gender equality speech

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Gender Equality Speech - 10 Lines, Short and Long Speech

Speech on Gender Equality -

Every individual human in this world is equal no matter what color they are, where they come from, or what gender they are. In almost every nation around the world, people suffer because of gender inequality. All sorts of people irrespective of age, background, and financial status, suffer from gender inequality. For a long period selected gender is considered superior and others inferior. Gender equality is a basic human right and helps for a peaceful and sustainable world.

10 Lines On Gender Equality

Short speech on gender equality, long speech on gender equality, my experience.

Gender Equality Speech - 10 Lines, Short and Long Speech

Gender equality starts from home. In many households, boy children and girl children are treated differently. This practice makes people think that treating people differently is normal.

A boy child is given greater care than a girl child. Education is denied for girls in many houses just because they are girls.

Many girl children are married at a younger age, as they are considered a burden to the family. This practice still exists in many parts of India.

Crimes towards girl children are high in rate when compared to boy children.

When such insecurities start in childhood, people believe these things are normal.

Not only girls, but even transgender people also go through a lot of injustice because of their gender.

These inequalities affect the social health and development of any nation.

It is high time to move towards an equal society. Every individual irrespective of their gender is equal.

There are many steps taken by the government and society to rectify this blunder of inequality.

Gender equality can be easily attained by giving equal rights to every individual to decide, participate, develop, and aspire.

Gender equality (or) equality of sexes is nothing but the access to opportunities and resources equally to every individual irrespective of their gender. To achieve a bigger goal of gender equality it is important to practice gender neutrality. For a very long period masculinity is considered superior and powerful. Meanwhile, the feminine is considered inferior and weak. Society is very much comfortable with such patriarchal practices. But, it is not the right thing for a specific gender to enjoy all the freedom and accessibility while the other gender suffers the pain of suppression.

These days the concept of gender equality is very much popular. People, especially women, are ready to fight for their position. For a prolonged period, countless women suffered societal injustice in a patriarchal society. In some cases, these inequalities became life-threatening. In many violence, girls are affected by victim blaming. Women are the primary victim of domestic violence. Yet, they are expected to endure and accept because that is what society taught them.

We, as a member of society, have the responsibility to take simple steps to improve equality among genders. Changes are a must for development. It is time to change the mindset of giving superiority to one particular gender and suppressing others. It doesn’t mean reversing the superiority cycle by giving power to women and transgender and suppressing males. It simply means giving equal rights to everyone no matter what gender they are. Give equal education, equal opportunities, equal career, equal financial stability, equal choices, equal rights, and most importantly equal respect. That is how the future society of a powerful country works.

Gender inequality begins at home. Even in these modern days, in many households, girl children are treated as unwanted guests. Education is not given equally to both of them. A boy gets better education, education of his interest and a girl gets an education only if the family is interested or in marriage.

Girl children are considered a burden to their families and are married off early to avoid responsibilities. Education for a man is focused on his future and education for a woman is focused on her marriage. This is an extremely wrong practice that should come to a complete end. Girl children undergo a lot of violence just because of their gender. This violence is of various kinds. Some of them are intolerable. In some parts of society, a woman still has to go through brutal torture, both physically and mentally. Domestic violence is still an issue for most women in various parts of society. Due to the lack of awareness of rights among women, they don’t even consider it wrong.

Another major problem is faced by every working woman. The payout for workers differs majorly depending upon their gender. In many fields of work, this culture is still being followed, especially in labour work. Women labourers are getting way less pay than male labourers. All these are injustices towards a particular gender. There are even poor medical care and legal protections due to this inequality. It is high time to take a step forward and stop these meaningless practices.

Even worse, some people undergo sufferings that cannot be described in words. There is another gender that is still fighting for social recognition. Trans-genders are people who are fighting to have at least a place in society. Violence and injustice against this gender remain unnoticed by many. There are ways through which gender equality can be achieved for the brighter future generation.

Gender equality should begin in our homes. When both male and female children are treated equally, no one thinks he/she is inferior/superior. Giving open opportunities, recognizing talent, encouraging women's education, and giving them financial independence are major key points to be achieved. As a society, we must keep our minds open to welcome a major change for the future generation. As a very great step, the New Zealand cricket board decided to ratify an equal pay agreement in July 2022. Many such initiatives must be encouraged. The power and privilege enjoyed by a particular gender because they belong to ‘that’ gender should never be given to them anymore. All of us, as a society, shall now walk towards gender equal society.

When I was in school, I knew a girl who sold vegetables every morning in our area. My mother used to buy from her. She was always pleasant and happy. One day, I saw her talking to a boy in a school uniform. When I asked her who he was she said it was her brother. I asked immediately "don't you go to school" . Her answer shocked me. “What am I going to do by attending school? I am just a girl. My brother is a boy who will support our family in the future”. What shocked me more was not that she is deprived of education but, she is not at all aware of the injustice imposed upon her. Many such kids have no idea they are a victim of social injustice. It is important to create awareness and spread gender equality across the world.

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New york city, 27 february 2020, secretary-general antónio guterres' remarks at the new school: "women and power", antónio guterres.

[Scroll down for French version]

Dear students, dear friends,

It is a great pleasure to be here today. Thank you for honouring me with this degree and through me, the United Nations and our staff around the world.

The New School is a special place. I am an engineer by training and physics has been the biggest intellectual passion of my life. But I reserve my greatest admiration for artists, philosophers, social scientists and those who explain the world and make it more beautiful.

I thank the New School for helping to uplift us and give meaning to our lives. No place is better than the New School for me to explain our view on women and power, and our very strong commitment to gender equality in everything we do.

As a man born in western Europe, I have enjoyed many privileges. But my childhood under a military dictatorship in Portugal opened my eyes to injustice and oppression.

As a student doing volunteer work in the slums of Lisbon, throughout my political career, and as the leader of the United Nations refugee agency, I have always felt compelled to fight against injustice, inequality and the denial of human rights.

Today, as Secretary-General of the United Nations, I see one overwhelming injustice across the globe; an abuse that is crying out for attention. That is gender inequality and discrimination against women and girls.

Everywhere, women are worse off than men, simply because they are women. Migrant and refugee women, those with disabilities, and women members of minorities of all kinds face even greater barriers.

This discrimination harms us all. Just as slavery and colonialism were a stain on previous centuries, women’s inequality should shame us all in the 21st. Because it is not only unacceptable; it is stupid.

Only through the equal participation of women can we benefit from the intelligence, experience and insights of all of humanity. Women’s equal participation is vital to stability, helps prevent conflict, and promotes sustainable, inclusive development.

Gender equality is the prerequisite for a better world.

Dear friends, dear students,

This is not a new issue. Women have been fighting for their rights for centuries.

Five hundred years ago, Queen Nzinga Mbandi of the Mbundu waged war against Portuguese colonial rule in present-day Angola.

Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Women in 1792, is often seen as the mother of western feminism.

Sixty years later, Sojourner Truth delivered an impassioned plea for women’s rights while she worked to abolish slavery.

The women’s rights movement came of age in the twentieth century.

Women heads of state dispelled any doubts about women’s ability to lead.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights asserted the equal rights of men and women; and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women outlined a vision of gender equality.

Today, young women like Malala Yousafzai and Nadia Murad are breaking barriers and creating new models of leadership.

But despite these advances, the state of women’s rights remains dire. Inequality and discrimination are the norm, everywhere.

Progress has slowed to a standstill – and in some cases, been reversed.

There is a strong and relentless pushback against women’s rights.

Violence against women, including femicide, is at epidemic levels.

More than one in three women will experience violence in some form during her lifetime. Legal protections against rape and domestic violence are being diluted or rolled back in some places.

Rape within marriage continues to be legal in 34 countries.

Women’s sexual and reproductive rights are under threat from different sides.

Women leaders and public figures face harassment, threats and abuse, online and off. The policing of personal freedom and dress are a daily reality for millions of women and girls.

From governments to corporate boards to awards ceremonies, women are still excluded from the top table.

Policies that penalize women, like austerity and coercive reproduction, are back in fashion. Peace negotiations still exclude women, twenty years after all countries pledged to include them. And the digital age could make these inequalities even more entrenched.

Dear friends and dear students,

Gender equality is fundamentally a question of power. We live in a male-dominated world with a male-dominated culture. We have done so for millennia.

The historian Mary Beard has identified the deep historical roots of patriarchy in western culture.

In the Odyssey, written three thousand years ago, Homer describes Telemachus telling his mother, Penelope, to be quiet and to leave the talking to men. Unfortunately, Telemachus would not be out of place in some of my meetings today.

Patriarchy – a social system founded on inheritance through the male line – continues to affect every area of our lives.

We are all – men and women, girls and boys – suffering the consequences. Male-dominated power structures underpin our economies, our political systems and our corporations.

Even Hollywood fame does not protect women from men who wield physical, emotional and professional power over them. I salute those who have courageously spoken up and fought back.

A hidden layer of inequality is built into the institutions and structures that govern all our lives – but are based on the needs of just half the population.

The writer Caroline Criado Perez calls this “default man” thinking: the unquestioned assumption that men are standard, and women the exception.

This has led to the biggest data gap in the world.

Very often, women are not counted, and their experiences don’t count.

The consequences are everywhere, from toilet facilities to bus routes.

Women are at higher risk of being injured in a car accident, because seats and safety belts fit default man.

Women have a higher fatality rate from heart attacks because diagnostic tools are designed around default man.

Default man thinking even extends into space, which is indeed the final frontier – for women. More than 150 men have walked in space, but just a handful of women, particularly because spacesuits are designed for default man. No woman has walked on the moon – although women mathematicians played an essential part in putting men there. At last, we are finally celebrating the achievements of these women, including Katherine Johnson who passed away this week.

All too often, alongside violence, control, male-dominated power structures and hidden discrimination, women and girls contend with centuries of misogyny and the erasure of their achievements.

From the ridiculing of women as hysterical or hormonal, to the routine judgement of women based on their looks; from the myths and taboos that surround women’s natural body functions, to mansplaining and victim-blaming – misogyny has been everywhere.

Conversely, across centuries and cultures, words like “genius” and “brilliant” are used far more often to describe men than women.

Which is less surprising when men have made the rules and banned women from participating in it. The damage done by patriarchy and inequality goes far beyond women and girls.

Men have a gender too.

It is defined so rigidly that it can trap men and boys into stereotypes that involve risky behaviour, physical aggression and an unwillingness to seek advice or support.

As the writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie puts it: “Masculinity is a hard, small cage, and we put boys inside this cage.”

Around the world, men have shorter life spans than women; they are more likely to be in prison and to use and experience violence; and they are less likely to seek help.

We have defined men’s power in ways that come at great cost – to men themselves.

Gender equality has enormous benefits for men’s personal relationships. Men who share caregiving and spend more time with their families are happier, and have happier children.

On a larger scale, transforming the balance of power is essential, not only as a question of human rights, personal development, health and wellbeing.

