The theme of International’s Women Day (8 March) this year is “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030” – a focus on not only contemporary changes in the world of work but also on the need to change the ways women experience work. The UN Women Executive Director in her International Women’s Day Message “We want to construct a different world of work for women,” says. “As they grow up, girls must be exposed to a broad range of careers, and encouraged to make choices that lead beyond the traditional service and care options to jobs in industry, art, public service, modern agriculture and science.” They must also be ready to be part of the digital revolution that has redefined the contemporary world of work. To achieve equality in the workplace, this preparation must be matched by an “expansion of decent work and employment opportunities” and “governments’ targeted efforts to promote women’s participation in economic life.” Also, women’s full participation in the labor force “creates opportunities and generates growth,” the Secretary-General says in his own Message. It “increases innovation, improves decision-making and benefits whole societies.” Indeed, closing the gender gap in employment “could add $12 trillion to global GDP by 2025.” Gender equality in the world of work, as in all other spheres, is therefore “central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and to achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Secretary-General’s Message is attached and the UN Women Executive Director’s Message is below. The International Women’s Day commemoration at United Nations Headquarters in New York (8 March, 10.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. New York time) will introduce UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Anne Hathaway.
