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STORY: UN / WOMEN IN FORCE
TRT: 04:13
SOURCE: UNOP
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 05 DECEMBER 2025, NEW YORK CITY
1. Various shots, United Nations headquarters
2. Wide shot, speakers taking seats
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Nahla Valji, UN Resident Coordinator in Eritrea:
“It's not just women's leadership for gender equality. Firstly, women are leading on everything. And we are also seeing male leadership on gender equality. And I think also really important compliment. But in Eritrea let me just give you one example. It is I think perhaps the country that has taken levels of female genital mutilation down in a very accelerated manner, in a very short period of time because of this political will and leadership that we see. So, we see simply that outcomes are better for everybody when we have women’s equal leadership.”
4. Wide shot, audience
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Sheri Ritsema-Anderson, UN Resident Coordinator in Jordan:
“There are some real champions in the public sector. Some of the ministers in the cabinet, really, you know, fighting very hard to put women at the center of all of the reforms of progress. And in Jordan, this is really key because it's not just about the political, it's about the economic. We have one of the lowest rates of female labor force participation in the world. They are doing everything they can to get that up. But frankly, at the end of the day, you talk about what does it mean for women and women's rights for all in Jordan? What that means is the economy will not grow and they will not achieve the basic economic goals if women are not in the workforce. It's simple economics. So, it's not just rights, it’s economics. So, it’s really interesting time to see them to continue to do the hard work every day to make progress.”
6. Wide shot, audience
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Nelson Muffuh, UN Resident Coordinator in South Africa:
“On the political front for the significant progress, but there is some stagnation on the South African end. We moved from about 50 per cent of political representation to about 47 per cent in the last elections. But still, it is good progress above the world average. On the economic front, in terms of leadership, for example, and this is really about leadership of the major firms, about five, only five women are part of the 45 top CEOs listed on the stock exchange. So, there is progress that needs to be made in that regard.”
8. Wide shot, audience
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Nahla Valji, UN Resident Coordinator in Eritrea:
“Investment and social development is more likely, less investment in military spending, greater cooperation across borders. These are the fundamental values of the UN multilateralism. But they are fundamentally transformative. And I think that, the targeting of women's rights, what we are seeing in this moment is what activists have said for many years - that women's rights are deeply political. They are not the check box exercise. And then, if I can just pick up on one example of that, I think again, across the political, social, economic, the care economy, if we invest in care, infrastructure and society, we free up women to be equal participants in the labor force. We ensure that those early childhood education or disability inclusion and health, etc. these are an investment in a caring society that will transform us in the direction that we want to go.
10. Wide shot, panelists
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Maria Jose Torres Macho, UN Resident Coordinator in Chile:
“Chile is a country that is receiving a lot of migrants, people in situations of human mobility which become the caretakers. And the society of care is providing us an opportunity to become regular, to be part of the society. And I think it's a fantastic space also for economies to thrive. And maybe to connect with something else - Chile is a feminist government. This is the way in which they have defined themselves - parity in the cabinet. So equal ministers, male and female, and they did something interesting that is feminist external policy, one of the most impactful areas of this is represented in commercial agreements, that favor businesses led by women. This is again transformational, because you get access, for instance, indigenous women being part of these agreements as entrepreneurs – changing lives.”
12. Wide shot, audience
“Women’s rights are deeply political. They are not the check box exercise,” said UN Resident Coordinator in Eritrea Nahla Valji speaking at a Goals Lounge discussion on women’s leadership, where senior UN officials examined how gender equality is reshaping political systems, economies and development outcomes worldwide.
Valji said women’s leadership is no longer confined to gender issues alone, stressing that women are “leading on everything,” alongside growing male leadership on gender equality. Citing Eritrea as an example, she pointed to the country’s rapid reduction in female genital mutilation, driven by political will and inclusive leadership, arguing that “outcomes are better for everybody when we have women’s equal leadership.”
From Jordan, UN Resident Coordinator Sheri Ritsema-Anderson emphasized that women’s rights are inseparable from economic progress. While highlighting ministers pushing to place women at the center of reform, she warned that Jordan’s low female labor force participation remains a major constraint. She said, “What that means is the economy will not grow and they will not achieve the basic economic goals, if women are not in the workforce. It's simple economics. So, it's not just rights, it’s economics.”
In South Africa, progress has been mixed. UN Resident Coordinator Nelson Muffuh noted gains in political representation that still exceed the global average, despite recent stagnation. On the economic front, he highlighted persistent gaps in corporate leadership, with only five women among the top 45 CEOs listed on the stock exchange.
Valji nodded to the broader implications, arguing that investing in social development (including care infrastructure, early childhood education and disability inclusion) frees women to participate equally in the labor force and reflects the transformative values of UN multilateralism.
Chile offered a practical example of that approach. UN Resident Coordinator Maria Jose Torres Macho described a “society of care” that integrates migrants as caregivers while supporting economic growth. She pointed to Chile’s feminist government, cabinet parity and feminist foreign policy, including trade agreements that favor women-led businesses, as policies already transforming lives, particularly for indigenous women entrepreneurs.
As the Goals Lounge discussion made clear, women’s leadership cuts across the 2030 Agenda, driving progress on gender equality, decent work, economic growth, reduced inequalities and inclusive institutions. Panelists stressed that without women’s full and equal participation, the Sustainable Development Goals will remain out of reach but with it, progress accelerates across every pillar of sustainable development.
