Remarks by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at the Clinton Global Initiative Girls and Women Track Strategy Session, New York, 23 September 2013.

Good afternoon and thank you for the opportunity to be part of this event, as we advance our important work to advance women’s rights and gender equality. I thank Secretary Hillary Clinton and the other speakers and all of you. Together we can make the 21st century the century for women and girls.

I will lead UN Women with a focus on partnership, innovation, technology and learning, so we can deliver as one for women.

My vision is to make full use of technology and strengthen partnerships with people like you to make greater progress in our key priority areas. These are:

• Ending violence against women, which affects one in three women worldwide;
• Protecting and supporting women in conflict and post- conflict areas and fully involving women in peace and security work;
• Advancing women’s economic empowerment;
• Supporting gender aware budgeting and planning;
• Expanding women’s leadership and participation; and
• Advancing the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, reducing the poverty of women.

This means increasing girls’ access to education, reducing maternal deaths, expanding access to reproductive health services and protecting women’s reproductive rights.