Michelle Bachelet to lead the UN's women's rights agency - Building Gender Balanced Business

The “Gender Entity”

• The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women or “Gender Entity” will officially begin its work on January 1, 2011.

• In Beijing in 1995, the UN’s member states signed a declaration to bring about women’s equality.

• Governments pledged to end discrimination against women as well as close the gender gap in 12 areas encompassing education, employment, health, human rights and political participation.

• The goals of 1995 are in essence the objectives of the new UN initiative.

• Ms. Bachelet declared that the new agency was a sign that the UN was committed to “putting women’s issues in a higher position.”

A logical leader

• Michelle Bachelet was the first woman to take office as Chile’s president in March 2006.

• Upon being inducted, she put into place a cabinet that was an example of gender parity with ten men and ten women.

• Ms. Bachelet revolutionized the face of politics in Chile as a self-described agnostic and single mother of three in a Roman Catholic country that only legalized divorce in 2004, the last nation in the western hemisphere.

• There were questions about whether or not she would be willing to leave Chile and Chilean politics but she felt like she was up to the challenge.

• Ms. Bachelet, an unceasing front-runner, was selected from a pool of 26 candidates.

• Ban Ki-Moon had decided that it was necessary to place a woman from the “south” as head of the new initiative.

• He thought that a leader from a rich, developed nation would lead to claims that the West was trying to impose its values on the world through the United Nations.

• The Secretary General said that she brought “a wealth of experience, global leadership and global stature” and would be “a real force to meet the expectations of women and girls and children around the world.”

The New York Times