And just like that, summer has turned the page from June to July. Two thirds of our Summer of Tomorrow is yet ahead of us! Thank goodness.
As we reenter our more lively lives and work together to create a “new normal,” we’re inspired by a recent event in Paris (which is certainly well named as the City of Lights in terms of what happened there).
World leaders gathered at the Generation Equality Forum, convened by UN Women, government and corporate leaders to advance the goal of bringing more women to the table.
Turning on the light
The past year plus of the pandemic brought to light the urgency of the issues we continue to face: from violence against women to an economic downturn where the loss of income and work was greater for women than it was for men — along with many harsh impacts beyond and in between.
The outcome of the Forum is something we can all celebrate: a straightforward call to action and a commitment of $40 billion by 2026 to advance the well-being of half of our world’s population.
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“One-quarter isn’t equality. Equality is one-half.”
- Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of U.N. Women
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“Women are just one-quarter of those who are managers, they are one-quarter of parliamentarians around the world, they are one-quarter of those who negotiate climate change, less than one-quarter of those who negotiate peace agreements,” said Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of U.N. Women. “One-quarter isn’t equality. Equality is one-half.”
Walking the walk
#5050x2028 — getting roughly half men and half women to the tables in all elected offices nationwide — is about dialing up our expectations and our pace. Why wait to bring half the world’s human capital to the opportunities and challenges we face today? It is time to move from talk and big words to action, conference leaders noted.
Twenty-six years have passed since the last world conference on women, yet, despite wide acceptance of the idea, “public commitments have not been met with the action, financing or implementation of laws, policies and programs needed to meet these goals.”
Why wait, as conference participants noted, 135.6 more years to use all the available talent to move us forward? Why miss the chance to seize this moment and step through an open door into the fullness of possibility — reaching together toward common-sense and common-ground policy that will lead us into a future in which more of our gifts and skills are brought to bear on the good of all?
The time is now to close the gap — and shift out of neutral into full speed ahead.
©2021 Women’s Campaign Fund
#5050x2028
