The fight for gender equality is everybody’s struggle and not just a woman’s, Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General of the UN said on Monday.
Addressing a gender diversity summit hosted by UN Women and Proctor and Gamble, India at the St. Regis hotel on Monday, Dr. Mlambo-Ngucka said, “With our HeForShe campaign, we are engaging men in leadership positions to open the doors for women so that it doesn’t remain a woman-exclusive job to break the glass ceiling. We need a collaborative effort from all stakeholders. We are engaging presidents and prime ministers in every country, as they can make the maximum impact as well as leaders from the private sectors to call for leadership which is gender inclusive.”
She stressed the need for a collaborative effort required in supporting girls at a young age, so that they are not forced to drop out of education or sports due to puberty coupled with the lack of sanitation.
Citing the crisis of basic necessities, Marc Pritchard, chief brand officer, P&G said, “Globally, women and girls spend 40 billion hours a year to fetch the basic necessity, clean water. An all-inclusive approach from each individual is required in whatever capacity possible to address the situation.”
Breaking gender myths
The summit also included a session on breaking gender myths, which witnessed participation by Madhusudan Gopalan, Vice President of Indian Subcontinent, P&G and Deanna Bass, Global Director of Diversity & Inclusion, P&G.
The panelists agreed that gender myths can be broken by recovering the talent system, which has a broader definition of leadership, stronger equality-based workplaces with equal pay policies and parental leave, and not just maternal leave.
Bollywood actress Richa Chadha, who addressed a session titled, ‘The Unstoppable girl – Rewriting the rules’, said there was need to desert the view that ambitious women are man-eaters.
“As neck-deep in patriarchy as we are, where women’s achievements are always pegged against domesticity and violence begins in the womb itself, initiatives like ‘Beti Padhao, Beti Bachao’ should be intensified. These should be continued and not just wither away like a fast-fading trend.”
The summit was also attended by Olympic boxer Mary Kom, who, answering a question about women being unable to go back to their passion after getting married and having children, said we need a more supportive environment that enables women to do so.
