Training on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment principles and approaches for the UN system in China

Dear Colleagues,

Good morning. I am pleased to attend this training workshop on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. I give special thanks to UN Women and UNDP for organizing this critical training for all UN in China staff. 

In 1995, the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing formulated a progressive blueprint to advance the global agenda for gender equality. Over the past decades, we have seen signs of progress: More girls are in school, fewer girls are forced into early marriage, and more women are in decision-making and leadership positions.

Despite these gains, significant challenges linger for women and girls: discriminatory laws and social norms are pervasive, women are underrepresented at all levels of political leadership, and nearly one-third (27%) of women aged 15 to 49 years report that they have been subjected to some form of physical or sexual violence by their intimate partner.

It gives me no pleasure to say that gender equality and women’s empowerment remain the great unfinished business of our time.

Indeed, no countries have achieved gender equality, and the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated existing inequalities for women and girls in every area – from health to the economy and social protection.  

The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, could not be clearer when he said, “We cannot emerge from the pandemic with the clock spinning backwards on gender equality. We need to turn the clock forward on women’s rights”.

In China, women have accounted for half of those lifted from extreme poverty. China has also made important legislative and judicial reforms, with more than 100 laws and regulations having been formulated or amended to bring about improvements in the protection of women’s rights.

Though progress has been made in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, gender inequality remains as a question of power in a male-dominated culture, found in China and around the world.

Meanwhile, pronounced gender pay gaps, imbalanced political and business representation, and various forms of gender-based violence still hinder gender equality efforts in China.

Empowering women and girls is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and its central promise to “leave no one behind”, it is paramount that we tackle gender-based inequalities and discrimination everywhere. This starts with the UN Country Team in China.

Today’s training provides us with a great learning opportunity to build capacities across the UN system to strengthen the application of the Gender Equality Marker and the performance on the UNCT-System Wide Action Plan Gender Equality Scorecard, as we mainstream a gender perspective in our Joint Work Plan throughout the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF). I stress that this is our shared responsibility and that our targets cannot be achieved without the collaboration and coordination of all colleagues.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment are emphasized across all three pillars of the UNSDCF: People and Prosperity, Planet, and Partnership. To our colleagues from different Results Groups, Thematic Groups, and the Programming, Monitoring and Evaluation Group, I ask for your expertise in contributing to this critical work, a key accountability of the United Nations at all levels.

Friends,

There can be no sustainable development without peace, or without respect for human rights, including the full and effective participation and inclusion of women and girls in our societies. Let us work to turn the clock forward again on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Thank you all for your engagement. I wish you productive discussions.