Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), has stated that gender equality and empowerment of women requires collective conscious in the recognition and prevention of gender bias.

He made this statement in his remarks at the third Gender Advisory Board meeting on Tuesday.

PGA Shahid highlighted that the Gender Advisory Board has taken “incredible” strides in the efforts to enhance gender equality.

Shedding light on his recent engagements around gender equality, PGA Shahid noted that the importance of engaging boys and men in the fight against gender inequality have often been the subject of discussion.

With this being said, he stated that gender equality and empowerment of women and girls are indeed the responsibility for all and that it requires mindsets to be changed and collective conscious in the recognition and prevention of gender bias.

PGA Shahid went on to submit a few proposals for the board to consider.

As such, noting that it is the view of many that the role of men and boys as gender allies need to be elevated as confirmed through the PGA’s engagements with leaders and stakeholders, he invited views and suggestions on some of the activities and advocacy efforts that can be carried out on this front.

Shedding light on the efforts to step up against gender bias, the PGA announced his intention to launch a campaign titled “I say not to sexism” in June, in collaboration with other International Gender Champions. The PGA in his speech welcomes recommendations on how to take this initiative forward.

Lastly, he reiterated commitment to continue airing his video podcast series, with an aim to complement these advocacy efforts.

The podcast series in question, is a platform for women to share their stories in a bid to amplify their voices and to rectify historical injustices of unequal gender representation.

With this being announced, PGA Shahid invited ideas on how to further utilize the podcast series to empower women.

He concluded his statement by expressing keen interest to the valuable insights and the discussions to follow with the submission of his proposals.