The IGC Secretariat conducted an interview with Ambassador Christian Wenaweser, International Gender Champion and Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Liechtenstein to the United Nations in New York. In light of the recent public outcry around the significant under-representation of women speakers in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Ambassador Wenaweser shares how he has advocated for addressing gender imbalance within the UNGA and reflects on the way forward.
Q: Ambassador Wenaweser, as a New York-based Gender Champion, you led an initiative calling for urgent action to address the gender imbalance in the UNGA, particularly in leadership roles like committee chairs and vice-presidents, as well as among speakers. What inspired you to launch this effort?
A: It seemed obvious that we were not doing enough on our end – on the side of States- to implement what many of us talk about regularly: the need for more women in leadership positions. SG Guterres has certainly made this a priority and delivered on his promises, but the intergovernmental side was constantly behind in this effort.
Q: Can you walk us through the steps you took to drive this initiative forward?
A: I organized a brainstorming lunch with like-minded colleagues in the course of which we discussed practical steps that we could take. In follow-up,I drafted two letters dealing with the questions of women in leadership positions and, very specifically, the speakers list at the General Debate during high level week, addressed to the President of the General Assembly.
Q: Despite ongoing efforts, the most recent UNGA sparked public outcry due to the significant underrepresentation of women speakers. What do you see as the biggest roadblocks to achieving gender parity at the UNGA, and how can we work to overcome them?
A: We - finally – had a woman take the floor much earlier in the debate than in past years, as the Swiss President Amherd was the sixth speaker. That did not entirely meet the proposal in our letter, but it was certainly better than last year. But indeed that takes little away from the underrepresentation in the debate as a whole. The core of the problem is of course that not enough States have women elected to the leadership positions that enable them to speak in the general debate.
Q: What advice would you offer to other leaders who are eager to take action on gender parity in multi-lateral fora?
A: I think it is important to be consistent and also persistent. The small things we can do on a daily basis can have a significant accumulated impact over time. And we have to keep sharing experiences with each other and give each other ideas.
