New York - The leadership and empowerment of young women play a key role in advancing
development around the world, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, adding
that it is a priority for the United Nations to encourage their active
participation in society.

“The lack of women’s representation – of women’s empowerment – affects
individual women’s rights – and it holds back whole countries,” Mr. Ban told
participants at the first World Congress of Global Partnership for Young Women
and Second Global Partnership Forum in Seoul, Republic of Korea (ROK).

From farming to heading Government and troops, women have repeatedly shown that
they can excel in many industries and make positive contributions to their
countries, Mr. Ban said. However, he noted that they still do not enjoy the same
benefits as men, and called on Governments to support women’s empowerment.

“Although there has been important progress, women still do not have a strong
enough voice in decision-making. Women make up just a fraction of all chief
executives of the world’s biggest companies. Fewer than one in ten presidents or
prime ministers are women, and less than one in five parliamentarians are
women,” Mr. Ban said.

“Women do more work for less pay than men. Women produce up to 80 per cent of
all food in sub-Saharan Africa, but their households are poorer, so they spend
more of their income on food,” he added.

The UN chief emphasized the need to encourage initiatives that advance women’s
rights, including the promotion of education, reducing maternal mortality, and
combating domestic violence and rape.

“Gender discrimination blocks progress. Equality makes it possible to achieve
huge breakthroughs,” Mr. Ban said. “We are moving on all fronts to invest in
women so they can reach their full potential, drive development and lead us to a
better future.”

In addition, the Secretary-General underlined that the anti-poverty targets
known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) would not be accomplished
without addressing women’s needs and rights, and noted that this would also be
the case when looking to the post-2015 development agenda.

“Reaching the MDGs and advancing to the next stage will only be possible when we
unleash the power of women,” he said.

Mr. Ban arrived in ROK over the weekend, and has since met with various
Government officials – including the Prime Minister, Kim Hwang-sik; the Foreign
Minister, Kim Sung-hwan; and the Minister of Unification, Yu Woo-ik – with whom
he has discussed a range of topics, from the Oceans Compact initiative, which he
launched on Sunday, to the situation in Syria and the Korean Peninsula.

Tomorrow, Mr. Ban’s activities in Seoul include meeting the Speaker of the
Korean Parliament, as well as members of the UN Global Compact, a strategic
policy initiative for businesses that are committed to aligning their operations
and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human
rights, labour, anti-corruption and the environment.