Join a global campaign to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment

In an effort to amplify the voices of women around the world to help bring about an equal future for all, the United Nations System Staff College and Global Women Leaders Voices for Change and Inclusion are inviting you to participate in a campaign for gender inclusion and enhanced multilateralism to address pressing global challenges.

The campaign kicks off today with the publication of a number of articles from women leaders who advocate for including women in addressing global challenges, especially how to recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic. The articles are designed for current and aspiring leaders seeking to gain and share knowledge about progressive approaches to women’s leadership.

“I am proud to launch this initiative as part of the Staff College’s commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women,” said Jafar Javan, UNSSC Director. “As a learning institution, we are aware of the power of knowledge as a vehicle to amplify women’s voices at all levels. The Staff College represents a unique global platform to promote knowledge exchanges and knowledge creation around gender equality and the empowerment of women.”

Global Women Leaders Voices for Change and Inclusion (GWL-Voices) is a network of women leaders established with the vision of achieving full gender equality and the empowerment of women across all segments of society. According to Susana Malcorra, one of the founders of the group and former foreign minister of Argentina, the goal of the current campaign is to “partner and raise our voices on matters regarding women’s equality and multilateralism”.

The campaign will culminate in a webinar on 2 March that will offer a space for the article authors to share learnings from their leadership journeys and how they have ensured that their voices are heard. The webinar will also be a space for women across the globe to have their voices heard by sharing perspectives on what steps we can all take to ensure an equal future for all. 

Article contributors include:

• - Rebeca Grynspan, current Ibero-American Secretary General and former UN Under-Secretary-General;
• - Maria Eugenia Brizuela de Avila, Minister of Foreign Affairs of El Salvador from 1999 to 2003;
• - Purnima Mane, President and CEO of Pathfinder International from 2012 to 2016;
• - Fatiha Serour, Deputy Special Representative for Somalia since 2013;
• - Angela Kane, former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and Under-Secretary-General for Management in the United Nations;
• - Isabel de St. Malo, Vice President of Panama from 2014 to 2019;
• - Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women;
• - Susana Malcorra, Foreign Minister of Argentina from 2015 to 2017

People are called to participate in the campaign by a) reading the papers b) sharing their perspectives on the articles on social media c) and taking part in a virtual event on 2 March with the article authors where women globally will expand on what women can do as a collective to ensure that female voices are heard. The hashtags for social media will be #WomenVoicesForAnEqualFuture. 

UNSSC is committed to fostering gender inclusive leadership and innovative thinking through the delivery of learning and knowledge, such as through our “Leadership, Women and the UN” programme and the “Virtual Torino Forum for Sustaining Peace – Women and Youth at the Frontlines” event - which brought the Women, Peace and Security agenda to the forefront and promoted the meaningful participation of women in peace processes.

To mark the runup to International Women’s Day on March 8th, the present initiative will complement an upcoming campaign by UN Women that will be connected to the theme: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.”