It is critical to solving some of the most damaging and intractable problems of our age, from deepening inequality and polarization to the climate crisis.

Friends, dear students,

I see five areas in which achieving gender equality can transform our world. First, conflict and violence. There is a straight line between violence against women, civil oppression and conflict.

Trillions of dollars are spent every year on peace and security. But we should be asking: whose peace? Whose security?

Inter-state conflict makes headlines, but in some of the most violent parts of the world, levels of femicide - the killing of women – are comparable to a war zone. 137 women around the world are killed by a member of their own family every day.

Impunity rates are above 95 percent in some countries.

In other words, we have men waging war on women – but no one is calling for a ceasefire or imposing sanctions. And how a society treats the female half of its population is a significant indicator of how it will treat others.

Rape and sexual slavery are routinely used as a tactic of war, and misogyny is part of the ideology of almost all violent extremist groups.

Conversely, involving women leaders and decision-makers in mediation and peace processes leads to more lasting and sustainable peace.

The United Nations is committed to putting women at the centre of our conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacebuilding and mediation efforts – and to increasing the numbers of our women peacekeepers.

Second, the climate crisis.

The existential emergency we are facing is the result of decisions that were taken mainly by men, but have a disproportionate impact on women and girls.

Drought and famine mean women work harder to find food and water, while heatwaves, storms and floods kill more women and girls than men and boys.

Women and girls have long been leaders and activists on the environment, from Wangari Maathai and Jane Goodall to the Fridays for Future movement. But the impact of gender inequality on climate action goes deeper.

Initiatives to reduce and recycle are overwhelmingly marketed at women, while men are more likely to put their faith in untested technological fixes.

There is plenty of evidence that women are more open than men to reducing their personal environmental impact.

And recent studies show that women economists and parliamentarians are more likely to support sustainable, inclusive policies.

There is a risk that safeguarding our planet is seen as “women’s work” – just another domestic chore.

I am grateful to young people, Generation Z, including many of you here in this room, who are working for climate action and gender equality, while recognizing the reality of non-binary identities and solutions.

Macho posturing will not save our planet.

Gender equality, including men stepping up and taking responsibility, is essential if we are to beat the climate emergency.

The third area in which women’s rights and equal opportunities can create a breakthrough is in building inclusive economies. Worldwide, women still earn just 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.

The latest research by the World Economic Forum says it will take until 2255 to close the gender pay gap.

How can I tell my granddaughters that their granddaughters’ granddaughters will still be paid less than a man for the same work?

The gender pay gap is one reason why 70 percent of the world’s poor are women and girls.

Another is that women and girls do some 12 billion hours of unpaid care work around the world every day – three times more than men.

In some communities, women can spend 14 hours a day cooking, cleaning, fetching wood and water and caring for children and the elderly. Economic models classify these hours as “leisure time”.

Gross Domestic Product puts zero value on anything that happens in the home.

But this flawed metric is the baseline for economic decision-making, distorting policies and denying women opportunities. Women who do have an income are more likely than men to invest in their families and communities, strengthening economies and making them more resilient.

Women also tend to take a longer view. Corporate boards that include them are more stable and profitable.

The recent decision by one of the world’s biggest investment banks not to take a company public unless it has a woman board member was not made on moral grounds. It was financial good sense.

Women’s equal economic rights and opportunities are a global imperative if we are to build a fair globalization that works for all.

Fourth, the digital divide.

When a couple complained last year that the man’s credit limit was 20 times higher than his wife’s, despite her higher credit score, the discrepancy was blamed on an algorithm. But with women occupying just 26 per cent of jobs in Artificial Intelligence, it is no surprise that many algorithms are biased towards men.

Digital technology can be an enormous force for good.

But I am deeply concerned by the male domination of technological professions in the universities, start-ups and Silicon Valleys of this world.

These tech hubs are already shaping the economies and societies of the future, with a huge impact on the evolution of power relations.

Unless women play an equal role in designing digital technologies, progress on women’s rights could be reversed. Lack of diversity will not only expand gender inequality.

It will limit the innovation and scope of new technologies, making them less useful for everyone.

Fifth and finally, political representation.

Women’s participation in parliaments around the world has doubled in the last 25 years – to one quarter. Fewer than one-tenth of states are led by a woman.

But women’s representation in government is not about stereotypical “women’s issues” like opposing sexual harassment or promoting childcare.

Women in government drive social progress and meaningful changes to people’s lives.

Women are more likely to advocate for investment in education and health; and to seek cross-party consensus and common ground.

When the numbers of women reach a critical mass, governments are more likely to innovate, and to challenge established orthodoxies. In other words, women in politics are redefining and redistributing power.

It is no coincidence that the governments that are redefining GDP to include wellbeing and sustainability are led by women. It is simple math.

Women’s participation improves institutions.

Doubling the resources, capacity and expertise we put into decision-making benefits everyone.

One of my first priorities as Secretary-General of the United Nations was to bring more women into leadership positions. On 1st January this year, we achieved gender parity – 90 women and 90 men – in the ranks of full-time senior leadership, two years ahead of the target date I set at the start of my tenure.

We have a roadmap in place to achieve parity at all levels in the years ahead. This long-overdue change is an essential recognition of the equal rights and abilities of women staff.

It is also about improving our efficiency and effectiveness for the people we serve. Dear students, dear friends, The opportunity of man-made problems – and I choose these words deliberately – is that they have human-led solutions.

Thriving matriarchal societies throughout history and around the world show that patriarchy is not inevitable. We have recently seen women, many of them young, demanding transformational change.

From Sudan to Chile to Lebanon, they are calling for freedom from violence, greater representation and urgent climate action, and questioning economic systems that fail to deliver opportunities and fulfilment for many.

We owe these young leaders our voices and our support. Gender equality is part of the DNA of the United Nations. The equal rights of women and men are included in the Charter – our founding document.

As we mark our 75th anniversary this year, along with the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Conference on Women, we are redoubling our efforts to support women’s rights across the board.

Last month, the United Nations launched a Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals – the blueprint for our partnership with governments to build peaceful, prosperous and inclusive societies on a healthy planet.

Gender equality is a goal in itself, and key to achieving the other 16 goals.

The Decade of Action is aimed at transforming institutions and structures, broadening inclusion and driving sustainability. Repealing laws that discriminate against women and girls; increasing protection against violence; closing the gap in girls’ education and digital technology; guaranteeing full access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights; and ending the gender pay gap are just some of the areas we are targeting.

Women’s equal leadership and participation are fundamental. That is why in the past, I always supported quotas – the most effective way to achieve a radical shift in the balance of power. Now is the time for gender parity in governments, parliaments, corporate boards and institutions everywhere.

Over the next two years, I intend to deepen my personal commitment to highlighting and supporting gender equality in all areas of our work.

I will contact governments that have discriminatory laws on their books to advocate for change and offer our support; and urge each new government to achieve gender parity in senior leadership.

I will explore ways to maximize the influence of the United Nations to make sure women have equal representation in peace processes; and strengthen our work on the links between violence against women and international peace and security.

I will continue to meet women whose lives have been affected by violence. I will also advocate for GDP to include measures of well-being and sustainability and for unpaid domestic work to be given its true value.

I am committed to ending “default male” thinking across the United Nations. We are a data-driven organization; it is essential that our data does not make the ridiculous assumption that men are the norm and women are the exception.

We need women’s voices and contributions at the forefront in peace negotiations and trade talks; at the Oscars and the G20; in board rooms and classrooms; and at the United Nations General Assembly.

Gender equality is a question of power; power that has been jealously guarded by men for millennia.

It is about an abuse of power that is damaging our communities, our economies, our environment, our relationships and our health.

We must urgently transform and redistribute power, if we are to safeguard our future and our planet.

That is why all men should support women’s rights and gender equality. And why I am a proud feminist.

Women have equaled and outperformed men in almost every sphere. It is time to stop trying to change women, and start changing the systems that prevent them from achieving their potential.

Our power structures have evolved gradually over thousands of years. One further evolution is long overdue. The 21st century must be the century of women’s equality. Let us all play our part in making it so.

************************************************************************************ [French version]

Monsieur Van Zandt, Monsieur Aleinikoff, Madame Chang, Chères étudiantes, chers étudiants, chers amis,

C’est un grand plaisir pour moi que d’être ici aujourd’hui. Je vous remercie de l’honneur que vous me faites et à travers moi, à l’Organisation des Nations Unies et à notre personnel dans le monde entier en me nommant docteur honoris causa. La New School est un lieu spécial. Je suis ingénieur de formation et la physique est la grande passion intellectuelle de ma vie. Mais les personnes pour lesquelles j’éprouve le plus d’admiration sont les artistes, les philosophes, les spécialistes des sciences sociales et toutes celles et tous ceux qui expliquent le monde et le rendent plus beau.

La New School contribue à nous élever et à donner un sens à notre vie, et je lui en suis reconnaissant.

Chères étudiantes et chers étudiants, chers amis,

Je suis un homme né en Europe occidentale. À ce titre, j'ai bénéficié de nombreux privilèges. Mais mon enfance passée sous la dictature militaire au Portugal m'a ouvert les yeux sur l'injustice et l'oppression. Déjà quand j’étais étudiant et que je travaillais bénévolement dans les taudis de Lisbonne, puis tout au long de ma carrière politique de Premier Ministre et de Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies pour les réfugiés, je me suis toujours senti tenu de lutter contre l’injustice, l'inégalité et le déni des droits humains.

Aujourd’hui Secrétaire général de l’Organisation des Nations Unies, je constate l’omniprésence d’une certaine injustice dans le monde entier, d’un préjudice qui réclame toute notre attention : les inégalités de genre et la discrimination envers les femmes et les filles.

Partout, les femmes sont moins bien loties que les hommes, pour la simple et bonne raison qu’elles sont des femmes.

Les migrantes et les réfugiées, les femmes handicapées et celles qui appartiennent à des minorités se heurtent à des obstacles encore plus importants.

Cette discrimination nous fait du tort, à toutes et à tous.

De même que l’esclavage et le colonialisme ont entaché les siècles passés, l’inégalité que subissent les femmes au XXIe siècle devrait faire honte à chacune et à chacun d’entre nous.

Pas seulement parce qu’elle est inacceptable, mais parce qu’elle est absurde.

Renoncer à l’égale participation des femmes et des hommes, c’est renoncer à l’intelligence, à l’expérience et aux connaissances de la moitié de l’humanité.

La rendre possible, c’est la clef de la stabilité. C’est favoriser la prévention des conflits et ouvrir la voie au développement durable et inclusif.

L’égalité des genres est la condition sine qua non d’un monde meilleur.

Mesdames et Messieurs, chères étudiantes et chers étudiants,

Il ne s’agit pas d’un sujet nouveau. Voilà des siècles que les femmes luttent pour leurs droits.

