5th Belt and Road Womens Forum
Remarks by Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China, as prepared for delivery
A recording of these remarks can be found on YouTube and Tencent, with Chinese subtitles provided by the event organizer.
H.E. Mrs. Arya Ali, First Lady of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana
Mr. Chen Xi, Mayor of the People's Government of Sanya City
Ms. Cheng Hong, Vice President of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese
Mr. Li Xikui, Vice President of Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese for inviting me to deliver opening remarks at the 5th Belt and Road Women’s Forum and for inviting the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office to co-host the event. I would also like to extend my appreciation to the People’s Government of Sanya City for their strong support in organizing this event.
Women represent just over half of the world’s population and half of the global labour force, yet due to continued discrimination, many women still do not have the same educational and employment opportunities as men. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize not only the cross-cutting nature of gender in the 17 SDGs, but also include a specific goal – SDG 5 – focused on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. Gender equality is essential for the achievement of the SDGs, as, in addition to reducing gender-based inequalities, it will also lead to accelerated economic and social development.
We must create an environment and change social norms that allow women and girls to have the same opportunities as boys and men and reduce barriers that prevent them from being able to equally advance into senior management and government positions. This is not just important for the sake of gender equality alone, but even more so because women demonstrate more transformational leadership styles and help to increase productivity, enhance collaboration, inspire organizational dedication and improve fairness in comparison to male leaders.
There are many successful examples worldwide, such as in Rwanda, where over 60% of parliamentarians are women, and in the UAE, where women hold many influential government positions, and many more are engaged in scientific research and other professions. Gender equality and women’s economic empowerment are crucial parts of the SDGs, and we look forward to supporting China in improving its own gender equality and in supporting its South-South Cooperation initiatives, whether via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) or other forms of international cooperation, to improve gender equality in other developing countries.
Chairman Mao once said, “Women hold up half the sky.” As Chinese women have become more empowered, they have increasingly attended university – where they make up more than half of all students – and entered the labor force. China significant strides over the past 40 years, including lifting over 750 million people out of absolute poverty, have benefited women and helped to reduce gender gaps. This has happened because women entered the labor force, and China should be proud to be one of the few countries in the world with over 60% of their women in the labor force.
We must sustain the positive momentum that is advancing gender equality more broadly, whether it be by supporting increased participation in STEM, developing new public policies, greater political participation, or other areas, we must continue to work to ensure women’s participation continues to increase.
Specifically, we must intensify action in three areas:
First: we need strengthen political will at the local, national, and global levels to push for gender equality more resolutely.
Second, we need more precise public policies that include gender-based budgets, gender-responsive programs, and more determined actions, in addition to more gender-disaggregated data, so that we can measure the gender gaps that exist and see if they are closing or widening.
Third, we need Public-Private Partnerships that are focused on closing the gender gaps. Government agencies, businesses, foundations, and all levels of society need to work together in support of increasing women’s representation in leadership positions and to change the current male-dominated landscape.
The BRI, proposed by President Xi Jinping in 2013, is one way in which China can support other countries to achieve its gender equality ambitions. Many UN agencies, funds, and programs have signed cooperation memorandums of understanding with the Government of China to explore ways to leverage BRI to accelerate the achievement of SDGs, and we look forward to continuing to explore new ways to mainstream gender across all areas of our work.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Speaking as a male, if we want to achieve SDG 5 by 2030, we must push for more determined actions, change our perceptions, and alter our ways of doing things. As UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed has said, we need to "Flip the orthodoxy."
China is progressing towards achieving greater levels of gender equality, and the United Nations in China is committed to working with the Government of China and other stakeholders to support continued progress in these areas.
I also hope to see the Government of China continue to push in this direction, becoming a global leader in this regard, and demonstrating more global leadership. This forum will create valuable collaboration opportunities for the Belt and Road Initiative participating countries, further expanding its effectiveness and the benefits these countries receive from this partnership.
I wish the 5th Belt and Road Women’s Forum a great success, and I hope the forum brings more cooperation, more partnerships, improved multilateralism, and identifies more tools to ensure we achieve the SDGs by 2030 and realize a vision of peace, greater prosperity, development, and people-to-people connectivity between different countries and peoples.
In conclusion, I would like to once again thank the host, the People’s Government of Sanya City, for their invitation and support, bringing us together at this beautiful location.