Csaba?K?r?si, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly

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International Day of Women in Diplomacy

19 June 2023

(As delivered)

Thank you Ambassador, my good friend Thilmeeza, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

We gather today to mark the first official celebration of the International Day of Women in Diplomacy.

I am proud to recognize the significance of women’s presence in our profession. In the starting step towards redressing the gender imbalance within our foreign services.

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The latest Women in Diplomacy Index shows that, in 2023, still only?one fifth of all ambassadors in the world are women.

Women have played a central role in the history of the Â鶹APP ever since the signing of the UN Charter.

Trailblazers such as Hansa Mehta from India or Minerva Bernardino from the Dominican Republic were at the forefront of advocacy for equal rights across the globe.

Yet, seven decades later, we are still a far cry from equality.

Out of the 78 people elected to my role, President of the General Assembly, only four have been women. Although my dear friend Amina joins us today as the Deputy Secretary-General, we have yet to witness the appointment of a woman SG.

Only 1 in 4 Permanent Representatives are women ¨C even if some of them are spearheading this session¡¯s major, and very complicated, negotiation processes.

I extend my gratitude to the women PRs for their strong leadership of some of the most challenging talks, including on the SDG Summit, Financing for Development, or Universal Health Coverage, just to mention a few.

In my own Office, women account for two thirds of the team, with the same proportion in the management of the OPGA.

In addition, as part of this year¡¯s PGA Youth Fellowship programme ¨C and many thanks to my predecessor for introducing it ¨C we are glad to welcome Nathalie from Rwanda, who will moderate today¡¯s discussion, as well as her colleagues Syuzanna from Armenia, and Aimee from Cuba.

There are multiple courses of action Member States can take to narrow the gender gap.

As a starting point, I strongly encourage you to examine the underlying causes of this inequity.

How can we break down gender roles stereotypes and assumptions? What measures can we implement to better share the mental burdens women disproportionally bear? How can we shift our recruitment and nomination processes to get more women diplomats up the pipeline?

The experience in recruiting the staff of my office is telling and compelling, that the task is not complicated. Simply, take the best. And you¡¯ll see the results ¨C including on the composition of the team. So did we.

Today¡¯s event is the opportunity to relaunch our collective efforts to promote gender equality in decision-making in diplomacy.

Diplomacy is about identifying the challenges, pursuing the interests in the context of possibilities and consequences, and developing solutions.

If you want someone, who could be the strongest fighter against enemies, you may wish to appoint a man. If the objective is to find solutions and contribute to the well-being, empirical data shows that women leaders perform better.

Last September, and again many thanks to my predecessor Abdulla Shahid, I convened the Platform of Women Leaders with the participation of 7 women Heads of State and Government. It was one of the most interesting discussions of the high level week on how to address complex crises.

I urge you all to fully harness the immense potential of women leaders and women diplomats.

Their knowledge, skills and commitment will be critical to accelerating progress towards the SDGs.

Their openness, empathy, patience, and understanding will be key to overcome today¡¯s alarming lack of trust.

For it is only by working together that we will achieve a sustainable future for both halves of humanity.

Thank you.

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