Expert Preparatory Roundtable: Gender Equity in Global Governance

In the 2021 Our Common Agenda report, the UN Secretary-General laid out a broad vision for a revitalized approach to global governance, announcing the formation of a High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB). This body will be tasked with identifying where governance improvements are most needed and proposing options for how these might be achieved, to be considered by Member States at the Summit of the Future.

This roundtable on Gender Equity in Global Governance is one of a series of expert consultations that will be held over the coming months and has been, organized by the HLAB Secretariat in collaboration with the UN Foundation and UN Women.

The Secretary-General has referred to Our Common Agenda as a feminist agenda, one where considerations of gender equity permeate across every issue area. Indeed, a key starting point for the report is that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on women, widening the gender gap. The report recognizes that any renewed social contract must depend upon active and equal representation of women and girls; that gender parity requires special measures and tailored economic approaches; and that approaches to peace must place women and girls at the centre of global security policy.

Translating this clear need to address gender equity into meaningful recommendations at the global governance level may require specific proposals in the areas of health, economy, climate, digital space, peace, knowledge, and other areas, while also looking more broadly at gender equity as a theme that should cut across all areas.

The HLAB’s work on global public goods will be guided by this feminist orientation of the Common Agenda, and will aim to propose recommendations that deliver gender equity as a core goal. The roundtable is guided by the following questions:

• How should the High-Level Advisory Board conceptualize gender equity at a global governance level? What concepts and approaches are most likely to lead to implementable recommendations?
• What proposals would help to deepen gender equity, especially in delivering the global public goods identified in the Common Agenda?
• How can governance innovation advance representation, leadership, and voice of women and girls? What specific structures, institutions, or processes might be proposed by the High-Level Advisory Board?