As the United Nations marked the annual International Womens Day Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the world is ready for women to assume top leadership roles, including his own.
– The world is ready for a woman secretary-general. Some of my male colleagues are going to kill me, but that is okay, said Annan at UN World Headquarters in New York in his address to hundreds of women at the days festivities. So far, all seven secretary-generals have been men.
Attendees noted that while women make up half the worlds population, they continue to be underpaid, underrepresented in government and the private sector and denied basic human rights.
– Women hold half the world but not half the power, said Margaret Mensah-Williams, vice chair of the National Council of Namibia.
Annan said there are now 11 female heads of state or government – still a paltry number when compared with how many men hold positions of power. There are 191 member states in the United Nations.
At roughly 16 percent, womens participation in parliaments is the highest it has ever been. But at the current rate, it will be 2025 before there is an average of 30 percent of women in parliament and 2040 before there is parity, according to Annan.
Only three countries – Chile, Spain and Sweden – have gender equality in their governments.
While UN agencies have pushed for more rights and equality for women, the UN itself remains disproportionately male, even though the proportion of women in management positions and above has increased from 4 percent to 26 percent in the last 25 years.
– I am the first to admit that progress towards gender parity in the United Nations is nowhere near what it should be. Clearly, we have far, far more to do – both in the UN and the world as a whole, said Annan.
The UN has missed the first deadline of promoting gender equality and empowering women, one of the UNs own eight Millennium Development Goals. The stated goal was to have gender equality in primary and secondary education by 2005 in order to meet the larger goal by 2015.
Annan said the UN could learn a few lessons from its member states, some of which have increased the number of women in decision-making roles through institutional and electoral initiatives including the adoption of quotas for hiring.
– Women are every bit as affected as any man by the challenges facing humanity in the 21st century – in economic and social development as well as in peace and security. Often, they are more affected, said Annan, adding:
– It is, therefore, right and indeed necessary that women should be engaged in decision-making in every area, with equal strength and in equal numbers.
The UN has celebrated International Womens Day since 1975, recognizing achievements of women, reflecting on past struggles and looking to the future.
Since the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution in 1977 which recognized the important role women play in peacekeeping, UN agencies have worked to elevate the status of women while recognizing their crucial role in development.
– We will not achieve our collective goals for development, peace and security and human rights if we do not take concrete action to enhance womens participation in decision-making in governments, parliaments, international organizations, academic life and the private sector, said Jan Eliasson, president of the UN General Assembly.
Eliasson said the first step is to educate girls. Some 50 million girls are still not in school, said Eliasson. Many girls are taken out of school to work and support their families.
Some 330 million women earn less than one US dollar (6,20 DKR) a day. Instead of benefiting from globalization, women remain less likely than men to hold regular jobs. They often work in the informal economy which lacks financial security and social benefits, said Noeleen Heyzer, executive director of the UNs Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
– Today, we call for a global coalition of women economic decision-makers committed to making change happen in the lives of ordinary women and men on the ground. It is important to act now, said Heyzer.
Kilde: The Push Journal
