recall and recommit to those aspirations, as we build back better from the consequences of conflict and coronavirus, and engage in concerted efforts for equality and racial justice in all segments of society and in all sectors."  

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.

Speech: “We must be united to end racism as well as gender inequality”

Date: Wednesday, June 17, 2020

Remarks by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, at the urgent debate on current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and the violence against peaceful protest during the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council.

Press release: COVID-19 sparks urgency around justice for women, new report calls for action

Date: Thursday, May 21, 2020

A new report documents major challenges to women’s access to justice in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and puts forth recommendations to accelerate action and push back against threats to progress.

Ten things you can learn from women’s resilience that will help you stay strong in the time of COVID-19

Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2020

During these uncertain and difficult times, we turn to women leaders from around the world for inspiration. They have forged peace when ravaged by war; they have driven innovation despite all odds; and they persisted in the face of challenges and insisted on building a better future.

Take five: “After this pandemic, we will have to work much harder than before to improve Roma women’s lives”

Date: Monday, April 20, 2020

Slavica Vasić is the chair and one of the founders of BIBIJA Roma Women's Centre in Serbia, a partner of the EU-UN Women regional programme “Ending violence against women in the Western Balkans and Turkey: Implementing Norms, Changing Mind”. She spoke to UN Women about the impact of COVID-19 on Roma women and girls and vulnerable groups in Serbia and in the region, and how the lives of many women will change after the outbreak.

I am Generation Equality: Lee Mi-kyung, overseas aid administrator and women’s rights activist

Date: Friday, April 3, 2020

Lee Mi-kyung is President of Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). She served five terms as Member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea from 1996 to 2016, and was Standing Vice-Chairperson and Representative of Korea Women’s Association United from 1987 to 1996.

Press release: Greater support needed for working families as COVID-19 takes hold

Date: Monday, March 30, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its exponential growth, a technical note from UNICEF, ILO and UN Women on family-friendly policies and other good workplace practices in the context of COVID-19 shows that it is essential to support working families to minimize negative consequences for children.

UN Women Executive Director attends the UN Human Rights Council

Date: Friday, February 28, 2020

The Human Rights Council marked the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action with a high-level panel discussion during its high-level segment on Tuesday the 25 February.

I am Generation Equality: Celina Jaitly, actor and activist

Date: Thursday, January 16, 2020

Billions of people across the world stand on the right side of history every day. They speak up, take a stand, mobilize, and take big and small actions to advance women’s rights. This is Generation Equality. Celina Jaitly is an acclaimed Indian actress, human rights activist devoted to advocating for the rights of the members of LGBT communities in India, and a Champion of the UN Free & Equal campaign.

I am Generation Equality: Francy Jaramillo Piedrahita, human rights defender and peacebuilder

Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Francy L. Jaramillo Piedrahita is a human rights defender with over a decade of experience working on women’s rights, LGBTQ issues and peacebuilding in Colombia. She has been leading the localization of the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325 and the peace agreement between the Government and the FARC in Cauca, Colombia.

In the words of Yana Panfilova: “You can talk about HIV a lot, but a personal example is what can really change people’s attitude”

Date: Friday, November 29, 2019

Yana Panfilova, 22, is a Ukrainian HIV positive activist and co-founder as well as chairwoman of Teenergizer, an organization that supports and advocates for the rights of HIV positive youth in Europe and Central Asia (Ukraine, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia). She was also nominated as a heroine for UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign in Ukraine.