Gender equality in the spotlight: exploring perspectives from male speakers at UN conference 

Five male speakers in a row kicked off the U.N.’s premier organization advocating for equality for women and girls’ annual conference. This arrangement unnerved some of the males in attendance and confused the hundreds of women crammed into the General Assembly hall. “I am very conscious of the fact that I am yet another man standing at this podium addressing you,” stated Achim Steiner, the final male speaker and director of the U.N. Development Program, as he took the microphone. He stated that he could either support gender equality or say, “Don’t speak or stand up.”

The role of male advocates

The third male speaker on behalf of the U.N. Economic and Social Council, Croatia’s ambassador, Ivan Šimonović, apologized for the absence of the council president, a woman, due to a family emergency. He said, “You are getting the male vice president, adding to this opening’s agenda disbalance.” Sixth in line and a representative of civil society, Chetna Gala Sinha was the first woman to speak. When she was brought to the stage, she was met with enthusiastic applause. 

Thirty years ago, Ms. Sinha relocated to a drought-prone hamlet in Maharashtra from Mumbai, where she assisted local women in starting a bank. The focus of this year’s U.N. The Commission on the Status of Women conference was combating poverty and emphasized that there has never been a better time to invest in women, adding that our women want to go from microcredit to micro-enterprise. The commission’s chair, Philippines U.N. Ambassador Antonio Lagdameo, asked the head of the U.N. agency promoting women’s rights and gender equality to take a seat on the stage following a statement by a young woman from Malawi representing youth.

Perspectives from male speakers

UN Women executive director Sima Bahous opened by stating, “It’s great to be here.” As more women take the stage, I sense that the atmosphere in the room is improving. The crowd erupted in thunderous applause. The predicament of women and girls caught in warfare, particularly in the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, was discussed by nearly all of the speakers, both male and female. The commission head, Mr. Lagdameo, requested attendees to show support for all women and girls who are facing conflict when he started the meeting. As we work toward peace, our thoughts are with you, he added.

Exploring opportunities and challenges

The second speaker, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of the United Nations, specifically mentioned Gaza when he said that women and children are the ones who suffer the most from wars waged by men. He pointed out that although families should be fighting for survival during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month that began in Gaza on , it is really a time for compassion. He restated his demands for an arms embargo in all conflicts, including the Sudanese one, and for a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. In addition to stating that it might take 300 years to achieve legal gender equality, Mr. Guterres highlighted two concerning trends on Monday: the dominance of men in digital technologies and artificial intelligence is ignoring women’s needs and rights, and patriarchy is regaining ground as autocrats and populists attack women’s freedoms and their sexual and reproductive rights.

Collaborative strategies for progress

The panel was informed by Ms. Bahous that there is a growing reaction against gender equality, with a ferocity and anger that is unfamiliar to many of us. Suffering is ubiquitous, war is painful, and peace feels painfully distant. More than 100 million women and girls “could be lifted out of poverty” if budgetary promises to equality were matched by financial support, the speaker stated. She continued by saying that reducing gender disparities in the workforce might result in a 20% increase in the GDP per person. “We have to face a harsh truth, gender inequality and the poverty experienced by so many women and girls are not inevitable outcomes of the crisis we face, but rather a consequence of systemic failures,” Steiner of the U.N. Development Program told the committee.

Conclusion

The only way to address the issue of the nearly 300 million women and girls living in severe poverty, according to him, is to make gender equality “a core value” in all public funding phases. The primary international intergovernmental organization devoted only to advancing women’s empowerment and gender equality is the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). It was created by Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 11 on June 21, 1946, and it serves as a functional commission of the organization.