Action for Women’s Participation and Leadership

Six women heads of state and government and several other political leaders issued a Call to Action in eight areas of gender equality and to improve the participation of women in power and leadership. The Call to Action was launched after the high-level event of the General Assembly of the United Nations on “Women in power”, convened by the President of the UNGA.

The Women in Power event was held on March 12, 2019, together with the 63rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63). A summary of the SDG Knowledge Hub of the event is available here.

According to the Call to Action, the progress of the past decade in the political participation of women has been reversed, and now we are “far from meeting” goal 5.5 of the SDGs to ensure the full and effective participation of women and women. equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of manufacturing decision.

The eight Call to Action action points emphasizes the need to:

• Lead by example, advising young women to strengthen their ability to participate in politics;
• Identify and work with champions from around the world to promote the national actions necessary to empower women and give them the opportunity to participate as leaders in politics;
• Create synergies and strengthen networks that encourage women to participate in politics and
• support the exchange of knowledge and experiences;
• Promote legal frameworks that include laws and policies to ensure full participation of women in politics without discrimination;
• Develop specific measures to address violence against women in politics, in all its forms and manifestations;
• Adopt policies that ensure the equal participation of women in the economy and in society in general, including shared parental leave and access to quality child care, as investments that create a better future “for all of us”;
• Prioritize the education of girls and the economic empowerment of women as key ingredients for women to achieve their full potential;

Create an environment where gender equality is respected and inclusion is part of the organizational culture in all areas of society.The Call to Action was signed by: Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, President of Croatia; Kersti Kaljulaid, president of Estonia; Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of Lithuania; Bidya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal; Paula-Mae Weekes, President of Trinidad and Tobago; Katrín Jakobsdóttir, Prime Minister of Iceland; Marta Lucía Ramírez, Vice President of Colombia; Marina Pendeš, Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Diene Keita, Minister of Cooperation and African Integration, Guinea; Alenka Ermenc, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Slovenia; María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the UNGA; Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy; Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, President of the Museums of Qatar; Mary Robinson, President of the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice and President of the Elders; and Muniba Mazari, National Ambassador for UN Women Pakistan.

Source: SDG Knowledge Hub.