U.N. News Centre: On International Women’s Day, U.N. officials call to ‘Step It Up’ for gender equality
“Senior United Nations officials from around the world are marking International Women’s Day with calls to ‘Step It Up’ with more resources and greater political action to achieve gender equality by 2030. ‘I remain outraged by the denial of rights to women and girls — but I take heart from the people everywhere who act on the secure knowledge that women’s empowerment leads to society’s advancement,’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the day…” (3/8).

U.N. News Centre: New U.N. initiative aims to protect millions of girls from child marriage
“…The initiative by the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA), announced on International Women’s Day, is part of a global effort to prevent girls from marrying too young and to support those already married as girls in 12 countries across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, where child marriage rates are high…” (3/8).

U.N. News Centre: INTERVIEW: U.N. official explains why new global development agenda is good news for women
“From economic exclusion to violence targeting women and girls, the head of the United Nations entity tasked with promoting gender equality believes such challenges make it all the more critical to push ahead with the new global development agenda, which contains many targets specifically recognizing women’s equality and empowerment. ‘We’re asking private sector, individuals, ourselves — as the women organization — to step it up for gender equality,’ Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of U.N. Women, told the U.N. News Service…” (3/8).