CSW69 Reflection: Lorraine Jackson
Among the hundreds of seminars, workshops, and meetings that were held during the two busy weeks in NYC in March 2025 it was impressive to learn of the gains that have been made throughout the world in education, political participation and economic empowerment. However, despite these improvements, tremendous inequalities persist that continue to affect women and girls disproportionately.
One of these areas is that of the Media. On March 18, 2025 I sat in on the session entitled “Section J of the Beijing Declaration: Gains & Reversals”. The five panelists from around the world included Racheal Nakitare, from the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit of Kenya’s Bi-Cameral Parliament; Professor Olga Jurasz, professor of law at the Open University (U.K.), and Director of the Centre for Protection Women Online; Birgitte Gudhjem, the Director of Empowerhouse, a Danish initiative which supports community media through onsite and online capacity building, advise and support. She is also a co-founder of Denmark’s first Women’s Community Radio Station; Hawa Taylor-Kamara Diallo, is President and Executive Director of the B. Taylor Kamara Foundation, and formerly served as the Chief of the Civil Society Unit at the UN Department of Global Communications.; and Jennifer l. Posner a media critic, author, activist and founder of Women in Media & News has also been published in Canada, the US, Italy, Turkey and Ireland, as well as the United Nations.
The whole field of media has rapidly changed from print, radio and television to a vastly expanded technological field of communications, and remains in flux bringing about world-wide changes and possibilities. I was delighted to hear that there are more women working in media jobs and using technology in all countries in the world. In fact, in Kenya on-line social use has arisen as the main conduit for young women to communicate. They have begun to mobilize and are finding their voices to push for more changes in their own villages.
Keeping in touch with vast numbers of people is now possible, but other problems and barriers have arisen as well. Each of the panel members brought up advantages and disadvantages of the new technologies. In Denmark, more women have been able to bring about some changes in their local communities through sharing several domestic problems over their local talk shows. Domestic violence, in particular, has been greatly reduced as the old tale “if my husband doesn’t beat me, he doesn’t love me” is dispelled and men are disgraced who try to perpetuate this behavior.
Unfortunately, however, all of these women have experienced unhappy harrassment and threats of violence for speaking out in public or presenting news or programs regarding their own or other women’s experiences. Their credibility is often disparaged, and they have frequently been barred from opportunities to get all the facts or pictures of various events or situations that occur. More voices of women are needed, especially in radio reporting, to offset the barrage of disinformation filling so many airwaves.
New laws are needed creating better protections for women in society in general, and particularly for women in media jobs. And software itself needs greater protections for women. Women also need to get more involved in the development and creation of AI which is crucial to new tech.
While media offers great hope for gaining equality, it demands courage and greater education so that all may participate freely and more voices can be heard.
Women Rise For All: Turning Hope into Action was one of the most stimulating sessions I attended at CSW. The ambitious agenda included the “High-level opening dialogue reflecting on 30 years of the Beijing Declaration and discussing the path forward” featuring H.E. Halla Tomasdottir, President of Iceland, Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Jessica Sibley, Chief Executive Officer of Time Magazine.
“If we can’t participate, we can’t anticipate” declared President Tomasdottir, the second female President of Iceland as she encouraged all women to raise their voices and strive for leadership positions in this world. “We need women to bring a better balance to our world with a focus on humanity and our environment,” she continued. Iceland is justly proud of the several women who have taken on leadership positions in all levels of government. “It takes courage from the heart,” she responded to the question of how so many women came into power, “When Iceland stood still—women went on strike! They stop doing their jobs at work and at home; there was no one to cook dinner, do the wash, take orders from men, etc. But we did it in a joyful manner!We wanted to show that we mattered! ’
“Now, we need the youth to speak up!” Power needs to be shared by both men and women equally. And both are needed to effect long-range changes that will improve living conditions for everyone!
A short video about the call for equal rights, opportunities, and power for women and girls worldwide followed the opening discussion. Following the video, a “Fireside Chat” with UN women leaders and another session focused on climate actions, showcased how women leaders are driving systematic change globally. Great efforts are being made in training and mentoring, but change is still extremely slow, and much much more needs to be done! We still need to fight those inhibiting women barriers by voting more women into government positions at all levels, and we need more financial supports at all levels to change.
The Townhall Meeting called by the UN Secretary-General Antoio Guterres was both exciting and unsettling at the same time. “Our world is facing challenges on every front. The United Nations has never been more needed. Our values have never been more relevant. . And the needs have never been greater. The UN Initiative . . . is about serving people whose very lives depend on us. . . ensuring the right conditions for everyone serving under the UN flag. The need is great and the goal is clear,” he stated. “We must support women’s organizations on the front line,” he further declared. “And we must invest in programs to end violence against women and to drive women’s inclusion and leadership in economies, digital technologies, peace building and climate action.”
“I will fight for you, with you,” Guterres continued, “The World-wide backlash is short-sighted and wrong! But you must push for power, for gender equality. We need good decision-makers in government and technology.”
53% of the managers in the UN are women, bringing these leaders together overseeing the departments, offices, funds and programs. This Senior Management Group is a forum for policy related matters, planning and information sharing with respect to emerging challenges and cross-cutting issues.
All of the UN’s agencies have striven to meet the goals of the Beijing Declaration but the recent backlash has begun to to present increasing barriers. 86% of these agencies need more funding to maintain the current services they have been providing up until now. With the current American administration demanding the closure and cuts in USAID, the Voice of America (and their support of various other countries’ media), and several other UN agencies, their financial and human aid support is needed more than ever!
The UN itself, then, needs more support from women around the world! Women need to become better organized and speak up with a unified voice. We need to tell everyone about the wonderful things that have and are being done!
In summation, I come away from our CSW 69 gathering filled with hope. We have witnessed major strides being taken on the cultural level through our media worldwide. Simultaneously, this cultural attitude change is joined by sweeping improvements in law pushed through by many progressive national leaders and legislators around the world. And these are joined by the unceasing efforts of the United Nations who continually holds to light the inequities challenging women and girls – reminding people of the suffering, calling for the necessary changes that will help us survive and thrive. It remains our own challenge in these troubling times to avoid concentrating on our losses, but to support those avenues where our forces are breaking through and making progress. Let us, like any wise military commander, continue to throw our troops where we are achieving and succeeding, and continually keep moving toward the sustained goals we seek.
