On International Women's Day, 'Step It Up For Gender Equality'

The 2016 theme for International Women's Day is "Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality." The United Nations observance on March 8 will reflect on how to accelerate the 2030 Agenda, building momentum for the effective implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals. It will equally focus on new commitments under UN Women's Step It Up initiative, and other existing commitments on gender equality, women's empowerment and women's human rights.

"We have shattered so many glass ceilings we created a carpet of shards. Now we are sweeping away the assumptions and bias of the past so women can advance across new frontiers," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his message for International Women's Day 2016.

The official UN commemoration will take place in the Trusteeship Council at the UN Secretariat in New York City from 10:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m. It will consist of a series of musical performances and two panel discussions. The first, from 10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m., will reflect on what a gender-equal planet means and how to achieve it by 2030 by joining the efforts of the United Nations, governments, civil society and the private sector.

For the second panel, entitled "The Push for Parity," panelists will probe the progress made in achieving gender equality in the UN system, examine the challenges remaining and unpack how to mainstream gender perspectives from 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

Part I. "What does Planet 50-50 mean for you" | 10:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
On the first International Women's Day of the new Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, the panelists will reflect on what a gender equal planet means to them and how to achieve it by 2030 through combining the work of the United Nations, governments, civil society and the private sector.

Opening musical performance by Ms. Tennille Amor.

�Moderator: Ms. Pamela Falk, CBS News
� H.E. Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, President, 70th Session of the General Assembly
� Video Message from H.E. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations
�Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women
�H.E. Mr. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Permanent Representative of Brazil
�H.E. Ms. Lana Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative of United Arab Emirates
�Ms. Barbara Adams, Chair, Board of the Global Policy Forum
�Ms. Tara Nathan, Executive Vice President, MasterCard
�Ms. Fatima Ptacek, Youth Actor
�Ms. Monica Singh, Violence against Women activist

Part II. "The Push for Parity" | 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
Led by the Executive Director of UN Women, the panelists will probe the progress made in achieving gender equality in the United Nations system, examine the conceptual and practical challenges remaining to the status of women and unpack the mainstreaming of gender perspectives. Q & A to follow.
�Moderator: Ms. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women
� Ms. Cristina Gallach, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information
�Mr. Peter Thomas Drennan, Under-Secretary-General for Safety and Security
�Ms. Carole Wainaina, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management
�Ms. Saori Terada, Adviser for Gender Integration, Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights
�Ms. Drude Dahlerup, Professor of Political Science, Stockholm University

Closing musical performance
Also on 8 March, Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri will ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange in New York at 9 a.m. Similar events will take place in 34 countries around the world as part of joint awareness-raising efforts with the Global Compact.

Around the world, UN Women is organizing International Women's Day events in more than 40 countries, including: a friendly hockey match between a men's and women's team in Tanzania on 5 March; a march and cycling rally in New Delhi, India on 6 March; a festival with live musical and dance performances in Palestine on 8 March; marches, a football match and painting expositions across Albania from 5-8 March; and a women's "run to Step It Up" in S�o Paulo, Brazil on 20 March -- to name just a few.

"Each one of us is needed -- in our countries, communities, organizations, governments and in the United Nations -- to ensure decisive, visible and measurable actions are taken under the banner: Planet 50-50: Step It Up for Gender Equality," said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.