THE HON. TONY ABBOTT, PRIME MINISTER AND THE HON. BILL SHORTEN, LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION HOSTED THE AUSTRALIAN LAUNCH UN WOMEN’S HEFORSHE CAMPAIGN TODAY IN CANBERRA.
Parliamentarians, Departmental Secretaries, representatives of civil society and military leaders attended the Australian National Committee for UN Women’s Parliamentary Breakfast on Tuesday morning, at Parliament House. The event marked the start of the International Women’s Day 2015 campaign.
UN Women’s HeForShe Campaign asks men to pledge to take active steps in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. Men will be asked to speak up when they witness sexual harassment, to mentor women, to seek more flexibility at work and to promote women’s contributions to all aspects of our society. It is the hope of the National Committee that in 2015, 100,000 Australian men will pledge their support for the campaign.
All attendees, including the Prime Minister of Australia and the Leader of the Opposition, were invited to officially sign on to the HeforShe campaign as a symbol of their commitment to gender equality.
“There are many things that divide us, but gender equality and women’s empowerment should not be one. I am pleased today that our leaders will come together, recognising the critical role that men play in advancing gender equality and I hope that all Australians will follow the Prime Minister and Mr Shorten’s lead” said Executive Director of UN Women Australia, Julie McKay.
“Gender equality is a major barrier to social and economic development across the world. It is fundamentally, an issue of who controls power. HeforShe asks men to recognize the privilege they have and to take active steps to ensure they are supporting gender equality in their homes, workplaces and community”.
“Gender equality is a major barrier to social and economic development across the world. It is fundamentally, an issue of who controls power. HeforShe asks men to recognize the privilege they have and to take active steps to ensure they are supporting gender equality in their homes, workplaces and community”.
