Michelle Bachelet Speech at CSW69: Michelle Bachelet Reaffirms UN Women’s Global Mission, Empowering Half of Humanity
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Vocal.Media
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2025/10/17
Former UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet reflects on the organization’s founding in 2010 through the merger of DAW, INSTRAW, OSAGI, and UNIFEM, created to champion women’s rights worldwide. She highlights persistent structural barriers, political backlash, and the economic potential of gender equality, noting studies showing women’s participation could add $12 trillion to the global economy. Bachelet underscores that empowering women strengthens democracy, economies, and societies as a whole. Quoting Archbishop Desmond Tutu, she urges continued hope and action, reminding the world that gender equality remains both an urgent moral imperative and a smart investment for humanity’s shared future.
Dear friends,
I really remember the great joy and honor I felt when we announced the official launch of UN Women back in 2010. Fifteen years ago, the idea of having a dedicated UN entity to advocate for women in every aspect of life was not just necessary—it was urgent. In 2010, four different parts of the UN system—DAW (Division for the Advancement of Women), INSTRAW (International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women), OSAGI (Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women), and UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women)—merged to create what we now know as UN Women. I want to thank all of them, because it’s not that UN Women started working for women. These organizations and many others had been working for many years, and I thank them because they were so generous and participated so enthusiastically when we created UN Women.
From the beginning, UN Women’s mission has been to amplify women’s voices and ensure their full and equal participation in all spheres of society. Today, given the complex global challenges we face, I can confidently say that we need UN Women now more than ever. The organization’s unwavering commitment to promoting women’s rights, ensuring their participation in decision-making processes, and fostering inclusive growth has been pivotal in advancing gender equality worldwide. However, structural barriers persist. Gender-based political bias has evolved in many parts of the world. We are witnessing a worrying backlash against gender equality. This backlash is not new, but it is growing stronger.
We faced challenges during my tenure as Executive Director of UN Women, and today Seema faces both ongoing and new challenges. The collaboration of governments, international organizations, advocates, and civil society is more critical than ever. We cannot allow the progress we have made to be undone by those who either disbelieve in or deprioritize gender equality. We have always understood how crucial this work is, and we must continue reminding the world that gender equality benefits everyone, not just women, as we heard from Seema. When I was Executive Director, I often faced skepticism from some men regarding the importance of women’s participation in all aspects of life. Women may come…
And I would remind them that we simply cannot afford to ignore the full potential of half of humanity. The world needs to tap into the talent and wisdom of women everywhere. This was true back then, and it remains true today. And it’s not only with more women participating that we have stronger democracies, but even the economy will improve.
Studies show that women’s participation could inject an additional 12 trillion dollars into the global economy. So gender equality and women’s empowerment are not only there—as I always used to say, so some of you may be a little bit bored to hear me say the same—but I truly believe it is not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do. Empowerment and women’s benefit are not only for women; they strengthen society as a whole, as was said clearly during Beijing.
Today we must work harder than ever to strengthen our democracy. And the only way to do so is by empowering women because, as we all know, women’s rights are human rights. I also want to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to all the staff, planners, and collaborators of UN Women across the world.
I look forward to seeing the progress that you and UN Women will continue to achieve in the years ahead. Let us reaffirm our commitment and renew our energy for this cause, which is not new but remains as urgent and important as it was fifteen years ago, when we first embarked on this journey of UN Women with great hope. I have to say that every time women advance, you will find forces that want to backlash, that want to push them back.
So, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu used to say, we cannot give up. We need to be prisoners or hostages of hope because we need the struggle to continue. We cannot stop struggling for women’s rights. I hope that this activity will continue inspiring all of us, and that the CSW Declaration, the Florida Declaration, will continue inspiring all of us so that UN Women will continue to succeed for many years to come. Thank you very much, and please always count on me on this side.
Thank you.
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