Il y a 500 ans, Nzinga Mbandi, reine des Mbundu, a mené une guerre contre la domination coloniale portugaise dans l’actuel Angola.

Mary Wollstonecraft, qui a écrit Défense des droits de la femme en 1792, est souvent considérée comme la mère du féminisme occidental.

Soixante ans plus tard, Sojourner Truth a plaidé avec passion pour les droits des femmes tout en œuvrant pour l’abolition de l’esclavage.

Le mouvement pour les droits des femmes est arrivé à maturité au XXe siècle. Les femmes chefs d’État n’ont laissé subsister aucun doute quant à la capacité des femmes à diriger. La Déclaration universelle des droits de l’homme a consacré l’égalité des droits entre les femmes et les hommes, tandis que la Convention sur l’élimination de toutes les formes de discrimination à l’égard des femmes a esquissé une manière de concevoir l’égalité des genres.

Aujourd’hui, des jeunes femmes comme Malala Yousafzai et Nadia Murad font tomber les barrières et créent des modèles de leadership inédits.

Malgré ces avancées, la situation des droits des femmes reste désastreuse.

Partout, l’inégalité et la discrimination sont la norme.

Nos progrès sont au point mort. Dans certains cas, nous faisons marche arrière.

La réalisation des droits des femmes est entravée par des forces de réaction puissantes et obstinées.

La violence faite aux femmes, en particulier les féminicides, atteint des proportions épidémiques. Plus d’une femme sur trois subira des violences d’une forme ou d’une autre au cours de sa vie.

Les protections juridiques contre le viol et la violence domestique sont en train d’être assouplies ou revues à la baisse. Le viol conjugal demeure légal dans 34 pays. Les droits des femmes en matière de sexualité et de procréation sont menacés de toutes parts.

Les dirigeantes et les personnalités publiques qui sont des femmes subissent harcèlement, menaces et agressions, sur Internet aussi bien qu’ailleurs.

Pour des millions de femmes et de filles, le contrôle de la liberté individuelle et de la tenue vestimentaire est une réalité quotidienne.

Des gouvernements aux conseils d’administration, en passant par les cérémonies de remise de prix, les femmes restent exclues des places de choix.

Elles sont pénalisées par de nouvelles politiques, qui vont des mesures d’austérité jusqu’aux politiques répressives en matière de reproduction.

Les femmes sont toujours tenues à l’écart des négociations de paix et ce, 20 ans après que tous les pays se sont engagés à les y associer.

Et à l’ère du numérique, ces inégalités risquent de s’enraciner encore plus profondément.

Mesdames et Messieurs,

L’égalité des genres est, fondamentalement, une question de pouvoir.

Notre monde et notre culture sont dominés par les hommes. C’est le cas depuis des millénaires.

L’historienne Mary Beard a mis en évidence les racines historiques profondes du patriarcat dans la culture occidentale.

Dans l’Odyssée, composée par Homère il y a trois mille ans, Télémaque demande à sa mère, Pénélope, de se taire et de laisser les hommes parler.

Malheureusement, l’attitude de Télémaque ne détonnerait pas dans certaines de mes réunions avec des dirigeants mondiaux.

Le patriarcat, système social fondé sur la succession par voie patrilinéaire, reste présent dans toutes les facettes de notre vie. Nous en subissons toutes et tous les conséquences, les hommes comme les femmes, les filles comme les garçons.

Tout comme nos grandes entreprises, nos systèmes économiques et politiques sont bâtis sur des structures de pouvoir dominées par les hommes.

Même lorsqu’elles connaissent la célébrité à Hollywood, les femmes ne sont pas protégées des hommes qui exercent sur elles une domination physique, affective et professionnelle. Je salue celles qui ont courageusement fait entendre leur voix et se sont défendues.

Une inégalité d’un autre type se dissimule dans les institutions et les structures qui gouvernent nos existences, mais qui sont conçues pour répondre aux besoins d’une moitié seulement de la population.

L’auteure Caroline Criado Perez décrit cette inégalité à l’aide de la notion de « l’homme par défaut ». Elle entend par là la tendance jamais remise en cause à considérer les hommes comme la norme et les femmes, comme une anomalie.

Cela est à l’origine de la plus grande lacune dans les données mondiales. Bien souvent, les femmes ne sont pas prises en compte et leur expérience ne compte pas.

On en voit les conséquences partout, des installations sanitaires aux lignes d’autobus. En cas d’accident de voiture, les femmes courent un plus grand risque d’être blessées, car les sièges et les ceintures de sécurité sont conçus pour « l’homme par défaut ». En cas de crise cardiaque, leur taux de létalité est plus élevé parce que les outils de diagnostic ont également été élaborés pour « l’homme par défaut ».

Ce constat s’étend même à l’exploration spatiale, qui est bel et bien la frontière ultime – pour les femmes. Plus de 150 hommes sont allés dans l’espace, contre seulement une poignée de femmes, en partie parce que les combinaisons spatiales sont conçues pour « l’homme par défaut ». Aucune femme n’a marché sur la Lune, bien que des mathématiciennes aient joué un rôle essentiel pour permettre à des hommes d’y parvenir.

Nous rendons enfin hommage aujourd’hui aux accomplissements de ces femmes, notamment à ceux de Katherine Johnson, qui nous a quittés cette semaine.

En plus de la violence, de la domination, des structures de pouvoir iniques et de la discrimination cachée, les femmes et les filles pâtissent trop souvent de la négation de leurs réalisations, résultat de plusieurs siècles de misogynie.

On les accuse d’être hystériques ou instables. On les juge constamment sur leur apparence. On ne cesse d’inventer des mythes et des tabous concernant leurs fonctions corporelles naturelles. S’ajoute encore à tout cela la tendance à jeter le blâme sur les victimes et la manie qu’ont les hommes de vouloir tout expliquer aux femmes : la misogynie est omniprésente.

À l’inverse, à travers les siècles et les cultures, des mots comme « génie » ou « brillant » s’emploient beaucoup plus souvent pour qualifier des hommes que des femmes.

Cela n’est guère surprenant, quand on sait que ce sont les hommes qui ont établi les règles, en excluant les femmes.

Mais les dégâts causés par le patriarcat et l’inégalité sont loin de se limiter aux femmes et aux filles.

Les hommes et les garçons ont eux aussi un genre. Celui-ci est défini de manière si restrictive qu’il peut les enfermer dans des stéréotypes qui se caractérisent par des comportements à risque, des agressions physiques et une réticence à demander des conseils ou de l’aide.

Comme l’a dit l’écrivaine Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, la masculinité est une cage petite et rigide dans laquelle nous mettons les garçons.

Partout dans le monde, les hommes ont une espérance de vie plus courte que les femmes, ils sont plus susceptibles d’être incarcérés, d’employer et de connaître la violence, et ils sont moins enclins à chercher de l’aide.

Le pouvoir des hommes a un prix et ce prix est élevé, même pour les hommes.

L’égalité des genres présente un grand intérêt pour les relations personnelles des hommes. Les hommes qui prennent part aux tâches familiales et qui passent plus de temps avec leur famille sont plus heureux – et leurs enfants aussi.

À plus grande échelle, il est essentiel de transformer les rapports de force, et cela, pas seulement dans la perspective des droits humains, du développement personnel, de la santé et du bien-être.

C’est également indispensable pour régler certains des problèmes les plus graves et les plus difficiles à surmonter de notre temps, de l’aggravation des inégalités et des clivages jusqu’à la crise climatique.

Mesdames et messieurs, chères étudiantes et chers étudiants,

Pour moi, il y a cinq domaines où l’égalité des genres est vouée à transformer notre monde.

Premièrement, le conflit et la violence.

Conflits, violence contre les femmes et oppression des civils sont directement liés.

Chaque année, des milliards de dollars sont consacrés à la promotion de la paix et de la sécurité. Mais la paix de qui ? La sécurité de qui ?

Pendant que les conflits entre États font les gros titres, certaines régions connaissent des taux de féminicide comparables à la mortalité constatée dans les zones de guerre. À l’échelle mondiale, 137 femmes sont tuées chaque jour par un membre de leur famille. Dans certains pays, plus de 95 % des meurtres de femmes restent impunis.

En d’autres termes, il y a des hommes qui font la guerre aux femmes. Mais personne ne réclame un cessez-le-feu ou n’impose de sanctions.

La façon dont une société traite la moitié féminine de sa population est révélatrice de la façon dont elle traite les autres sociétés.

Le viol et l’esclavage sexuel servent couramment de tactique de guerre, et la misogynie fait partie de l’idéologie de presque tous les groupes extrémistes violents.

Inversement, la participation de dirigeantes et de décideuses aux processus de médiation et de paix conduit à une paix plus durable, plus pérenne.

L’ONU s’emploie à placer les femmes au centre de son action de prévention des conflits, de rétablissement de la paix, de consolidation de la paix et de médiation – et à augmenter le nombre de femmes affectées au maintien de la paix.

Deuxièmement, la crise climatique.

La menace pressante qui pèse sur notre existence est la conséquence de décisions qui ont été prises pour l’essentiel par des hommes, mais qui touchent tout particulièrement les femmes et les filles.

La sécheresse et la famine font que les femmes travaillent plus dur pour trouver de la nourriture et de l’eau, tandis que les vagues de chaleur, les tempêtes et les inondations tuent plus de femmes et de filles que d’hommes et de garçons.

Voilà longtemps que les femmes jouent un rôle de premier plan dans la lutte pour l’environnement : que l’on pense à Wangari Maathai, à Jane Goodall ou encore au mouvement Fridays for Future.

Mais les inégalités de genre ont des répercussions bien plus profondes sur l’action climatique.

Les campagnes en faveur du recyclage et de la réduction des déchets ciblent avant tout les femmes, tandis que les hommes paraissent plus enclins à faire confiance à des solutions technologiques qui n’ont jamais été testées.

Tout indique que les femmes sont plus disposées que les hommes à réduire leur propre impact environnemental.

Récemment, des études ont fait ressortir que parmi les économistes et les parlementaires, les femmes étaient plus susceptibles de soutenir des politiques durables et inclusives.

La sauvegarde de la planète risque d’être considérée comme un « travail de femme ». Autrement dit, comme une tâche ménagère parmi d’autres.

Je suis reconnaissant aux jeunes, celles et ceux de la génération Z, à laquelle appartiennent nombre d’entre vous, qui œuvrent en faveur de l’action climatique et de l’égalité femmes-hommes sans perdre de vue la réalité des identités et des solutions non binaires.

Les postures machistes ne nous permettront pas de sauver notre planète.

Sans égalité des genres, il sera impossible de répondre à l’urgence climatique. Cela signifie aussi que les hommes doivent agir et prendre leurs responsabilités.

Chères étudiantes, chers étudiants, chers amis,

Le troisième domaine où les droits des femmes et l’égalité des chances pourraient nous permettre de faire un grand pas en avant, c’est l’édification d’économies inclusives.

