Blog by Elena Kerr, SI Edinburgh (SIGBI)
SI CSW70 Delegate
On 12 March 2026, I attended this inspiring event, which consisted of an impressive and powerful panel of speakers. The panel included Martine Marandel, Dr Jungsook Kim, Marie-Claude Bertrand, Nicole Ameline, Irene Natividad, Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, and Begoña Lasagabaster. This event discussed the current status of women’s leadership in the world, as well as historical progress.
Nicole Ameline, as a former member of the French Parliament and a current member of the Advisory Committee of the UNHRC in Geneva, emphasised the importance of collaboration for parity. Nicole discussed how women are systematically underrepresented, and we therefore cannot speak of justice when women are absent. Therefore, we must recognise the role of women in decision-making and share the power as a prerequisite for equality. With consideration of current backlash, there must be collaboration across all sectors to create a global push against backlash, and towards parity.
Irene Natividad raised the qualities one must have as a leader; one must be an optimist and look beyond. Irene provided data on current female leaders in the world today, with only 14 per cent of world leaders being female. However, she flagged the importance of recognising the increase and progress from 1995, when there were only 4.9 per cent of female leaders in the world. The importance of women’s leadership was also presented through data and evidence showing that women perform better and respond better during crises, exemplified with Covid-19. Mental health, child poverty, and the environment become focus areas of improvement when women are in leadership. Irene provided this data to demonstrate how counting matters as we can see how things change. For instance, the data on the number of female boards of directors is of relevance, as they are the ones who elect the CEO. Although Irene presented the improvements that have been made over the years, Begoña emphasised that we are still facing backlash. This includes the increased sexual violence in schools and the rise of the manosphere. Therefore, in the conversation on justice, sustainability is key.
The event was closed by a powerful statement by Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, recognising the resilience that has always existed in the women’s movement, even before the creation of the UN and CEDAW. She reflected on the fight for liberation and the demonstration of courage. Nyaradzayi underlined that we cannot speak of equality, peace, human rights, and development without justice. The notion of consensus must not be the new veto, where you dilute until you have nothing. Rather, we must foster and encourage collaboration across all sectors.
