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17 May 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/p>\n Dear friends,<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It is a pleasure to convene this third meeting of the Gender Advisory Board.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I wish to extend a special welcome to Ambassador Claver Gatete, the new Permanent Representative of Rwanda to the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ, who continues the role of his predecessor, as Co-Chair of the Group of Friends on Gender Parity. Ambassador, a very warm welcome to you.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Over the past 8 months, this Board has taken incredible strides to advance gender equality. I thank each of you for your stellar contributions and your continuous engagements on this front.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Likewise, I am grateful for the support and participation of this Board at yesterday\u2019s inauguration of the lactation rooms.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The lactation rooms and the inauguration event were a joint effort, and I thank the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Secetariat, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ-Women, and the Governments of El Salvador and New Zealand for their generous support.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n This is an additional step towards advancing gender parity in the United Nations \u2013 and one that I am very proud of \u2013 given its potential to create awareness on the benefits and importance of family spaces within the work and public spheres.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n It is my hope that through its establishment, the lactation rooms will inspire Member States, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ agencies, civil society groups, and those visiting the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ premises to emulate the creation of these spaces in their respective organisations.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I am confident that I can count on your ongoing support in advancing these efforts.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n My friends,<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n During some of my recent engagements around gender equality, many have higlighted the importance of engaging boys and men in the fight against gender inequality.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Indeed, gender equality and empowerment of women and girls is a responsibility for all; it requires a change in mindsets, and collective conscious in the recognition and prevention of gender bias.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In this context, allow me to make a few proposals for the consideration of this Board.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n First, as confirmed through my engagements with leaders and stakeholders, it is the view of many that the role of men and boys as gender allies needs to be elevated. I would invite your views and suggestions on some of the activities and advocacy efforts we can carry out on this front.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Second, in stepping up against gender bias, it is my intention to launch \u2018I say no to sexism\u2019 campaign in June, together with other International Gender Champions. I would welcome and value your recommendations on how to take this initiative forward.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Third, to complement these advocacy efforts, I will continue to air my video podcast series. The podcast series is a platform for women and girls to share their stories, to amplify their voices, and to rectify historical injustices of unequal gender representation. I welcome your ideas on how we can further utilise the podcast series to empower women and girls.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n With those few proposals, I look forward to your valuable insights and the discussions to follow.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I thank you<\/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":361,"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-265666","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