En moyenne dans le monde, quand un homme gagne 1 dollar, une femme ne touche que 77 cents. Selon les dernières recherches du Forum économique mondial, cet écart de rémunération ne sera pas comblé avant 2255.

Comment expliquer à mes petites-filles que les petites-filles de leurs petites-filles seront toujours moins bien payées que les hommes, pour faire le même travail ?

L’écart de rémunération est l’une des raisons pour lesquelles 70 % des pauvres dans le monde sont des femmes et des filles.

Une autre raison est que, à l’échelle mondiale, les femmes et les filles effectuent chaque jour quelque 12 milliards d’heures de tâches familiales non rémunérées, soit trois fois plus que les hommes.

Dans certains endroits, les femmes passent jusqu’à 14 heures par jour à cuisiner, à nettoyer, à chercher du bois et de l’eau et à s’occuper des enfants et des personnes âgées.

D’après les modèles économiques, ce travail relève du « temps libre ».

À l’aune du produit intérieur brut, rien de ce qui se passe à la maison n’a de valeur. Cette mesure erronée sert pourtant de base aux décisions économiques, ce qui fausse les politiques et prive les femmes de possibilités.

Les femmes qui ont des revenus sont plus susceptibles que les hommes d’investir dans leur famille et leur communauté, ce qui renforce l’économie et la rend plus résiliente.

Les femmes ont également tendance à envisager les choses à plus long terme. Les entreprises sont plus stables et plus rentables quand des femmes siègent au conseil d’administration.

Récemment, l’une des plus grandes banques d’investissement au monde a décidé de ne pas introduire en bourse les sociétés qui ne comptent pas de femme parmi les membres de leur conseil d’administration. Ses motivations n’étaient pas d’ordre moral, mais financier. C’était tout simplement du bon sens.

Si nous voulons une mondialisation équitable qui profite à tous, l’égalité des droits et des chances économiques doit devenir réalité dans le monde entier.

Quatrièmement, le fossé numérique.

Lorsqu’un couple s’est plaint l’année dernière que la limite de crédit de monsieur était 20 fois supérieure à celle de madame bien que la cote de crédit de celle-ci fût meilleure, l’anomalie a été imputée à un algorithme.

Sachant que les femmes n’occupent que 26 % des emplois dans le secteur de l’intelligence artificielle, il n’est guère surprenant que de nombreux algorithmes soient biaisés en faveur des hommes.

La technologie numérique peut être une grande source de bienfaits. Mais je suis profondément préoccupé par le fait que ce sont les hommes qui occupent la plupart des emplois dans le secteur de la technologie, que ce soit dans les universités, dans les start-ups ou encore dans les Silicon Valleys du monde entier.

Ces pôles technologiques façonnent déjà les économies et les sociétés du futur, ce qui a des répercussions considérables sur l’évolution des rapports de force.

Si les femmes ne participent pas au même titre que les hommes à la conception des technologies numériques, les avancées obtenues en matière de droits des femmes pourraient bien être remises en question.

Non seulement le manque de diversité accentuera les inégalités de genre, mais il limitera l’innovation et la portée des nouvelles technologies, et les rendra moins utiles.

Cinquièmement et dernièrement, la représentation politique.

La part des femmes qui siègent au parlement dans le monde entier a doublé au cours des 25 dernières années et atteint désormais un quart. Moins d’un État sur 10 est dirigé par une femme.

Mais la représentation des femmes dans les instances de l’État n’a rien à voir avec les questions dites féminines, comme l’opposition au harcèlement sexuel ou la promotion des services de garde d’enfants. Les femmes au pouvoir sont les moteurs du progrès social et font véritablement changer la vie des gens.

Les femmes sont plus enclines à faire campagne pour l’investissement dans l’éducation et la santé, et à rechercher le consensus et un terrain d’entente entre les partis.

Plus les gouvernements comptent de femmes, plus ils innovent et remettent en question l’ordre établi.

Autrement dit, les femmes en politique réinventent et redistribuent le pouvoir.

Ce n’est pas un hasard si les États qui redéfinissent le PIB en prenant en considération le bien-être et la durabilité sont dirigés par des femmes.

C’est bien simple : la participation des femmes améliore les institutions.

Quand on multiplie par deux les ressources, les capacités et les compétences mises au service de la prise de décisions, tout le monde y gagne.

L’une de mes priorités en tant que Secrétaire général de l’Organisation des Nations Unies a été de faire en sorte que plus de femmes occupent des postes de direction. Le 1er janvier 2020, nous sommes parvenus à la parité femmes-hommes – 90 femmes et 90 hommes – aux postes de plus haut rang occupés à temps plein, deux ans avant la date que j’avais fixée au début de mon mandat. Et nous avons un plan d’action pour arriver à la parité à tous les niveaux dans les années à venir.

Ce changement tant attendu est une reconnaissance essentielle de l’égalité des droits et des aptitudes des femmes qui travaillent pour l’Organisation. Il s’agit aussi pour nous d’être plus efficaces et plus utiles pour toutes celles et tous ceux que nous servons.

Les problèmes qui ont été créés par l’homme – je dis bien par l’homme – ne pourront être réglés que par l’humanité tout entière.

Les sociétés matriarcales qui ont fleuri à travers l’histoire et prospèrent dans le monde entier montrent que le patriarcat n’est pas inévitable.

Nous avons récemment entendu des femmes, dont beaucoup de jeunes, exiger un changement radical.

Du Soudan au Chili en passant par le Liban, elles réclament la fin de la violence, une meilleure représentation et une action immédiate en faveur du climat, et elles remettent en question les systèmes économiques qui n’offrent ni débouchés ni satisfaction pour le plus grand nombre.

Nous devons faire entendre notre voix pour ces jeunes dirigeantes, nous leur devons notre soutien.

L’égalité des genres fait partie de l’ADN de l’ONU. L’égalité des droits des femmes et des hommes est inscrite dans la Charte, notre texte fondateur. Alors que nous célébrons cette année le 75e anniversaire de l’Organisation et le 25e anniversaire de la Conférence de Beijing sur les femmes, nous redoublons d’efforts pour soutenir les droits des femmes dans tous les domaines.

Le mois dernier, l’ONU a lancé la Décennie d’action en faveur des objectifs de développement durable, un modèle de partenariat avec les États pour l’édification de sociétés pacifiques, prospères et inclusives sur une planète en bonne santé.

L’égalité des genres est un objectif à part entière, et elle est indispensable pour atteindre les 16 autres.

La Décennie d’action vise à transformer les institutions et les structures, à aller plus loin dans l’inclusion et à favoriser la durabilité.

Abroger les lois discriminatoires envers les femmes et les filles, améliorer la protection contre la violence, combler les écarts en matière d’éducation, de rémunération et de technologies numériques : voilà quelques-uns des domaines dans lesquels nous œuvrons.

Il est fondamental que les femmes dirigent et participent, à égalité avec les hommes.

C’est pourquoi, par le passé, j’ai été favorable aux quotas : c’est le meilleur moyen de parvenir à un changement radical dans l’équilibre des forces. L’heure est à la parité dans les gouvernements, les parlements, les conseils d’administration et les institutions, partout dans le monde.

Au cours des deux prochaines années, j’ai l’intention de m’engager plus encore, personnellement, en faveur de l’égalité des genres dans tous les domaines de notre travail.

Je prendrai contact avec les gouvernements qui ont des lois discriminatoires pour plaider en faveur du changement et offrir notre soutien et j’exhorterai tout nouveau gouvernement à parvenir à la parité femmes-hommes aux postes de direction.

J’étudierai les moyens d’accroître au maximum l’influence de l’ONU pour faire en sorte que les femmes soient représentées, à égalité, dans les processus de paix ; je renforcerai notre travail sur les liens entre violence contre les femmes et paix et sécurité internationales. Je continuerai à rencontrer des femmes dont la vie a été marquée par la violence.

Je plaiderai en faveur de la prise en compte du bien-être et de la durabilité dans le PIB, ainsi que de la reconnaissance de la valeur réelle du travail domestique.

Je m’engage à faire en sorte que l’homme ne soit plus la référence par défaut à l’ONU. Le travail de l’Organisation repose sur les données ; il faut absolument cesser de fonder les chiffres sur le principe ridicule selon lequel l’homme serait la norme et la femme, l’exception.

Nous avons besoin que les femmes fassent entendre leur voix et qu’elles jouent un rôle de premier plan dans les pourparlers de paix comme dans les négociations commerciales ; aux Oscars comme au G20 ; dans les conseils d’administration comme dans les salles de classe ; et à l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies.

Mesdames et Messieurs, Chères étudiantes, chers étudiants, chers amis,

L’égalité des genres est une question de pouvoir. C’est la question du pouvoir jalousement gardé par les hommes depuis des millénaires.

Nous sommes face à un abus de pouvoir qui porte préjudice à nos communautés, à nos économies, à notre environnement, à nos relations et à notre santé.

Nous devons de toute urgence transformer et redistribuer le pouvoir si nous voulons préserver notre avenir et notre planète.

C’est pourquoi tous les hommes devraient soutenir les droits des femmes et l’égalité des genres.

Et c’est pourquoi je suis fier d’être féministe.

Les femmes ont égalé et surpassé les hommes dans presque tous les domaines.

Le moment est venu d’arrêter de vouloir changer les femmes et de commencer à changer les systèmes qui les empêchent de réaliser leur potentiel.

Nos structures de pouvoir évoluent progressivement depuis des millénaires. Une autre évolution se fait attendre depuis trop longtemps.

Le XXIe siècle doit être le siècle de l’égalité femmes-hommes.

Chacun a un rôle à jouer pour qu’il en soit ainsi.

Je vous remercie.

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Jun 30, 2021

Kamala Harris Generation Equality Forum Speech Transcript

Vice President Kamala Harris gave a speech on gender equality at the Generation Equality Forum on June 30, 2021. Read the transcript of her remarks here.

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Kamala Harris: ( 00:00 ) Are we on right now?

Speaker 2: ( 00:13 ) Yeah.

Kamala Harris: ( 00:13 ) They took me out of order. Okay. And it is hot outside. Greetings from the White House. President Macron, President Lopez Obrador. Miss…

Kamala Harris: ( 00:36 ) [Spanish 00:00:36] It is wonderful to be with you President Macron, Mr. Secretary General, Madam Executive Director, Shantelle, and the Youth Task Force. Thank you for convening this forum. 26 years ago, government and civil society leaders from around the world came together in a forum, not unlike this one. In Beijing in 1995, Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a Clarion call to the world and the United States became one of 189 nations to adopt the ambitious platform for action. These are points of profound pride for our nation. And for me, it is an honor to be here with you now, as we recommit to make gender equality a reality.

