8 March 2012: The UN system celebrated International Women’s Day on 8 March 2012, under the theme “Empower Rural Women – End Hunger and Poverty.” In a message to mark the Day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed that rural women are a major part of the agriculture labour force, performing most of the unpaid care work in rural areas. He noted that, if women enjoyed equal access to productive resources, agricultural yields would rise by 4%, taking at least 150 million people out of hunger and benefiting 200 million children affected by stunting worldwide.

The Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Michelle Bachelet, marked the celebrations in Morocco. She stated that there can be no sustainable solution to the major global challenges, ranging from climate change to political and economic instability, without the full empowerment and participation of women. She called on world leaders to advance women’s increased political participation and economic empowerment as the foundation for sustainable societies worldwide.

The UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Margareta Wahlström, noted that evidence shows that women suffer more from natural disasters than men because they often lack access to basic information about disaster risk. She stressed the need to educate women to enable them to face disasters and to build resilience in the community as a whole, underlining that women empowerment is one of the greatest contributions that can be made to achieve climate change adaptation. [UN Secretary-General’s remarks] [UN News Release] [UN Secretary-General’s Remarks at International Women’s Day Event] [UN Women Executive Director’s Message] [Message of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction]