Today, Ms. Falk introduced the agenda for the event concerning making gender equality a reality by 2030, as well as, Ms. Amor, who sang “I Am a Girl.” Then, Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon spoke of the need to end harmful practices against women, which was reinforced by H.E. Mr. Lykketoft and Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka, who added that concrete steps aiming at further integrating women in politics and in the workforce need to be explored. H.E. Mr. Patriota stressed that CSW needs to work harder to implement gender equality as no country has yet achieved it.  H.E. Ms. Nusseibeh mentioned that central to UAE’s development policy has been focusing on integrating women into politics and urging girls to follow careers in STEM fields.  Next, Ms. Adams spoke of the need to tackle obstacles in financing gender equality, which was reinforced by Ms. Nathan, who mentioned the importance of public-private partnerships in this area.  Then Ms. Ptacek spoke of the need for better education for girls, while Ms. Singh gave her account of being an acid attack survivor.

In the second part of the event, H.E. Ms. Hamamoto mentioned the Gender Champions Initiative, to which over 100 heads of institutions in Geneva have signed gender parity pledges for. Next, Ms. Wainaina, Mr. Drennan, and Ms. Gallach mentioned that their reasons for being advocates for gender equality were rooted in their individual observations of the traditional roles of women in their childhood, in the criminal justice system, and in the field of journalism. Then, Ms. Terada and Dr. Dahlerup respectively spoke of the need to have greater instruments for monitoring the hiring processes at workplaces. Lastly, Ms. Fleming and Ms. Montgomery performed “How Can I Keep From Singing,” which was followed by Ms. Dora, Ms. Greene, Ms. Hardon, Ms. Frasier, and Messrs. Blake’s performance of “One Woman.”

Meeting: International Women’s Day Special Event: “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”

Date/Time/Location: Tuesday, March 8, 2016; 10:00-12:45; Trusteeship Council Chamber

Speakers: Ms. Pamela Falk, Mistress of Ceremonies (MC), United Nations (UN) Resident Correspondent, and CBS News, TV, and Radio Correspondent; Ms. Tennille Amor, Singer; Secretary-General (SG) Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General (SG) of the United Nations (UN); His Excellency (H.E.) Mogens Lykketoft, President of the 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA); Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women); His Excellency (H.E.) Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations (UN) and Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW); Her Excellency (H.E.) Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the United Nations (UN); Ms. Barbara Adams, Chair of the Board of the Global Policy Forum (GPF); Ms. Tara Nathan, Executive Vice President for Public-Private Partnerships at MasterCard; Ms. Fátima Ptacek, Youth Activist and the Voice of “Dora the Explorer”; Ms. Monica Singh, Activist and Acid Attack Survivor; Ms. Renée Fleming, Opera Singer; Ms. Jessie Montgomery, Violinist, Music Composer, and Educator at the Albany Symphony Orchestra; Her Excellency (H.E.) Pamela Hamamoto, Permanent Representative of the United States (U.S.) to the United Nations (UN) in Geneva; Ms. Carole Wainaina, the United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Human Resources (HR); Mr. Peter Thomas Drennan, United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General  (USG) for Safety and Security; Ms. Cristina Gallach, United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General (USG) for Communications and Public Information; Ms. Saori Terada, Adviser for Gender Integration to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); Dr. Drude Dahlerup, Professor of Political Science at Stockholm University; Ms Andrea Dora, Ms. Alexa Greene, Ms. Imari Hardon, Ms. Ann Frasier, Mr. Thomas Blake, and Mr. William Blake (Broadway Singers)

Written By: WIT Representative Shubhangi Shukla

Edited By: WIT Representative Alex Margolick

Photo Credit: 50/50 x 2020