Kamala Harris: ( 01:34 ) Over the past five months, I have met many world leaders and we have discussed some of the most pressing issues of our time. COVID-19, climate change, threats to security, and threats to democracy. And in these meetings, I have often made it a point to raise the importance of equal participation of women and girls. Because I believe as you all do that, that addressing gender equity and equality is essential to addressing every other challenge we face, which is certainly true in light of the current threats to democracy. Around the world, democracy is in peril. Strong men have become stronger. Human rights abuses have multiplied. Corruption is undermining progress, as misinformation is undermining public confidence. And who gets hurt when democracies fall, when democracies falter? Who gets hurt when democracies fail to live up to their promise? Well, women and girls are among those who suffer.

Kamala Harris: ( 02:59 ) At the G7 summit just weeks ago, world leaders pledged to unite against the threat of autocracy. World leaders pledged to unite behind the principles of democracy. And as we move forward, I believe that if we want to strengthen democracy, we must fight for gender equality. Because here’s the truth. Democracy is strongest when everyone participates and it is weaker when people are left out. And we’ve seen this here in the United States. When women have access to capital to start a small business, they can participate more fully. And our democracy grows stronger. When women have access to reproductive healthcare to stay healthy, they can participate more fully and our democracy grows stronger. When women live free from the fear of violence, they can participate more fully and our democracy grows stronger.

Kamala Harris: ( 04:12 ) Throughout my career. I have worked to protect women from violence and exploitation. I know what happens when women are supported. I know what happens when women are heard. When women are heard, whether that is in the courtroom, in the workplace, and the halls of government or at the ballot box, democracy is more complete. So I know without doubt, gender equality strengthens democracy.

Kamala Harris: ( 04:48 ) And for our part, the United States will make a number of commitments today to reinforce our own institutions. And these commitments have one thing in common. They will yield results, real, tangible results that improve the lives of women in the United States and women around the world. So in closing, I will address the young leaders who are participating in generation equality. I remain hopeful and optimistic because of you. Our world needs your leadership. And in that role, there are two things I want you to remember. First, remember to use the tools of democracy, whether that is the freedom of speech or the freedom to vote. And if you do not yet have those freedoms, fight for them and know we will fight alongside you. And the second thing I want you to remember this, listen to those people who are not being heard. Respect and embrace those whose experiences are different from your own. And recognize who is not in the room and invite them in and do not forget the power of your own story.

Kamala Harris: ( 06:21 ) When we bring people in, when we bring in all the people, we are more successful. Our results are more impactful because democracy is strongest because our world is stronger when everyone participates. Thank you. Thank you all very much.

Speaker 3: ( 06:48 ) Thank you.

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Speech: This is the moment, the opportunity, to finally call time on gender inequality

Opening remarks by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous at the Generation Equality Midpoint Moment, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 17 September 2023.

Date: Monday, 18 September 2023

[As delivered.]

Welcome on behalf of UN Women, the global convenor of Generation Equality . Welcome to our Generation Equality Midpoint Moment .

We meet on the eve of the SDG Summit , seized by the challenges and the urgent imperatives to accelerate progress. Our latest research tells us that at the current rate of progress, more than 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030, and close to one in four will experience moderate or severe food insecurity.

We need renewed energy, we need renewed commitment, and we need our will to change this trajectory. Generation Equality provides us with this opportunity.

UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous delivers opening remarks at the Generation Equality Midpoint Moment, United Nations Headquarters, New York, 17 September 2023. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown.

All of us here today are Generation Equality.

We are Generation Equality because we are all feminists.

We are Generation Equality because we know that gender equality and SDG 5 are the greatest of enablers and that the dividends of equality are limitless.

We are Generation Equality because we believe in and model the power of multistakeholder partnerships.

We are Generation Equality because we know that our coalition must stretch from the global to the local and we aspire to connect the energy here in this room with the energy at grass roots level around the world.

We are Generation Equality, and we are at the heart of change.

Fellow feminists,

At this Midpoint Moment we take stock, hold ourselves accountable, grow our movement, and energize ourselves and others, building on the achievements in Mexico City and Paris two years ago. We do so with pride. And our pride is based on evidence.

In just two years, youth, civil society, governments, private sector, and philanthropists have delivered unprecedented action. Collectively, Commitment Makers have already spent almost USD 10 billion on gender equality. Across the world they have already initiated or are implementing 849 policies, 2,306 programmes and 3,649 advocacy initiatives.

This is quite impressive.

In 2022, Compact signatories spent almost USD 1 billion on women, peace and security and humanitarian action, reaching 22.1 million women and girls. We should congratulate ourselves as we challenge ourselves to do more. Commitment Makers have reported a new total of USD 47 billion in financial commitments, with USD 20 billion already secured. And there is much more to come. And we thank you all for that.

Excellencies, partners, colleagues, friends, and fellow feminists,

This is the moment, the opportunity, to finally call time on gender inequality. This is when we say enough to pushback, enough to regression, enough to ongoing failures to invest and act.

We are disruptors. Our commitment is unwavering, the cause we work for, collectively, is undeniable.

I look forward to our time together here today.

And I thank you.

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11 superb speeches to inspire us to keep fighting for gender equality, even when we're exhausted

It's been a particularly distressing year full of chaos, heartbreak, and loss. And though circumstances are tough and constantly striving for a better world can be exhausting, it's crucial that women (and men, too) continue in the fight for gender equality.

Gender discrimination and the gender pay gap are still realities that women face on a daily basis. And in 2020, women's rights to abortion and more may be at risk if a conservative winds up filling Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Supreme Court seat.

Thankfully, a whole lot of strong women role models are out there to help lift us up and lead the way. Here are 11 speeches to inspire you to keep fighting for equality, no matter how challenging or hopeless things may feel.

1. Hillary Clinton's "Women's Rights are Human Rights" speech

You may recall Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential concession speech as one of her most memorable, but another truly remarkable address took place in September 1995.

During an impassioned speech at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, Clinton memorably declared, "Human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights."

The then first lady of the United States went on to passionately argue for the rights and freedom of women around the world. She highlighted the need for women to be protected and respected. She called for an end to violence against women and demanded that women be treated equally. She asked that women be given the same access to education, the same freedom of speech, and the same societal and political rights as men. And she lifted women up, as she's done so many times during her career.

2. Leymah Gbowee's 2012 Ted Talk

Leymah Gbowee, a Liberian peace activist, was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2011 for the role she played in ending the Second Liberian Civil War in 2003. Gbowee's nonviolent organizing efforts were historic, and the social worker and women's rights advocate went on to deliver a powerful TED Talk in March 2012 called, "Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls."

Gbowee shared several formative personal experiences she's had while traveling around the world to speak. She talked about girls she's met and shared bits of their stories. She spoke about her work and the issues she fights for. And she spoke about hope.

"I don't have much to ask of you. I've also been to places in this U.S. and I know that girls in this country also have wishes — wishes for a better life," Gbowee said. "Somewhere in the Bronx... wish for a better life. Somewhere in downtown LA... wish for a better life. Somewhere in Texas... wish for a better life... Somewhere in New Jersey... wish for a better life. Will you journey with me to help that girl?… All they are asking us to do is create that space to unlock the intelligence, unlock the passion, unlock all of the great things that they hold within themselves. Let's journey together."

3. Julia Gillard's famous misogyny speech

In October 2012, Julia Gillard, a former Australian politician who served as Australia's 27th prime minister from 2010 to 2013, delivered a powerful parliamentary speech on misogyny.

In response to opposition leader Tony Abbott's request to have Peter Slipper removed as Speaker over texts sent to an aide, Gillard took the mic and called Abbott out for his own sexist, misogynistic behavior.

"The Leader of the Opposition says that people who hold sexist views and who are misogynists are not appropriate for high office. Well, I hope the Leader of the Opposition has got a piece of paper and he is writing out his resignation. Because if he wants to know what misogyny looks like in modern Australia, he doesn't need a motion in the House of Representatives, he needs a mirror. That's what he needs," Gillard began.

Over the course of the nearly 15-minute address, she proceeded to call out Abbott's "repulsive double standards" on misogyny and sexism.

In a September 2013 appearance on Australian's Kitchen Cabinet interview show, Abbott spoke about Gillard's speech. "Look, politics is about theater and at the time I didn't think it was very effective theater at all," he said. "But plainly it did strike a chord in a lot of people who had not followed the immediate problem that had brought on that particular parliamentary debate."

Strike a chord it did. Though Gillard's speech was seen as controversial by some, it resonated with so many women who had experienced similar behavior, and her words remain unforgettable.

4. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's "We should all be feminists" TEDx talk

Some of you may be familiar with We Should All Be Feminists , the personal essay by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie that was published as a book in 2014. But did you know the New York Times bestseller is an adapted version of a TEDx talk that the writer delivered in December 2012?

"We teach girls that they can have ambition, but not too much... to be successful, but not too successful, or they'll threaten men," the writer says to the audience. You may recognize bits of audio from the song "Flawless" off of Beyoncé's 2016 album, Lemonade , but Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's full 30-minute discussion of feminism, the role gender plays in today's society, the double standards among men and women, and her own personal experiences is required listening of its own.

5. Malala Yousafzai's 16th birthday address to the United Nations

When Nobel Prize-winning activist Malala Yousafzai turned 16 years old in July 2013, she delivered a profoundly inspiring address at the United Nations. Yousafzai spoke about how she had been shot by the Taliban in 2012, talked of her recovery and how grateful she was to be alive, and laid out an impassioned plea for equality.

"We call upon all communities to be tolerant — to reject prejudice based on cast, creed, sect, religion, or gender. To ensure freedom and equality for women so that they can flourish. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back," Yousafzai said.

"Dear brothers and sisters, we want schools and education for every child's bright future. We will continue our journey to our destination of peace and education for everyone," she continued. "No one can stop us. We will speak for our rights and we will bring change through our voice. We must believe in the power and the strength of our words. Our words can change the world."

6. Emma Watson's gender equality speech at the United Nations

In September 2014, Emma Watson — British actor, activist, and United Nations Women Goodwill Ambassador — delivered a powerful address on gender equality at a UN Women's HeForShe campaign event.

"Why has the word [feminism] become such an uncomfortable one? I am from Britain, and I think it is right I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decisions that will affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men," Watson said. "But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to see these rights. No country in the world can yet say that they achieved gender equality."

Watson went on to explain how she came to understand the word "feminism." She shared personal experiences, discussed how harmful gender stereotypes are, and directly addressed men to remind them, "Gender equality is your issue, too."

7. Lupita Nyong'o speaking at a Black Women in Hollywood event

At Essence 's 2014 Black Women in Hollywood event, actor Lupita Nyong'o was honored for her role in 12 Years a Slave. Nyong'o received the award for "Best Breakthrough Performance" and proceeded to give a truly moving speech about what it means to be a Black woman in Hollywood.

Nyong'o began by sharing a passage from a fan letter she received. A young girl wrote to the actor to say, "I think you're really lucky to be this Black but yet this successful in Hollywood overnight. I was just about to buy Dencia's Whitenicious cream to lighten my skin when you appeared on the world map and saved me."

