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THE SPIRIT OF WOMEN IN PARLIAMENTS: ADVANCING SOCIETY

PRESS RELEASE Bellerivestr. 29 WIP STATEMENT FOR THE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2014 "INSPIRING CHANGE" CH-8008 Zürich

www.wip-gf.net [email protected]

Brussels, 8 March 2014 Tel. +41 44 268 69 21 Fax +41 44 268 69 22

Many years ago, generations of women, inspired by Suffragettes such as Emmeline Pankhurst, Susan B. Anthony and Kate Richard first fought to bring the voices of women to Parliaments. They spread the voices of women through the world, to institutions, to businesses, to culture, to science, to the many vital components of society. They inspired change in the spirit of advancing society.

But even today we still need voices advocating for equality and equity in order to overcome the limitations burdening women. We have come far, but we are not yet there. Significant gaps in gender parity in economics and politics persist around the world. Millions of women from the North, South, East, and West still do not have the opportunities available to men. Much more needs to be done to empower women to realize their full potential.

Today’s world is a volatile, complex and interdependent one. The "Women in Parliaments Global Forum" (WIP) believes that female Parliamentarians have unique perspectives and experiences. WIP seeks to inspire change, to find ways to address global challenges by using the collective strength and ability of Women in Parliaments across the World.

Today, we must inspire change. We must still demonstrate. We must still illustrate the inequality that exists in politics, and in society.

Women in Parliaments are representatives of the people. No matter their colour, origin, beliefs or gender. We are responsible for the generations to come and have the obligation to prepare a more equal world for them. It is up to us, to inspire change and to put ideas into actions. WIP would like to see an increasing number of women representatives in Parliaments. Women in Parliaments not only inspire change; they are agents of change.

Therefore, it is our wish on this special day to express we are conscious of our responsibility to advance society.

By Zainab Bangura, Kathy Calvin, Ertharin Cousin, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Benita Ferrero- Waldner, Jane Goodall, Rebeca Grynspan, Tarja Halonen, Mo Ibrahim, Jeni Klugman, Pascal Lamy, Denis Mukwege, Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni, Ana Palacio, Lakshmi Puri, Sheika Haya Rashed Al Khalifa, Viviane Reding, Olli Rehn, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Laura Tyson, Jody Wil- liams, and Saadia Zahidi.

CAMPAIGN "WOMEN IN PARLIAMENTS, INSPIRING CHANGE"

On International Women's Day 2014, Female Parliamentarians from all continents are sharing words of inspiration through the WIP project "Women in Parliaments, Inspiring change". We believe that female political leaders are a great example for the next generations and therefore we are promoting their contributions to our society with this campaign.

We want to give female Parliamentarians the visibility that they deserve, while encouraging girls and young women everywhere in the world to join politics to advance society.

Happy International Women's Day!

Further information about "The Women in Parliaments Global Forum" (WIP)  The "Women in Parliaments Global Forum" (WIP) is an independent, international and non-partisan foundation established with the purpose of advancing society by building a network of Women in Parliaments.  It is the only global forum for all female Parliamentarians. WIP endeavours to find ways to address global challenges by using the collective experience of Women in Parliaments across the world.  An Advisory Board(*) oversees and provides guidance for the activities of the founda- tion.  Some of the upcoming WIP activities are: Study Trip to Iceland (3-4 April 2014), Study Trip to (25-27 June 2014).

Further information for the media You can find more information about "The Women in Parliaments Global Forum" (WIP) on our website http://www.wip-gf.net. Follow us on Twitter @WIPGlobalForum and like our Facebook page to stay up to date with news of the WIP activities.

For further information, please contact the WIP Communications Officer: Aretha Francis, [email protected] Tel: +32 476.545.929

(*) WIP ADVISORY BOARD

Zainab Bangura: Special Representative of the Secretary General on Sexual Vio- lence in Conflict. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Health and Sanitation for the Government of Sierra Leone.

Kathy Calvin: President and CEO of the United Nations Foundation. Former President of the AOL Time Warner Foundation, with a diverse career in politics, journalism, public relations, and business.

Ertharin Cousin: Executive Director of the . Former US Ambassador to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture and former head of the US Mission to UN Agen- cies in Rome, Italy.

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma: Chairperson of the African Union Commission. Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Health and Minister of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Af- rica.

Benita Ferrero-Waldner: President of the EU-LAC Foundation. Former European Commissioner, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Austria.

Jane Goodall: Primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the Roots & Shoots program.

Rebeca Grynspan: Head of the Ibero-American Secretariat. Former Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Program UNDP and United Nations Undersecretary- General, former Vice-President of Costa Rica.

Tarja Halonen: Former President of Finland and Finland's first female Head of State, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, Co-Chair of the UN High-level Panel on Global Sustainability as well as Chair of the Council of Women World Leaders.

Mo Ibrahim: Sudanese-British mobile communications entrepreneur and philanthropist. Found- er and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Creator of the Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achieve- ment in African Leadership and the Mo Ibrahim Index of African Governance.

Jeni Klugman: Director of Gender and Development at the World Bank Group. Member of the World Economic Forum's Advisory Board on Sustainability and Competitiveness.

Pascal Lamy: Former Director General of the World Trade Organisation, former European Com- missioner for Trade; Honorary President of the Paris-based think tank Notre Europe, former chief of cabinet to the President of the European Commission.

Denis Mukwege: Founder and director of the Panzi Hospital, specialized in treating victims of sexual violence, honoured with the UN Human Rights Award 2008 and the 2013.

Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni: Secretary General of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP). Former long-standing Member of the Parliament of Ghana.

Ana Palacio: Former Foreign Affairs Minister of Spain; member of the Council of State. Former Vice-President and General Counsel of the World Bank, former Secretary General of the In- ternational Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

Lakshmi Puri: Deputy Executive Director UN Women and Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, former Ambassador of India to Hungary.

Sheika Haya Rashed Al Khalifa: Pioneer female lawyer and distinguished diplomat from Bahrain. Elected President of the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly. Active partic- ipant in the movement to elevate the position of women in Bahrain.

Viviane Reding: Vice-President of the European Commission.

Olli Rehn: Vice-President of the European Commission.

Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir: First female Prime Minister of Iceland from 2009 to 2013. Former Min- ister of Social Affairs and Social Security. MP from 1978 to 2013, having achieved re-election on eight successive occasions.

Laura Tyson: Professor of Business Administration and Eco- nomics, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkley. Former Chair of the US President's Council of Economic Ad- visers.

Jody Williams: Chair of the Nobel Women's Initiative. 1997 Laureate for her work as founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL).

Muhammad Yunus: Bangladeshi philanthropist, economist and founder of the . 2006 Nobel Peace Price Laureate for his efforts through microcredit to create economic and social development.

Saadia Zahidi: Senior Director, Head of Gender Parity and Human Capital, World Economic Fo- rum, Founder and Co-Author of the Global Gender Gap Report series.