Despite compounding challenges, women in Iraq play vital roles in the country’s COVID-19 response

Date: Monday, July 6, 2020

Despite the unprecedented challenges, Iraqi women are playing vital roles in the country’s COVID-19 response, serving as leaders, health and social workers, and responders to domestic and gender-based violence.

Announcement of the Global Leaders of the Generation Equality Action Coalitions to accelerate gender equality

Date: Wednesday, July 1, 2020

Leaders from Member States, civil society, women’s rights organizations, international organizations, UN agencies, philanthropic entities, youth-led organizations, and the private sector come together to deliver game-changing results for women and girls.

Take Five: “Women leaders around the world have demonstrated successful management of the pandemic”

Date: Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Around the world, women are shining through as outstanding leaders as the COVID-19 pandemic escalates. From Germany to New Zealand and Denmark to Iceland, women leaders have shown clarity in their decisions and policies, they are compassionate, empathetic, strong communicators and they show solidarity. Her Excellency Vjosa Osmani, the first woman assembly president in Kosovo, has been praised for her professionalism in leading the assembly during the crisis. She is a Doctor of Legal Sciences, former professor and mother of two girls.

Meeting of African Ministers in charge of Gender and Women’s Affairs on “COVID-19 Response and Recovery” - a Gendered Framework

Date: Monday, May 11, 2020

UN Women and the African Union, in partnership with the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), will host the inaugural meeting of African Ministers for Gender and Women’s Affairs, on 12 May 2020 under the theme “COVID-19 Response and Recovery” - a Gendered Framework.” Focusing on how to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on African women and girls, the meeting will be co-chaired by UN Women’s Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Chairperson of the...

Press release: Women Leaders’ Virtual Roundtable on COVID-19 and the Future issues call to put women and girls at the centre of response efforts

Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2020

On 20 April 2020, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women, and Gabriela Ramos, OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa to the G20, convened and chaired the Women Leaders´ Virtual Roundtable on COVID-19 and the Future to address the disproportionately negative impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has on women and girls and to identify and prioritize policy measures that facilitates a more gender-inclusive recovery path.

Take five: “We need to have a common vision and ideology to advocate for the rights of all women and girls with one voice”

Date: Monday, March 30, 2020

Getrude Mligo, 23, was born two years after the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. As a high school student in Songea region of Tanzania, the gender inequalities she saw in her community, especially child marriages that forced girls out of school, prompted her to look back to the 1995 blueprint and begin asking questions. In 2020, Mligo participated in a UN Women mentorship programme as part of UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign, in partnership with Plan International, which paired her with UN Women Representative in Tanzania, Hodan Addou. In this interview, Mligo shares what it means to be a champion for Generation Equality.

Press release: Twenty-five years after Beijing Declaration, the world “cannot afford” so few women in power

Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Women’s representation in political decision-making continues to increase but at a dragging pace, with three-quarters of parliamentary seats still held by men, according to new data presented in the 2020 edition of the IPU UN Women map of Women in Politics. The data’s publication coincides with the 25-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action, which remains the world’s most comprehensive agenda for gender equality.

My Take, Your Take: Fighting for justice and gender equality in Liberia

Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2020

In this intergenerational series for the Generation Equality campaign, young people take the lead to shape the conversations. Gwendolyn Myers, a 29-year-old peace activist from Liberia, talks with a veteran activist, Abla Gadegbeku William, 59, who has fought for the rights of women and children for more than two decades.

My Take, Your Take: Ushering in a new generation of women leaders in Central African Republic

Date: Monday, February 24, 2020

In this new intergenerational series for Generation Equality campaign, young people take the lead to shape the conversations. Marguerite Ramadan, Social Affairs Advisor Prime Minister’s Office in in the Central African Republic and Chairperson of the longest standing women’s organization (the Organisation of Central African Women), talks about women’s leadership with Pamela Audrey Derom, who was recently elected to the National Youth Council.

Women leaders galvanize for UN Women’s Generation Equality campaign

Date: Friday, September 27, 2019

At a high-level event during the 74th UN General Assembly, UN Women and the Council of Women World Leaders came together to lend their voices and power to the Generation Equality campaign.

Editorial spotlight: Climate action with women

Date: Friday, September 13, 2019

As the United Nations prepares for the 2019 Climate Action Summit, the world we live in continues to be devastated by catastrophic storms, severe water crisis, drought, and record levels of emissions. Promoting women’s leadership in climate action is at the heart of UN Women’s efforts around the world.

UN Women Executive Director urges G7 leaders to commit to gender equality and join the Biarritz Partnership

Date: Tuesday, August 27, 2019

At the G7 Summit in France on 25 August, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, together with Nobel Prize Laureates Nadia Murad and Denis Mukwege, presented the report of the G7 Gender Equality Advisory Council to G7 leaders in Biarritz.

Inclusive peace in Afghanistan means ‘women at the centre’, urges UN deputy chief in Kabul

Date: Sunday, July 21, 2019

The UN deputy chief issued an impassioned plea on Sunday for Afghans to reconcile with the past and put “women at the centre” of all efforts to forge a durable peace, and a truly inclusive political process where women’s voices are truly heard.

Take Five: “Elected Women Representatives are key agents for transformational economic, environmental and social change in India”

Date: Thursday, July 18, 2019

Rahul Bhatnagar serves as the Secretary for the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, a branch of the Indian Government responsible for the ongoing process of decentralization and local governance. UN Women works with the Government of India and local organizations to promote women’s leadership and participation in governance at all levels. In this interview, Mr. Bhatnagar elaborates on the importance of elected women representatives in the Panchayati Raj (local governance) institutions and their role in advancing primary education, health, agricultural developments, and women and child development.

Press release: To accelerate gender equality, UN Women launches a Call to Action to parliamentarians

Date: Thursday, June 27, 2019

In the lead up to the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing+25) and UN Women’s ground-breaking campaign commemorating the anniversary, “Generation Equality: Realizing women’s rights for an equal future”, UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, today called upon global parliamentarians to build on the experiences and best practices from Member States on how to achieve a gender equal world via legislation and parliamentary work.

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?

Remarks by Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at the G7 ministerial meeting on gender equality and women’s empowerment in Paris, France

Date: Monday, May 13, 2019

In her remarks at the G7 ministerial meeting on gender equality and women’s empowerment, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka highlighted legislation as an important instrument for change that is systemic and irreversible.

UN Women Executive Director attends the G7 Equality Ministers meeting in France

Date: Monday, May 13, 2019

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka participated in the second meeting of the G7 Gender Advisory Council and met G7 Gender Equality Ministers on 9-10 May in Paris, France.

Guinea adopts Law on Parity, securing equal representation of women on electoral lists

Date: Friday, May 10, 2019

The Republic of Guinea adopted on 2 May, a Law on Parity that says women must make fifty per cent of the candidate lists for elective positions.

A teacher in Moldova learns to lead, changing her community for the better and inspiring others

Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2019

A local teacher in a remote village in Moldova helped improve the lives of her students and now has her sights set on local leadership, after participating in the UN Women supported "INSPIR-O!" (Inspire it) Mentorship Programme.