"My heart bled a little when I read those words," Nyong'o said. "I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned."

Nyong'o shared her own struggles with self-image and self-acceptance growing up, expressing why diversity and on-screen representations are so important in the world.

8. Ruth Bader Ginsburg's comments about women on the Supreme Court

The world continues to mourn the loss of the great Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Sept. 18, 2020. But her legacy as a Supreme Court justice and fierce advocate for women's rights and equality will never be forgotten.

Justice Ginsburg gave her fair share of powerful speeches on gender equality over the course of her remarkable career, but several beloved RBG quotes were made when she visited Georgetown University in February 2015 and spoke about the many challenges women in her profession face.

"People ask me sometimes when do you think it will be enough? When will there be enough women on the court? And my answer is, 'When there are nine,'" Justice Ginsburg said. You can watch the full conversation here .

9. Michelle Obama's International Women's Day remarks

Like Justice Ginsburg, Michelle Obama has given a number of touching speeches over the course of her career. But on International Women's Day in 2016, the first lady gave an especially moving one at a Washington, D.C., event for Let Girls Learn , the White House initiative she launched to help fight for girls' education around the world.

"The more I traveled and met with girls and learned from experts about this issue, the more I realized that the barriers to girls' education isn't just resources. It's not just about access to scholarships or transportation or school bathrooms. It's also about attitudes and beliefs — the belief that girls simply aren't worthy of an education; that women should have no role outside the home; that their bodies aren't their own, their minds don't really matter, and their voices simply shouldn't be heard," she said.

After touching on additional issues of inequality, such as discrimination and violence against women, Obama went on to remind people there are still so many rights and freedoms to fight for.

"These issues aren't settled. These freedoms that we take for granted aren't guaranteed in stone. And they certainly didn't just come down to us as a gift from the heavens. No, these rights were secured through long, hard battles waged by women and men who marched, and protested, and made their voices heard in courtrooms and boardrooms and voting booths and the halls of Congress."

10. Raquel Willis calling to protect Black trans lives

Raquel Willis , writer and Black transgender activist, gave an extremely empowering speech to a crowd of 15,000 people at a Brooklyn rally for Black trans lives in June 2020.

"I am gonna talk to my Black trans folks first and model what it looks like to put us first," Willis said into the mic. "We have been told to be silent for too long. We have been told that we are not enough to parents, to family, to lovers, to Johns, to organizations, to schools, to our government, to the world. And the truth is that we're more than enough."

Willis went on to remind Black trans folk to never doubt their power, to never fall silent, and to keep fighting for equality in workplaces, organizations, and every aspect of life. And she called on others to be active allies to the Black trans community.

"Don't ever doubt the faith that you should have for yourself and your people, cause we are the ones changing shit, and we are the lifeblood of everything they've built and tried to lock us out of," Willis said.

"I want you to all also remember, whether you are Black or trans or not, you have a duty and responsibility to elevate Black trans power," she added.

11. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's response to Congressman Ted Yoho

In the two years since Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won the Democratic primary election for New York's 14th congressional district, she's made her fair share of striking, inspirational speeches. After Justice Ginsburg died, the Congresswoman delivered raw, deeply emotional comments on Instagram Live that inspired many continue to fight for issues, like gender equality, that were so close to Ginsburg's heart.

One of AOC's most memorable speeches of 2020 took place in July when she spoke on the House floor to address the hateful comments that Republican Rep. Ted Yoho made toward her. After Yoho reportedly confronted AOC on the steps of Capitol Hill and called her "disgusting" and a "fucking bitch," the Congresswoman spoke out on behalf of herself and all women.

"When you do that to any woman, what Mr. Yoho did was give permission to other men to do that to his daughters," she said. "In using that language in front of the press he gave permission to use that language against his wife, his daughters, women in his community. And I am here to stand up to say that is not acceptable."

"I do not care what your views are. It does not matter how much I disagree, or how much it incenses me, or how much I feel that people are dehumanizing others. I will not do that myself," Ocasio-Cortez continued, noting that she would never use such disrespectful language toward Yoho or anyone else. "I will not allow people to change and create hatred in our hearts."

"Treating someone with dignity and respect makes a decent man, and when a decent man messes up, as we all are bound to do, he tries his best and does apologize," the Congresswoman said. "Not to save face. Not to win a vote. He apologizes genuinely to repair and acknowledge the harm he has done so that we can all move on."

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Celebrity Feminism, Privilege, and the United Nations' HeForShe Movement

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On Sep. 20, 2014, British actor and Goodwill Ambassador for U.N. Women Emma Watson gave a smart, important, and moving speech about gender inequality and how to fight it. In doing so, she launched the HeForShe initiative, which aims to get men and boys to join the feminist fight for gender equality . In the speech, Watson made the important point that in order for gender equality to be achieved, harmful and destructive stereotypes of masculinity and behavioral expectations for boys and men have got to change .

Emma Watson is a British actress and model born in 1990, who is best known for her 10-year stint as Hermione Granger in the eight Harry Potter movies. Born in Paris, France to a pair of now-divorced British lawyers, she made a reported $60 million for playing Granger in the eight Harry Potter films.

Watson began taking acting classes at six years of age and was selected for the Harry Potter cast in 2001 at age nine. She attended the Dragon School at Oxford, and then the Headington private girl's school. Eventually, she received a bachelor's degree in English literature at Brown University in the United States.

Watson has been actively involved in humanitarian causes for several years, working to promote fair trade and organic clothing, and as an ambassador for Camfed International, a movement to educate girls in rural Africa.

Celebrity Feminism

Watson is one of several women in the arts who have leveraged their high profile status to bring women's rights issues to the public eye. The list includes Jennifer Lawrence, Patricia Arquette, Rose McGowan, Annie Lennox, Beyonce, Carmen Maura, Taylor Swift, Lena Dunham, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga, and Shailene Woodley, although some have refused to self-identify as "feminists."

These women have been both celebrated and criticized for the positions they have taken; the term "celebrity feminist" is sometimes used to denigrate their credentials or question their authenticity, but there is no doubt that their championships of different causes have shed public light into myriad issues.

The U.N. and HeForShe

In 2014, Watson was named a U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador by the United Nations, a program that actively involves prominent personalities in the fields of arts and sports to promote U.N. programs. Her role is to serve as an advocate for U.N. Women's gender equality campaign known as HeForShe.

HeForShe , led by the U.N.'s Elizabeth Nyamayaro and under the direction of Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, is a program dedicated to improving the status of women and inviting men and boys around the world to stand in solidarity with women and girls as they make that make gender equality a reality.

The speech at the United Nations was part of her official role as U.N. Women Goodwill Ambassador. Below is the full transcript of her 13-minute speech; after that is a discussion of the speech's reception.

Emma Watson's Speech at the U.N.

Today we are launching a campaign called HeForShe. I am reaching out to you because we need your help. We want to end gender inequality, and to do this, we need everyone involved. This is the first campaign of its kind at the UN. We want to try to mobilize as many men and boys as possible to be advocates for change. And, we don’t just want to talk about it. We want to try and make sure that it’s tangible.

I was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women six months ago. And, the more I spoke about feminism, the more I realized that fighting for women’s rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is that this has to stop.

For the record, feminism by definition is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of political, economic and social equality of the sexes.

I started questioning gender-based assumptions a long time ago. When I was 8, I was confused for being called bossy because I wanted to direct the plays that we would put on for our parents, but the boys were not. When at 14, I started to be sexualized by certain elements of the media. When at 15, my girlfriends started dropping out of sports teams because they didn’t want to appear muscly. When at 18, my male friends were unable to express their feelings.

I decided that I was a feminist, and this seemed uncomplicated to me. But my recent research has shown me that feminism has become an unpopular word. Women are choosing not to identify as feminists. Apparently, I’m among the ranks of women whose expressions are seen as too strong, too aggressive, isolating, and anti-men. Unattractive, even.

Why has the word become such an uncomfortable one? I am from Britain, and I think it is right I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and decisions that will affect my life. I think it is right that socially, I am afforded the same respect as men.

But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to see these rights. No country in the world can yet say that they achieved gender equality. These rights, I consider to be human rights but I am one of the lucky ones. My life is a sheer privilege because my parents didn’t love me less because I was born a daughter. My school did not limit me because I was a girl. My mentors didn’t assume I would go less far because I might give birth to a child one day. These influencers were the gender equality ambassadors that made me who I am today. They may not know it, but they are the inadvertent feminists who are changing the world today. And we need more of those.

And if you still hate the word, it is not the word that is important. It’s the idea and the ambition behind it, because not all women have received the same rights I have. In fact, statistically, very few have.

In 1995, Hillary Clinton made a famous speech in Beijing about women’s rights. Sadly, many of the things that she wanted to change are still true today. But what stood out for me the most was that less than thirty percent of the audience were male. How can we effect change in the world when only half of it is invited or feel welcome to participate in the conversation?

Men, I would like to take this opportunity to extend your formal invitation. Gender equality is your issue, too. Because to date, I’ve seen my father’s role as a parent being valued less by society, despite my need of his presence as a child, as much as my mother’s. I’ve seen young men suffering from mental illness, unable to ask for help for fear it would make them less of a man. In fact, in the UK, suicide is the biggest killer of men between 20 to 49, eclipsing road accidents, cancer and coronary heart disease. I’ve seen men made fragile and insecure by a distorted sense of what constitutes male success. Men don’t have the benefits of equality, either.

We don’t often talk about men being imprisoned by gender stereotypes, but I can see that they are, and that when they are free, things will change for women as a natural consequence. If men don’t have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won’t feel compelled to be submissive. Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive. Both men and women should feel free to be strong. It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum, instead of two sets of opposing ideals. If we stop defining each other by what we are not, and start defining ourselves by who we are, we can all be freer, and this is what HeForShe is about. It’s about freedom.

I want men to take up this mantle so that their daughters, sisters, and mothers can be free from prejudice, but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too, reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned, and in doing so, be a more true and complete version of themselves.

You might be thinking, “Who is this Harry Potter girl, and what is she doing speaking at the UN?” And, it’s a really good question. I’ve been asking myself the same thing.

All I know is that I care about this problem, and I want to make it better. And, having seen what I’ve seen, and given the chance, I feel it is my responsibility to say something.

Statesman Edmund Burke said, “All that is needed for the forces of evil to triumph is for good men and women to do nothing.”

In my nervousness for this speech and in my moments of doubt, I told myself firmly, “If not me, who? If not now, when?” If you have similar doubts when opportunities are presented to you, I hope those words will be helpful. Because the reality is that if we do nothing, it will take seventy-five years, or for me to be nearly 100 before women can expect to be paid the same as men for the same work. 15.5 million girls will be married in the next 16 years as children. And at current rates it won’t be until 2086 before all rural African girls will be able to receive a secondary education.

