Multi-Stakeholder Hearing ‘Accelerating the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’

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The multi-stakeholder hearing will be held on a virtual platform, facilitated by the United Nations Conference Services, and live streamed on UN Web TV and social media channels. Information on accessing the virtual platform will be shared with registrants in due course.

The hearing will adhere to the following format:

• Opening statement by the President of the General Assembly
• Moderated dialogue among gender equality leaders
• Three thematic panel discussions
  
• Closing statement by the President of the General Assembly

The moderated dialogue will set the stage for the subsequent panel discussions and will bring together a small number of gender equality leaders, including from Government and civil society. This will focus on the challenges and opportunities for accelerating action for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Each of the panel discussions will feature between six and eight panellists, including representatives of women’s organizations with diverse backgrounds and reflecting geographical balance. A moderator will pose questions to panellists on the theme under consideration which will serve to guide their interventions. In response, panellists will draw upon their experiences in advancing the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.

Each panel discussion will feature a moderated ‘questions and answers’ segment. Before concluding, the moderator will highlight key messages emanating from the discussion in a wrap-up.

The themes and sub-themes of the interactive panel discussions will be:

1. Gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment: drivers for sustainable development

Anchored by Sustainable Development Goal 5, this theme will address the following issues:

• securing the transition from education and training to decent work and economic security and autonomy for women and addressing women’s unemployment and over-representation in the informal sector;
• harnessing the potential of science, technology, innovation and digitalization for a gender-equal society;
• financing for gender equality;
• addressing the climate crisis from a gender perspective.

2. Women’s and girls’ voices, participation and leadership

Under this theme, the following issues will be addressed:

• women and girls as changemakers and role models;
• the role of leadership in realizing women’s and girls’ rights;
• women’s and youth activism and mobilization for gender equality;
• sharing insights and lessons between generations for accelerated progress.

3. Achieving gender equality is everyone’s responsibility

Under this theme, the following issues will be addressed:

• multi-stakeholder partnerships for gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights;
• the role of men and boys in realizing gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.