29th session of the Human Rights Council

Geneva, 19 June2015
Room XX, Palais des Nations

Excellencies, distinguished delegates,

It is my honour to open this panel on women’s human rights and participation in power and decision-making. 20 years after the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, this panel, with these eminent experts, is a timely opportunity to examine some of the achievements we have made and put forward concrete recommendations to achieve gender equality in economic and political life.

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948, there were no women Presidents or Prime Ministers. By the time the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women entered into force in 1979, progress had been made, and women had reached the highest public office in diverse countries, such as Sri Lanka, India, Israel, Argentina, Central African Republic, the United Kingdom, Bolivia and Portugal. And, only two weeks ago, we witnessed the election of H.E. Ms. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim as President of Mauritius, the first woman to hold the position in that country. In part due to the adoption of gender sensitive laws and temporary special measures to accelerate de facto equality, we are beginning to witness higher levels of political representation of women, especially in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.

Similarly, in the economic sphere, in 1970 we saw for the first time a female CEO on the Fortune 500 list. Today, there are 24 women CEOs on this list, the most there have ever been. And more and more countries are taking measures to promote equality in the work-place, such as passing laws to guarantee equal pay for equal work and to prohibit sexual harassment.

Today we celebrate this steady progress but we also must acknowledge that it comes at a glacial pace. Indeed, we still have a long way to go. No country has achieved gender equality across all areas of public and private spheres and significant inequalities continue to persist between women and men.

At present, participation of women in political and public life, while higher than it was, remains a distant cry from the 50 percent parity that should be our objective. Women represent a mere 20% of the world’s parliamentarians and 17% of the Heads of States.

In the economic sphere, women continue to be paid less for work of equal value and in top leadership bodies, women are severely underrepresented. What’s more, too many women are trapped in the informal economy and still shoulder most of the unpaid work in the home.

And even though the Security Council has adopted resolutions on women, peace and security, we have not done enough to ensure women’s participation in this context. We need to ask ourselves: how many women are at the negotiating table in Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Ukraine? Are their voices really heard and taken into account? Decisions taken at these critical moments determine the future course of a country. Rebuilding societies requires adequate attention to the perspectives and demands of half the population.

We also know through studies that post-conflict agreements that are negotiated without women break down faster than those that do include women, and that all-male groups take riskier, more aggressive, and less empathetic decisions than mixed groups — two phenomena that may lead to higher levels of interstate conflict.

What, then, are the barriers to women’s equal enjoyment of the rights to economic and political participation? Harmful gender stereotypes significantly affects the rights of women by confining them to roles deemed “appropriate” or “feminine” and result in unequal treatment. Deep-seated patriarchal structures, which manifest in discriminatory social, economic, and political norms further compound the issue. We have been chipping away at discriminatory power structures for decades, and it is time to accelerate our efforts to construct systems based on genuine equality in participation.

What, then, can be done?

We need to adopt a comprehensive and holistic approach which starts at an early age. If we confine our girls to rigid gender stereotypes of passivity and domesticity, they will not be equipped to take up leadership positions. If our boys grow up believing that girls are mostly destined and solely responsible for the care of children, they will be less likely to share domestic responsibilities or support qualified women candidates for decision-making positions. We need the action and commitment of men, of male decision-makers, to equality and non-discrimination. Indeed, this is not just a “women’s issue” but something about which we all, women and men together, should be deeply concerned.

We need to put laws in place, and to actually implement them. Laws that mandate the equality of women and their equal access to resources and opportunities. And we need to abolish laws which discriminate against women and limit their opportunities. We need political systems that are fully representative of women as well as men. Where women are not just token figures but able to participate fully and equally with men. We also need more effort to redress the imbalance of unpaid care work within the home, to support men and fathers to more equally share this work with their female partners.

Lastly, we need enabling environments that value and promote young women’s voices and equip them with the skills to become leaders. Strong role models, support and mentoring, can help build in every girl and woman the conviction that they are just as capable, just as talented, and just as legitimate as men.

To be absolutely clear - what we call for is nothing short of revolutionary. 20 years since Beijing, let us take advantage of the unique opportunities that the coming months will offer us - in Addis, in New York and in Paris… - to assess the progress we have made and come up with concrete transformative actions which can dismantle harmful gender stereotypes, drive greater gender equality, and enhance women’s ability to claim their rights and participate in power and decision-making.

Thank you for your attention. I wish you a fruitful discussion.