I am committed to being the guardian of gender parity and to making sure women have their deserved seat at the table. To this end, the Italian Mission has developed and enforced an organizational policy for its personnel’s leave of absence that prioritizes an efficient family-work balance and ensures that the regular work schedule does not interfere with the staff private life commitments. This is in line with the rational we follow in organizing gender-inclusive events whose panels are reflective of our belief in women’s potential and skillset to forge inspiring and productive conversations. We will review the effectiveness of our policy at the end of the year.

I am committed to raising awareness on women empowerment and working towards zero tolerance of gender-based violence in line with IGC’s GBV Pledge through an effective and comprehensive communication strategy. The Mission has designed and put in place a thorough media campaign featuring an increased presence of gender equality, women leadership and women success stories in its social media campaigns. This is reflective of the Mission’s efforts to fight gender-based discriminations and unleash women full potential, within both its organization and the civil society. Italy relentlessly works to shape a more equitable and gender-responsive environment through its close alliance with its EU partners, competent UN agencies and all interested civil society’s stakeholders. Furthermore, as Vice-President of UN Women’s Executive Board for 2023, I intend to prioritize women rights as pillar of our crosscutting engagement in all relevant fora. By the same token, I will leverage my roles as ECOSOC Vice-President, President of ECOSOC’s Humanitarian Affairs segment, and Chair of the UN Humanitarian Liaison Working Group and will use Italy’s membership of the UN Peacebuilding Commission to pursue the above outlined objectives.