The 2024 Global Women’s Leadership Summit closed on the 19th of November in New York City, where women leaders in politics, business, and civil society to address the progress of the gender across the world.

The conference that lasted for three days was presided over by more than 1000 delegates from 120 countries where some of the issues that were being discussed included women economic and political participation and Violence Against Women and Girls.

During her keynote speech, UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous spoke about the achievements in the past few years and recognized the current difficulties. “While the current rates have increased the number of women in leadership compared to previous years, the rates are still far from reaching the parity,” Bahous pointed out. COVID-19 has also revealed and deepened inequalities which risk erasing progress that has been made.

The event included various panel debates covering topics such as the gender pay gap, women in stem fields and much more. Issues of diversity were also discussed, as the gender equality cannot be solved separately from race, class, sexual orientation and other factors.

One of the most eagerly awaited sessions was dedicated to women’s political participation, and such famous female politicians as Maria Zakharova and Olga Batalina spoke at the session, describing their way to victory and the main tips for aspiring politicians.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern who delivered her speech through a video conference emphasized on the need for women in politics to have mentors and support systems. Ardern said: “It is not sufficient to get women into the parliament. ” Thus, it is imperative that we design systems where they can operate and be effective in their leadership roles.

The business community was significantly active at the summit with CEOs and business managers from some of the biggest companies in the world – the Fortune 500 companies – engaged in deliberations on how to increase women’s participation in leadership.

The chief executive of General Motors, Mary Barra, recently pledged the car maker would have equal numbers of women and men in top jobs by 2030. “It’s not only the right thing to do, but the smart thing to do”, said Barra. Diverse leadership has been described as being one of the best strategies in management since companies with such leadership perform better than their counterparts.

A good part of the summit was spent discussing the issue of gender-based violence, which has recently come in focus due to the #MeToo movement. Advocates and legislators discussed strategies for preventing further occurrences and for assisting the survivors, including the inclusion of all the stakeholders, including the police force, healthcare facilities, and other relevant organizations.

It also displayed new technologies and programs for the advancement of women as part of the event of the summit. A mobile application created in India which offers financial services and business education to women in the rural areas was one of the most impressive presentations. The app has already gained more than 1 million users and has been named to have empowered thousands of women to start their own businesses.

At the end of the summit, the leaders signed a declaration urging the member countries to enhance funding for women education, health and employment. The declaration also called on governments to adopt and enforce laws on the rights of women and also to enhance on the proportion of women in the decision making structures at all levels.

Despite the generally positive tone of the summit, there were numerous speakers who recognized that it would still take time for women’s rights to be realized. Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation noted: “We have come a long way but we should not rest”. It is clear that the task of empowering women and girls is still continuing and it is something that should be supported by all stakeholders.

When delegates left New York, there was a feeling of hope and desire to confront the future problems among the nations of the world. The Global Women’s Leadership Summit has once again turned out to be an essential venue for idea exchange, connection, and mobilization toward the struggle for women’s rights.