If you believe in equality, you might be one of those inadvertent feminists that I spoke of earlier, and for this, I applaud you. We are struggling for a uniting word, but the good news is, we have a uniting movement. It is called HeForShe. I invite you to step forward, to be seen and to ask yourself, “If not me, who? If not now, when?”

Thank you very, very much.

Most of the public reception for Watson's speech has been positive: The speech got a thunderous standing ovation at U.N. headquarters; Joanna Robinson writing in Vanity Fair called the speech " impassioned ;" and Phil Plait writing in Slate called it " stunning ." Some positively compared Watson's speech with Hilary Clinton's speech to the U.N. 20 years earlier.

Other press reports have been less positive. Roxane Gay writing in The Guardian , expressed her frustration that the idea of women asking for the rights that men already have only sells when delivered " in the right package : a particular kind of beauty, fame, and/or self-deprecating brand of humor." Feminism should not be something that needs a seductive marketing campaign, she said.

Julia Zulwer writing in Al Jazeera wondered why the United Nations picked a " foreign, distant figure " to be the representative for the women of the world.

Maria Jose Gámez Fuentes and colleagues argue that the HeForShe movement as expressed in Watson's speech is an innovative attempt to connect with the experiences of many women, without focusing on the trauma. However, the HeForShe movement asks for the activation of action by the people who hold power. That, say the scholars, denies the agency of women as the subjects of violence, inequality, and oppression, instead giving men the ability to restore this lack of agency, to empower the women and offer them freedom. The will to eradicate gender inequality depends on the will of the males, which is not a traditional feminist principle.

The MeToo Movement

However, all of this negative reaction predates the #MeToo movement, and the election of Donald Trump, as of course did Watson's speech. There are some signs that feminists of all stripes and across the world are feeling rejuvenated by the open criticism and in many cases the fall of very powerful men because they abused that power. In March of 2017, Watson met and discussed gender equality issues with bell hooks , a powerful icon of the feminist movement since the 1960s.

As Alice Cornwall puts it, "shared outrage can offer a powerful basis for connection and solidarity that can reach across the differences that might otherwise divide us." And as Emma Watson says, "If not me, who? If not now, when?"

Additional References

Brady, Anita. " Taking Time between G-String Changes to Educate Ourselves: Sinéad O’Connor, Miley Cyrus, and Celebrity Feminism ." Feminist Media Studies 16.3 (2016): 429-44. Print.
Cornwall, Andrea. "Taking Off International Development's Straightjacket of Gender." Brown Journal of World Affairs 21.1 (2014-2015): 127-39. Print.
Gámez Fuentes, María José, Emma Gómez Nicolau, and Rebeca Maseda García. " Celebrities, Gender-Based Violence and Women's Rights: Towards the Transformation of the Framework of Recognition ." Revista Latina de Comunicación Social , 71 (2016): 833-52. Print.
Gay, Roxane. " Emma Watson? Jennifer Lawrence? These Aren't the Feminists You're Looking For ." The Guardian October 14, 2014. Web, accessed February 16, 2018.
Hamad, Hannah, and Anthea Taylor. " Introduction: Feminism and Contemporary Celebrity Culture ." Celebrity Studies 6.1 (2015): 124-27. Print.
Kennelly, Alexah. " #Activism: Identity, Affiliation, and Political Discourse-Making on Twitter ." The Arbutus Review 6.1 (2015). Print.
MacDonald, Fiona. " Knocking Down Walls in Political Science: In Defense of an Expansionist Feminist Agenda ." Canadian Journal of Political Science 50.2 (2017): 411-26. Print.
Matos, Julie. "Women's Rights in Public Address: A Feminist Rhetorical Critique." Colloquy 11 (2015): 1-22. Print.
Plait, Phil. " I Stand with Emma Watson ." Slate September 23, 2014. Web, accessed February 16, 2018.
Rottenberg, Catherine. " Neoliberal Feminism and the Future of Human Capital ." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 42.2 (2017): 329-48. Print.
Zulver, Julia. " Is Emma Watson the Right Woman For the Job? " Al Jazeera September 24, 2014. Web, accessed February 16, 2018.

Siegel, Tatiana. “ Emma Watson and What Disney Pays Its Modern Princesses .” The Hollywood Reporter , 20 Dec. 2019.

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Speech by the UNDP Resident Representative a.i., Narine Sahakyan, at the Gender Equality Seal Awards Ceremony

April 3, 2024.

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening to our colleagues in different parts of the world!

UNDP CO in Bosnia and Herzegovina takes immense pride in the fact that we are one of the UNDP's offices, achieving the highest corporate standard of excellence in gender equality. For us, the Gender Equality Seal represents more than just an honor/award; it symbolizes a journey of profound transformation.

The most gratifying aspect of this journey lies in the creativity it has sparked and the sense of unity it has fostered within our team. This transformative experience has not only enriched our perspectives but reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to gender equality. It has served as a powerful motivator, refining our vision and galvanizing our team's dedication to addressing the root causes of inequality.

While we take pride in our accomplishments, we are surely aware of the ongoing need to expand and elevate our efforts. Our commitment extends beyond our own walls, as we diffused our know-how and lessons learnt from Gender Seal process outside to our partners, engaging them into Gender Equality Seal for both Private and Public Enterprises. Through actions aimed at shattering the "glass ceiling," closing the gender pay gap, and implementing family-friendly policies, we're achieving transformative change within institutions, with far-reaching effects on improving women's position in the workforce.

Achieving the "Gold" standard is not merely a milestone; it's a pledge to continuously expand our knowledge, leverage innovation and data for positive change, and broaden our network of partnerships as we guide Bosnia and Herzegovina towards a sustainable future. Our vision is of a future where gender equality is not an afterthought but a deliberate cornerstone of systemic change, fostering a society of equal opportunities for all.

I would also like to thank strong, dedicated and very creative Team of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and special thanks to our Gender guru Nera Monir.

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility, 2024

On Transgender Day of Visibility, we honor the extraordinary courage and contributions of transgender Americans and reaffirm our Nation’s commitment to forming a more perfect Union — where all people are created equal and treated equally throughout their lives.

I am proud that my Administration has stood for justice from the start, working to ensure that the LGBTQI+ community can live openly, in safety, with dignity and respect. I am proud to have appointed transgender leaders to my Administration and to have ended the ban on transgender Americans serving openly in our military. I am proud to have signed historic Executive Orders that strengthen civil rights protections in housing, employment, health care, education, the justice system, and more. I am proud to have signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, ensuring that every American can marry the person they love.

Transgender Americans are part of the fabric of our Nation. Whether serving their communities or in the military, raising families or running businesses, they help America thrive. They deserve, and are entitled to, the same rights and freedoms as every other American, including the most fundamental freedom to be their true selves. But extremists are proposing hundreds of hateful laws that target and terrify transgender kids and their families — silencing teachers; banning books; and even threatening parents, doctors, and nurses with prison for helping parents get care for their children. These bills attack our most basic American values: the freedom to be yourself, the freedom to make your own health care decisions, and even the right to raise your own child. It is no surprise that the bullying and discrimination that transgender Americans face is worsening our Nation’s mental health crisis, leading half of transgender youth to consider suicide in the past year. At the same time, an epidemic of violence against transgender women and girls, especially women and girls of color, continues to take too many lives. Let me be clear: All of these attacks are un-American and must end. No one should have to be brave just to be themselves.

At the same time, my Administration is working to stop the bullying and harassment of transgender children and their families. The Department of Justice has taken action to push back against extreme and un-American State laws targeting transgender youth and their families and the Department of Justice is partnering with law enforcement and community groups to combat hate and violence. My Administration is also providing dedicated emergency mental health support through our nationwide suicide and crisis lifeline — any LGBTQI+ young person in need can call “988” and press “3” to speak with a counselor trained to support them. We are making public services more accessible for transgender Americans, including with more inclusive passports and easier access to Social Security benefits. There is much more to do. I continue to call on the Congress to pass the Equality Act, to codify civil rights protections for all LGBTQI+ Americans.

Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility. I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-eighth.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR.

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How Paris 2024 aims to become the first-ever gender-equal Olympics

Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer is set to achieve full gender parity – with equal representation for both women and men on the field of play. Image: REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

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Paris 2024 is set to make Olympic history by achieving full gender parity on the field of play for the first time.
There are equal numbers of women and male athletes competing this summer.
Despite these advancements, the world still has a way to go towards complete gender equality. It's estimated to take another 131 years to reach full parity, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2023.

A “monumental achievement” will be celebrated at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France.

For the first time in Olympic history, women athletes will have as many places in the Games as male athletes.

This 50:50 allocation means the Paris 2024 Olympic Games this summer will be the first Olympics ever to achieve full gender parity – equal representation for both women and men – on the field of play.

Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which organizes the Games, described the milestone as “one of the most important moments in the history of women at the Olympic Games, and in sport overall”.

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International women's day: how the world is progressing on gender equality across all 17 sdgs, how businesses can work with sports communities to become social change-makers, closing gender gaps in the private sector benefits over 850,000 women.

Participation of female athletes at the Olympic Games.

It’s been a long road for Olympic women

Women have come a long way since competing in the Olympic Games for the first time in 1900, also in Paris. That year, women represented only 2.2% of all participants.

Most competed in sports considered suitably “feminine ”, like golf or tennis, according to the Olympics news site Around the Rings. Women were also banned from competing in long, athletic events after the Amsterdam 1928 Olympics because of “physical weakness”.

But women athlete numbers grew steadily and accelerated from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, US, when women represented 23% of Olympic participants.

By the London 2012 Olympics, 44% of the athletes were women. London 2012 was described as ‘The Women’s Games’ because it was the first time in the Olympics that every country taking part had women athletes in their teams.

Why Olympic gender parity matters

Sport can change lives, says UN Women, the United Nations organization dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. This includes promoting leadership, teamwork, self-reliance and confidence in women .

Gender parity also benefits economies and societies more widely.

In its Global Gender Gap Report 2023 , the World Economic Forum found that progress in closing gender gaps means more growth, innovation, and resilience for countries.

The report stated that the gender gap across 146 countries is currently 68.4% closed, but equal representation between men and women across the economic, political, health, and education spheres is still 131 years away at the current rate of progress.

The World Economic Forum has been measuring gender gaps since 2006 in the annual Global Gender Gap Report .

The Global Gender Gap Report tracks progress towards closing gender gaps on a national level. To turn these insights into concrete action and national progress, we have developed the Gender Parity Accelerator model for public private collaboration.

These accelerators have been convened in twelve countries across three regions. Accelerators are established in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico and Panama in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean, Egypt and Jordan in the Middle East and North Africa, and Japan and Kazakhstan in Asia.

All Country Accelerators, along with Knowledge Partner countries demonstrating global leadership in closing gender gaps, are part of a wider ecosystem, the Global Learning Network, that facilitates exchange of insights and experiences through the Forum’s platform.

In these countries CEOs and ministers are working together in a three-year time frame on policies that help to further close the economic gender gaps in their countries. This includes extended parental leave, subsidized childcare and making recruitment, retention and promotion practices more gender inclusive.

