Blog - Soroptimist International

Household Air Pollution, A Gender Issue

SI UN Representative, Mary Muia blogs from Nairobi about the effects of household air pollution and the need to empower communities and encourage policy makers to heighten their awareness and ensure their commitment to reducing this common health hazard. "Millions of women cook on stoves or fires that fill the

Working Towards a Global Pact for the Environment

The Third Session towards a Global Pact for the Environment was held on 20-22 May, Nairobi, Kenya. SI UN Representative, Beatrice Olouch was in attendance. "The conference was well attended by Member States delegations. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council, and those that are accredited

Women’s Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction

SI advocates for women's leadership in the planning and implementation of disaster risk reduction plans worldwide. This month, SI United Nations Representatives Kristin Reynisdottir, Stacy Ciulik and Berthe De Vos attended the 'Women's Leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)' Session at the 6th Global Platform of DRR, Geneva. This session

SI President speaks at UNESCO International Water Conference

This week, Soroptimist International President, Mariet Verhoef-Cohen delivered the concluding remarks at the 'Thirsty for Change: Promoting a Gender-Responsive Approach to Achieve Water Security’ panel at the UNESCO International Water Conference in Paris. The panel discussed ways of empowering women through better water management and policy making. President Mariet ended

Civil Society Must Be Heard!

“24 October, 2020 will mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. “This constitutes an opportunity – a chance for civil society to push for improved world governance” (Democracy Without Borders). “It is a chance to make the UN more effective, more transparent, more accountable and more relevant to “we

Where are All the Women?

A blog by Theresa W. Devasahayam, SI UN Representative for Bangkok and Past President, Soroptimist International of Singapore (SIS) "According to the Global Gender Gap Report, the world has closed 68 percent of its gender gap.1 The 21st century has seen women making significant headway especially in the areas of

World Summit for the Information Society, Session 12 – Gender Mainstreaming

A blog by Stacy Ciulik, UN Representative Geneva "The World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS) 2019, Geneva, had a jam-packed agenda of fascinating topics relating to digitalisation and the information society. High-Level Policy Session 12 on gender mainstreaming touched upon many topics I have personally encountered as a female

Global Warming and Geoengineering

A blog by Beatrice Oluoch, SI UN Representative, Nairobi "A pre-UNEA 4 event, hosted by The Carnegie Climate Engineering Governance Initiative (C2G2), was held on 6 March 2019. The topic for discussion was Learning to govern geoengineering: insights from different experiences on environmental governance. When I first looked at the

Helen Clark in Conversation with Keshini Navaratnam

A blog by Rita Beaumont, SIGBI Assistant Programme Director: Food Security & Healthcare Rt Hon Helen Clark in Conversation with BBC World television news presenter, Keshini Navaratnam. "A Round Table event was organised by The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and took place at the Royal Over-Seas League, in St,

Equality in Law for Women and girls

A blog by Dr. Nina Smart Equality In Law For Women and Girls by 2030: A MultiStakeholder Strategy for Accelerated Action - a high-level event addressing the legal needs of over 50 million women and girls. "I was fortunate to attend this important side event at CSW63, led by Executive Director