Shaping the International Dialogue

In October 1994 I became director of UNIFEM, which was founded during the First World Conference on Women in 1975 and has become the collective voice and conscience of women within the U.N. system UNIFEM strives to keep women's issues high on the agendas of mainstream organizations. We build partnerships with other U.N. agencies. We also play a mediating role among women, government, and the U.N. system. The U.N. is knows as difficult place for women to work. Only one in five senior managers at the United Nations is female. We need to bring more women into decision-making positions and achieve the critical mass that will lead to cultural change in the U.N. The international women's movement has grown and is ready to enter into dialogue with governments on policy. We've been working for decades in increase awareness of women's issues and many world leaders are now concerned about women. Now we need to work with bureaucrats and decision-makers, to find sensitive allies in these circles, and to build partnership between government nonprofit, and private sectors. It is only by listening to women's voices in all areas and at all levels of policy formation and planning that we can develop fresh approaches and new knowledge centered on women's experiences.