If you are a business in one of the Gender Parity Accelerator countries you can join the local membership base.

If you are a business or government in a country where we currently do not have a Gender Parity Accelerator you can reach out to us to explore opportunities for setting one up.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programmes are helping to drive gender parity and most companies are implementing programmes focusing on women – including 60% of organizations surveyed in the media, entertainment and sports industries, the Global Gender Gap Report found.

DEI programmes focusing on women, by industry

Gender equality beyond the Olympics

Other gender initiatives at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games include a more gender-balanced number of medal events, with 152 women’s events, 157 men’s events and 20 mixed-gender events.

But the IOC says its commitment to advancing gender equality does not end in Paris.

We will “keep leading the way and using the power of sport to contribute to a more equal and inclusive society,” it says.

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License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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Biden Proclaimed Easter Sunday as Transgender Day of Visibility?

It is possible for two things to happen on one day., nur ibrahim, published april 1, 2024.

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Biden issued a proclamation naming March 31, 2024, the Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV). He issued the same proclamation on the same date, March 31, every year since 2021. In 2024, the date happened to coincide with Easter Sunday, a moveable holiday that shifts dates annually based on the spring equinox.

On March 29, 2024, U.S. President Joe Biden issued a proclamation declaring March 31, 2024, the Transgender Day of Visibility — that is, he formally recognized the day as one to dedicated to celebrating the transgender community. The day also happened to be Easter Sunday.

Numerous anti-Biden media outlets , internet commentators and pundits claimed Biden committed " blasphemy " by issuing the Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation on Easter Sunday. For instance, former U.S. President Donald Trump's campaign said in a statement , "It is appalling and insulting that Joe Biden's White House […] formally proclaimed Easter Sunday as 'Trans Day of Visibility."

Donald Trump Jr. also tweeted : "They want people worshipping the trans flag instead of god."

The above statements were misleading. While they referenced a genuine document from the White House, people started recognizing Transgender Day of Visibility annually on March 31 since at least 2010 — including Biden, who has been issuing such proclamations as president since 2021 . The date for Easter Sunday, however, shifts each year. It falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the spring equinox, according to long-standing Christian tradition.

In addition to the Transgender Day of Visibility proclamation, Biden is a devout Catholic and has frequently spoken publicly about his faith. On Easter Sunday 2024, he issued this statement : "Jill and I send our warmest wishes to Christians around the world celebrating Easter Sunday. Easter reminds us of the power of hope and the promise of Christ's Resurrection."

The overlap of Easter and the Transgender Day of Visibility (TDOV) in 2024 was entirely coincidental. There was no evidence of a Biden-led effort to make sure Easter fell on the same day as TDOV so he could recognize the latter over the former. We reached out to the White House asking for its response to that claim, and we will update this report when, or if, it answers us.

Biden's official White House statement with the proclamation, released on March 29, 2024, said:

Today, we send a message to all transgender Americans: You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You belong. You are America, and my entire Administration and I have your back. NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 31, 2024, as Transgender Day of Visibility. I call upon all Americans to join us in lifting up the lives and voices of transgender people throughout our Nation and to work toward eliminating violence and discrimination based on gender identity.

The statement did not claim to replace Easter Sunday with TDOV, nor serve as a proclamation combining the two occasions to take place on the same date in the future.

According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a media-monitoring organization, Rachel Crandall, a trans activist, established the first International Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2010 to celebrate the lives of transgender people when most media stories focused on violence against them.

Biden's March 29 announcement was not unusual. His administration acknowledged the same day in prior years, as seen in a March 30, 2023, White House document.

As for the date of Easter, the BBC noted, the day is designated based on the ecclesiastical (meaning "of the Church") full moon — that is, it's not calculated in the way astronomers would do it. When picking the date, the church considers the spring equinox always to occur on March 21, according to the BBC.

According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops , Easter Sunday will be on April 20 in 2025.

We also reported on a false rumor that Biden banned "religious symbols" and "overtly religious themes" from an Easter egg art contest connected to the White House.

"A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility." The White House, 30 March 2023, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/03/30/a-proclamation-on-transgender-day-of-visibility/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"A Proclamation on Transgender Day of Visibility, 2024." The White House, 29 March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/03/29/a-proclamation-on-transgender-day-of-visibility-2024/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"A Proclamation on Transgender Day Of Visibility, 2021." The White House , 31 March 2021, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/03/31/a-proclamation-on-transgender-day-of-visibility-2021/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

Knudsen, Hannah. "'Gross and Evil': Biden White House Disrespects Easter." Breitbart, 30 March 2024, https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2024/03/30/gross-evil-biden-white-house-disrespects-easter/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"Liturgical Calendar for the Dioceses of the United States of America 2025." United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, https://www.usccb.org/resources/2025cal.pdf. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"Statement from President Joe Biden on Easter." The White House, 31 March 2024, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/03/31/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-easter-2/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

Waldenberg, Samantha. "Republicans Slam Biden for Proclaiming Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter, Though It's Yearly Observed on March 31 | CNN Politics." CNN, 30 March 2024, https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/30/politics/easter-trans-day-visibility-trump-biden-johnson/index.html. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

Wang, Amy B. "Trump Falsely Attacks Biden over Easter Coinciding with Transgender Day of Visibility." Washington Post, 1 Apr. 2024. www.washingtonpost.com, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/31/trump-biden-easter-transgender-day/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

"Why Does the Date of Easter Move Around?" BBC Bitesize, https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zn2njhv. Accessed 1 Apr. 2024.

By Nur Ibrahim

Nur Nasreen Ibrahim is a reporter with experience working in television, international news coverage, fact checking, and creative writing.

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Pushing forward for gender equality: CSW68 event showcases strategies for countering pushback and advancing women’s rights around the world

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More than 2 billion people, across more than 60 countries, will head to the polls in national and local elections in 2024. Amid concerns that democracy and gender equality are backsliding, these elections represent a watershed for pushing forward for gender equality.

On 20 March 2024, UN Women, in partnership with UNDP, UNFPA, and OHCHR, gathered partners to discuss strategies for advancing gender equality at “Multistakeholder Partnerships and Practices to Push Forward for Gender Equality, Human Rights, and Democracy”, a flagship side event held at UN headquarters and online during the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women .

Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, opened the discussion at the CSW side event.

“We, collectively, know that the backlash against gender equality is on the rise”, said Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, opening the discussion. “Long-established, universal human rights and women’s rights frameworks are being challenged. Hard-won gender equality gains are at risk and already being reversed.”

“Yet, we are not deterred”, she continued. “Women human rights defenders, youth, civil society, parliamentarians, and public servants at all levels within governments and in multilateral organizations are working to push forward for gender equality in their communities and in their countries. They are working for peace, a planet in balance, and to advance the promises of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Co-opening the event, Abdallah Al Dardari, UNDP Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Arab States, noted that “any rebound from COVID and the other polycrises in the world today cannot happen with the sliding back of women’s rights” and highlighted the determination of UN agencies to push forward together.

Diene Keita, UNFPA Assistant Secretary-General, Deputy Executive Director (Programme), highlighted “the collective responsibility to provide effective solutions, including setting norms and policies for gender equality, despite growing crises and complex geopolitics”, and spotlighted examples of UNFPA’s commitment to pushing forward for gender equality through partnerships, including working with religious and traditional leaders to challenge harmful norms and stereotypes.

“The feminist movement and movements for women’s rights continue relentlessly and strongly as a significant force for equality, building alliances across sectors and diverse groups”, said Lopa Banerjee, Director of UN Women’s Civil Society Division, who invited speakers to share their examples of work around the world.

Mgeni Hassan Juma, Deputy Speaker of The Zanzibar House of Representatives, discussed a recent bill categorizing attacks on women in politics in Tanzania as election-related offences.

Mgeni Hassan Juma, Deputy Speaker of the Zanzibar House of Representatives, and Anna Kulaya, National Coordinator of Women in Law and Development Africa (WiLDAF), shared insights from their collaboration involving the government, parliamentarians and civil society to prevent violence against women in politics especially ahead of Tanzania’s upcoming elections.

Mgeni Hassan Juma cited a recent bill passed to categorize attacks on women in politics in Tanzania as election-related offences, calling it “a critical milestone that guarantees women’s safety in the electoral process and therefore promotes their effective participation as candidates, voters, and election administrators.”

The significance of a collective approach was highlighted by Arundhati Sridhar, Research Lead at Gender at Work India. She cited the example of the Feminist Leadership Lab, which brought 25 young leaders from across India to share expertise and collective strategies, including on engaging more meaningfully with electoral politics. A key impact of this approach, as Sridhar highlighted, was that it generated “two of the most precious resources for movement building: solidarity and hope.”

As other speakers shared their experiences, common threads appeared relating to strategies and practices of building trust and consensus and ensuring the voice and experiences of women informed advocacy and policy development. For example, Andy Yentriyani, Chair of Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women, shared how building coalitions—including survivor’s groups, labour groups, law enforcement, and government officials—and taking careful efforts to enable constructive dialogue was influential in the passage of a 2022 law to provide protection from sexual violence.

Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Executive Director of GWL Voices for Changes and Inclusion, advocated for gender equality within leadership positions of the multilateral system.

Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Executive Director of GWL Voices for Changes and Inclusion, noted that since 1945 women have led the 54 main international organizations only 13 per cent of the time.

“In 78 years of history, the most representative body of the UN, the General Assembly, has had only four women as its President”, she said. Espinosa advocated for gender equality within leadership positions of the multilateral system, proposing gender rotation for the presidency of the UN General Assembly to address the inequality gap.

Saša Jurečko, Deputy Permanent Representative from Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN, called on member states and stakeholders to support the demand for better representation of women in multilateralism and in leadership positions in the UN, noting “effective advocacy and change comes from working together.”

Samira Asghari, member of the International Olympic Committee and former captain of the the Afghan women’s national basketball team, and Isabelle Picco, Permanent Representative of Monaco to the UN and co-chair of the Group of Friends of Sport for Development and Peace, highlighted the transformative power of sport to push forward for gender equality, particularly for young women and girls.

Throughout the discussion, speakers from diverse backgrounds showcased the importance of collaborative efforts in countering backlash, advocating for legislative reform, and supporting women’s movements. Common threads included the significance of building trust, fostering solidarity, and ensuring women's experiences inform change.

The event can be watched in full here .

2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Gender equality and inequality
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Gender equality and women’s empowerment

Op-ed: Improving women’s access to decent jobs

UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous delivers closing remarks to the 68th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, UN headquarters, 27 March 2024. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown.

Speech: Gender equality – just, prudent, and essential for everything we all aspire to

UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous delivers opening remarks at the CSW68 side event, “Multistakeholder partnership and practices to push forward for gender equality, human rights and democracy”, UN headquarters, 20 March 2024. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown.

Speech: We are not deterred – Let us push forward together for gender equality

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