Leadership of young women crucial to development: Ban Ki-moon
August 14, 2012: The empowerment of young women is key for advancing development
around the world, said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday, adding that it is
a priority for the United Nations to encourage their active participation in society. “The
lack of women’s representation – of women’s empowerment – affects individual women’s
rights – and it holds back whole countries,” Mr. Ban told participants at the first
World Congress of Global Partnership for Young Women and Second Global Partnership
Forum in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
From farming to leading Governments and
troops, women have repeatedly shown that they can excel in many areas and make positive
contributions to their countries, Mr. Ban said. However, he noted that they still
do not enjoy the same benefits as men, and called on Governments to support their
advancement.
“Although there has been important progress, women still do not
have a strong enough voice in decision-making. Women make up just a fraction of all
chief executives of the world’s biggest companies. Fewer than one in ten presidents
or prime ministers are women, and less than one in five parliamentarians are women,”
Mr. Ban said.
“Women do more work for less pay than men. Women produce up to
80 per cent of all food in sub-Saharan Africa, but their households are poorer, so
they spend more of their income on food,” he added. The UN chief emphasized the need
to encourage initiatives that advance women’s rights, including the promotion of education,
reducing maternal mortality, and combating domestic violence and rape.
“Gender
discrimination blocks progress. Equality makes it possible to achieve huge breakthroughs,”
Mr. Ban said. “We are moving on all fronts to invest in women so they can reach their
full potential, drive development and lead us to a better future.”
In addition,
the Secretary-General underlined that the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) would not be accomplished without addressing women’s needs
and rights, and noted that this would also be the case when looking to the post-2015
development agenda.
“Reaching the MDGs and advancing to the next stage will
only be possible when we unleash the power of women,” he said.
Mr. Ban arrived
in ROK over the weekend, and has since met with various Government officials – including
the Prime Minister, Kim Hwang-sik; the Foreign Minister, Kim Sung-hwan; and the Minister
of Unification, Yu Woo-ik – with whom he has discussed a range of topics, from the
Oceans Compact initiative, which he launched on Sunday, to the situation in Syria
and the Korean Peninsula.