United Nations Secretary-General’s remarks at the International Women’s Day Event, New York, 7 March 2025.
Excellencies, Dear friends,
Thank you for the invitation — and for the moving performance.
We gather today not just to celebrate the International Women’s Day, but to move forward — resilient, united, and unwavering in our pursuit of “equality, development and peace for all women everywhere in the interest of humanity.”
Those are the first words of the Beijing Declaration — and this year marks the 30th anniversary of that landmark conference and its reaffirmation that women’s rights are human rights. Since then, women have broken barriers, shattered ceilings, and reshaped societies.
More girls are in school. More women hold positions of power. And digital activism has ignited global movements for justice. Yet, these hard-fought gains remain fragile — and far from enough.
Age-old horrors — violence, discrimination and economic inequality — still plague our societies. Every 10 minutes, a woman is killed by her partner or a family member. 612 million women and girls live under the shadow of armed conflicts — where their rights are too often considered expendable.
Less than two-thirds of women worldwide participate in the labour market — and those who do, earn far less than men. At this pace, eradicating extreme poverty for women and girls would take 130 years.
And, as we see in every corner of the world, from pushback to rollback, women’s rights are under attack. Centuries of discrimination are being exacerbated by new threats.
Digital tools, while brimming with promise, are also often silencing women’s voices, amplifying bias, and fuelling harassment. Women’s bodies have become political battlegrounds. And online violence is escalating into real-life violence. Instead of mainstreaming equal rights, we are witnessing the mainstreaming of chauvinism and misogyny. We cannot stand by as progress is reversed. We must fight back.
Last September, Member States adopted the Pact for the Future.
The Pact reminds us that equality is the engine of progress for all people — and that agenda 2030 can only be realised when all women and girls enjoy their full rights.
It calls for greater investment in the SDGs, expanded debt relief, and stronger support from Multilateral Development Banks so that governments can invest in what their people need — education, training, job creation and social protections that can help drive equality for all.
And the Global Digital Compact calls for closing the gender digital divide, pushing back against online abuse, and ensuring women and girls everywhere can access the benefits from the opportunities of a rapidly evolving global economy.
Meanwhile, we are also working to end the scourge of violence against women and girls.
Through the Spotlight Initiative, the UN and the EU have shown that comprehensive approaches to eliminating gender-based violence can work. We have helped keep one million more girls in school. We have helped prevent 21 million women and girls from experiencing gender-based violence. And across 13 Spotlight Initiative countries, the conviction rate for gender-based violence has doubled. These achievements prove that when we unite behind ambitious strategies, we can deliver real change.
But our work is far from over. We must never accept a world where women and girls live in fear, where their safety is a privilege rather than a non-negotiable right.
Excellencies and friends,
Leadership on this International Women’s Day belongs to us all.
At the United Nations, we have achieved and maintained gender parity among senior leadership and Resident Coordinators at world level since 2020. And for the first time in our organisation’s history, we have also reached parity in the international professional categories. This proves once again that systemic change is possible, with concerted and determined action.
Today, as part of the UN System-wide Gender Equality Acceleration Plan, I am proud to announce our commitment to the Gender Equality Clarion Call: A bold, urgent pledge to defend and advance the rights of all women and girls.
The Clarion Call sets out 4 priorities:
- Unified leadership — all UN leaders must champion and defend women’s rights in every decision and in every forum
- Action against pushbacks — We must actively confront backlash, prevent rollbacks, and create spaces where women’s rights can thrive
- Coordinated impact — working across sectors and all levels to dismantle systemic inequalities; and
- Protecting women human rights defenders — we will defend and amplify the voices of women on the frontlines, standing firm against those who seek to silence them
This Clarion Call and the Gender Equality Acceleration Plan must drive real political change in all that we do. And we are leading by example — and we call on governments, organisations and businesses to do the same.
Dear friends,
The fight for gender equality is not just about fairness. It is about power — who gets a seat at the table and who is locked out. It is about dismantling systems that allow inequalities to fester. And it is about ensuring a better world for all.
When women participate in negotiations, peace lasts longer. When girls can go to school, entire generations lift out of poverty. When women enjoy equal job opportunities, economies grow stronger. And with parity in political leadership, decisions are fairer, policies are sharper, and societies are more just.
Simply put: when women and girls rise, everyone thrives.
So, on this International Women’s Day, let us be guided by the voices of women and girls around the world — and always choose action over apathy. Let us realise the vision of the Beijing Declaration. Accelerate action. And march forward — for every woman, for every girl, for everyone, everywhere.
Thank you.
António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General
