UN General Assembly to Spotlight Women’s Leadership, Digital Safety and Global Equality
Can the Sustainable Development Goals be achieved without women in power? As the 81st UN General Assembly convenes, UN Women is challenging global leaders to confront the reversal of women’s political gains and the rise of digital violence. From the launch of the Gender Snapshot 2026 to dialogues on peace and security, the agenda spotlights the critical link between gender equality and global stability.
NEW YORK, United States — The United Nations will place women’s leadership and gender equality at the centre of discussions during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, as world leaders confront widening conflicts, slow progress on global development targets and growing threats to women’s rights.
The UN General Assembly’s 81st session opens on 8 September 2026, with its high-level week scheduled for 22–26 September at UN Headquarters in New York. During that period, UN Women, governments, civil-society organizations and development partners will hold a series of meetings focused on women’s political participation, peace and security, online violence, artificial intelligence and the future of global governance.
The events come as the international community continues to struggle to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, a set of global targets due to be achieved by 2030. UN Women says progress on gender equality cannot be separated from progress on peace, development and human rights.
“Women must have equal access to positions where decisions are made,” the agency’s broader message states. It argues that global institutions cannot effectively serve all people if women remain excluded from power and leadership.
A major moment of the General Assembly period will be the release of the Gender Snapshot 2026, a global report on gender equality and progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs will launch the report during a press briefing on 17 September at 12:30 p.m. EDT in Press Briefing Room S-237 at UN Headquarters. The event will be available through UN Web TV.
According to UN Women, the report will show that the advance of women into leadership positions has slowed worldwide. In some countries, the gains made by women in politics and other areas of decision-making are reportedly being reversed.
The report will focus not only on the number of women elected or appointed to leadership roles, but also on whether women have meaningful authority, influence and control over policy decisions.
Its release is expected to renew pressure on governments to take stronger action to ensure equal representation in parliaments, cabinets, public institutions, peace processes and international bodies.
The findings are also likely to draw attention to the upcoming selection process for the next UN Secretary-General. Despite the United Nations having existed for more than eight decades, no woman has ever held the organization’s top leadership position.
Women leaders from different parts of the world will gather on 23 September for the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly Platform of Women Leaders.
The meeting, scheduled from 1:15 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. EDT at UN Headquarters, will be closed to the public and will not be livestreamed.
The platform is designed to provide women leaders with space to exchange ideas, strengthen cooperation and promote a more gender-responsive international system. This year’s discussion will focus on the role of women leaders in rebuilding public trust and guiding the United Nations through major global changes.
Participants are expected to discuss ways to speed up implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through inclusive leadership, gender-responsive policies, fair financing and stronger accountability in global institutions.
The meeting is being co-hosted by the President of the UN General Assembly and the Executive Director of UN Women.
Technology-facilitated violence against women and girls will also receive major attention during the General Assembly’s high-level week.
UN Women and the Republic of Croatia will co-host a ministerial roundtable on 23 September, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. EDT in Conference Room 6. The event will bring together senior government officials, ministers and representatives from the technology sector.
Discussions will examine the growing use of digital tools to harass, threaten, silence and abuse women and girls. Particular concern is expected to focus on artificial intelligence-enabled abuse, including manipulated images, online sexual exploitation, coordinated harassment and the spread of false information targeting women in public life.
The roundtable will seek stronger political support for rights-based responses, improved cooperation with technology companies and practical measures to prevent and respond to digital violence.
A separate SDG Media Zone discussion, titled “Feminism and AI,” is scheduled for 24 September from 10:30 a.m. to 10:50 a.m. EDT. The session will examine both the dangers and possible benefits of artificial intelligence for gender equality.
Speakers are expected to discuss how governments and technology platforms can make digital spaces safer through stronger rules, survivor-centred systems, platform accountability and safety-focused technology design.
Women’s role in peacebuilding, defense and security will be highlighted during a ministerial-level side event of the Women, Peace and Security Focal Points Network on 23 September.
The event, titled **“Delivering on Women, Peace and Security: Consolidating Implementation and Accountability in a Fragmented Security Landscape,” will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT in Conference Room 1.
It will be streamed on UN Web TV, although in-person participation will require registration.
The network, which is currently co-chaired by Italy and the Philippines and supported by UN Women as its secretariat, will use the event to mark its 10th anniversary.
Ministers responsible for defense, security and women’s affairs, along with representatives of regional organizations, are expected to discuss stronger commitments to include women’s priorities in national security institutions and international peace processes.
The meeting comes at a time when wars, political instability and humanitarian crises are affecting many regions. Organizers say women’s participation is essential to making peace and security decisions more inclusive, effective and responsive to the needs of communities.
On 25 September, Mexico, UN Women and the organization Karama will host a high-level dialogue on feminist multilateralism.
The public event, scheduled from 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT at UN Headquarters, will also be available through UN Web TV.
The discussion will bring together governments, civil-society groups and regional partners to examine how international cooperation can better respond to current political, economic, environmental and social challenges.
Organizers say the dialogue will argue for a global system that puts women’s leadership, human rights, equality and public participation at the heart of decision-making.
Among the civil-society partners expected to contribute are FEMNET, the FFP Collaborative, the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, known as ARROW, and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization.
Several public conversations will take place at the SDG Media Zone during high-level week.
On 22 September, a session titled “The Leadership Gap: Can the SDGs Be Achieved Without Women in Power?” will examine the connection between women’s political representation and the success of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The discussion will draw from the Gender Snapshot 2026 and explore how leadership shapes whose concerns are heard, which public priorities receive funding and whose rights are protected. It will also consider barriers facing women in politics, including online abuse, disinformation and democratic decline.
On 23 September, former and current global figures are expected to take part in a Leadership Town Hall on the qualities needed for future international leadership. The session will include former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, former UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and former Argentine Foreign Minister Susana Malcorra, among others.
The event will focus on women’s leadership and the kind of leadership needed to guide the United Nations through interconnected global crises.
As governments prepare for the next phase of the UN’s work toward 2030, the message from UN Women is clear: the world cannot achieve lasting peace, development or justice while women and girls are denied equal power and full participation in decisions that affect their lives.
