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16 May 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n H.E. Gabriela Rodr\u00edguez de Bukele, First Lady of El Salvador,<\/p>\n H.E. Ms. Egriselda Aracely Gonz\u00e1lez L\u00f3pez, Permanent Representative of El Salvador to the United Nations,<\/p>\n H.E. Ms. Carolyn Schwalger, Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations,<\/p>\n H.E. Ms. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,<\/p>\n Mr. Christian Saunders, Assistant Secretary-General of Supply Chain Management,<\/p>\n Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I thank you all for being here for the inauguration of new and improved lactation rooms at the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters.<\/p>\n The project to refit and expand lactation services at the United Nations was a joint collaboration between my Office, the Department of Operational Support, and the governments of both El Salvador and New Zealand.<\/p>\n My sincere appreciation to all involved, as well as to those who will maintain the rooms and carry this effort forward.<\/p>\n I would like to particularly thank the First Lady of El Salvador, H.E. Gabriela Rodr\u00edguez de Bukele, and the Prime Minister of New Zealand, H.E. Jacinda Ardern, for personally supporting this initiative and selecting tailored art pieces and furniture provided by their countries. These items will help ensure that these spaces are not only functional but welcoming for nursing parents and their children.<\/p>\n My dear friends,<\/p>\n Promoting an enabling and caring environment for nursing parents through assured access to user-friendly, dignified, and dedicated lactation rooms is essential to gender equality in the workplace.<\/p>\n The renovation of eight existing rooms, and the addition of an entirely new room, accessible to delegates and those in the Secretariat, as well as guests, will empower women in diplomacy; this will strengthen our resolve to achieve gender parity and gender equality at the Untied Nations and in positions of power.<\/p>\n I am pleased to note that the lactation rooms are fully equipped with all necessary provisions, including a baby changing station, a mini refrigerator, a microwave, ambient lighting, lounge seating, footrest, side tables, family-oriented artwork, and ambient music to create a user-friendly lactation room.<\/p>\n My sincere appreciation to Under Secretary-General of the Department of Operational Support, Dr. Atul Khare for responding to my request and for allocating necessary resources to enhance the infrastructure of these lactation rooms.<\/p>\n Special thanks to my Special Advisor on Gender Equality, Ambassador Darja, my Gender Team, and the entire Office of the President of the General Assembly for guiding me through this process.<\/p>\n It is my hope that all Member States, agencies, civil societies, and others visiting the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ premises will adopt such initiatives and help create gender-sensitive working environments for nursing parents.<\/p>\n I thank you.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Headquarters, New York<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":353,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Excellencies, colleagues,<\/p> I welcome you all to our second meeting and our first interaction following the resumed part of the session.<\/p> Before I begin, I would like to recognize the loss of our dear friend and esteemed colleague, Ms. Gail Farngalo.<\/p> A Liberian national, Gail was my Team Leader for Human Rights and was active on gender during both the 75th<\/sup> and 76th<\/sup> sessions. She leaves behind a legacy of achievements and a groundswell of respect and affection from across the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ and diplomatic communities. Her presence is certainly felt here today.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> When I took on this Presidency of Hope, I pledged to make gender equality a priority area for the 76th<\/sup> session. I continue to look to the board for its wisdom and expertise, as I endeavour to fulfil that pledge.<\/p> In this regard, I have already benefited from the board\u2019s advice, from when we met on October 28th<\/sup> last year.<\/p> Acting on that advice, I committed to ensuring that all my five rays of hope, and all my major initiatives, are approached with a gender lens.<\/p> I made sure that the composition of my office is gender-balanced.<\/p> I have committed to participating only in panels that have equal gender representation.<\/p> Throughout my official interactions and travels, I have endeavoured to meet with women, including heads of states and governments, scientists, civil society representatives, and youth.<\/p> And I am proud to inform you that five young women have been recruited into the Fellowship for HOPE<\/em> that my office recently launched. The Fellowship as you are well aware is targeted at benefiting young diplomats from underrepresented countries, pursuing careers in diplomacy or public service.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> While recognizing that we have a long way to go in the battle for gender-equality, I am proud of what my team has been able to accomplish within the past few months.<\/p> Our work continues.<\/p> We will continue to raise our voices on issues disproportionately impacting women, such as domestic violence and work place harassment. We will continue to push the importance of gender-equal work spaces.<\/p> And we will continue to find new paths to empower young women with ambitious professional aspirations.<\/p> Now is not the time to rest on our laurels.<\/p> With the board\u2019s guidance and support, we must use the many opportunities over the coming months to further empower women and girls, and dismantle discriminatory practices against them.<\/p> There are several upcoming events that will provide us such opportunities. I look forward to the board\u2019s suggestions on how we can best utilize them.<\/p> As an example, the International Day of Women and Girls in science is fast approaching. We must recognize that women\u2019s contributions in science and technology have helped us cure diseases; discover new horizons in space; and develop technologies that have vastly improved our quality of life.<\/p> As we celebrate their achievements, we must also open pathways for young girls who aspire to follow in the footsteps of pioneers in science and technology.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> Let us also reflect that the theme chosen by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for this year is on \u201cachieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes\u201d.<\/p> As we strive to meet our obligations to the planet, let us recognize the important work done by women and girls at the forefront of the climate crisis, and whose humanitarian work in disaster-stricken areas has helped save lives and rebuild communities. We owe it to them to not only celebrate their work but to support them.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> Our programme of work for the months ahead has been circulated to members prior to the meeting, for consideration and feedback. Please note that the events we have planned are not exhaustive. I welcome further suggestions from the board on the content and format of future events and activities.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> We have made much progress within a short while. And with the board\u2019s support and guidance, I am sure that we can keep up this strong momentum.<\/p> I look forward to working alongside all of you to achieve our vision of a gender-equal world.<\/p> Thank you.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[550,556,553],"committee-meeting":[],"class_list":["post-265623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speeches","tag-ga","tag-pga","tag-shahid","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n