The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) stressed on Wednesday the need to achieve gender equality globally and fight hate speech, particularly that directed at women and girls online.
The Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, made the call in her message on the occasion of the International Day of Women in Multilateralism, which highlights their role in building peace and guaranteeing sustainable development.
It also provides an opportunity to advocate for greater representation of women in key decision-making positions in the global collaboration.
‘Incomprehensible inequality gap’
“Celebrating their achievements, their views and their devotion also means drawing attention to the incomprehensible inequality gap that in too many contexts continues to exist between women and men,” said Ms. Azoulay.
He warned that at the current rate, it would take more than 130 years to reach gender parityciting information from the World Economic Forum.
“Equal rights cannot wait,” said Ms. Azoulay. For this reason, UNESCO has made fight against gender inequalities a global priority, along with breaking deep-seated stereotypesshe added.
Fight online bullying
Building equality through multilateralism implies recognizing the role that women have in the process and ensuring that all those who want to work for change are inspired by them, said the head of UNESCO.
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It also means making strong commitments and putting them into practice, especially in multilateral fora.
“That is why on the International Day of Women in Multilateralism 2023, we are focusing on a commitment at the heart of UNESCO’s raison d’être: the fight against hate speech, with a particular emphasis on the issue of harassment and violence against women in the digital environment,” she said.
undermining democracy
The matter is urgent, as demonstrated by a recent UNESCO survey of women journalists, one of the most affected professional groups.
The survey revealed that 73 percent reported being subjected to online violence in the course of their work.
“When women are the target because they are womenit also undermines a certain vision of public debate and a fundamental requirement for democracy,” said Ms Azoulay.
gender misinformation
UNESCO is holding a global dialogue at its Paris headquarters on the International Day, to promote effective responses to gender misinformation online.
The recommendations will inform the agency’s ongoing work to establish principles for the regulation of digital platforms so that information is a “public good” while preserving freedom of expression.
They will also contribute to a UNESCO Conference on Shaping the Regulation of Digital Platforms to be held in February, bringing together representatives from governments, civil society, the private sector, academia, the tech community and other stakeholders.
“This is precisely the objective of this International Day: to mobilize the international community to support equal rights and dignity for all – particularly women and girls,” said Ms. Azoulay.
