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Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women. She was sworn into office on 19 August 2013 and brings a wealth of expertise to this position, having devoted her career to issues of human rights, equality and social justice. Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka has worked in government and civil society, and with the private sector, and was actively involved in the struggle to end apartheid in her home country of South Africa.

From 2005 to 2008, she served as Deputy President of South Africa, overseeing programmes to combat poverty and bring the advantages of a growing economy to the poor, with a particular focus on women.

Starting operations in January 2011, UN Women’s mandate is to accelerate global promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Over many decades, the United Nations has made significant progress in advancing gender equality, yet gender inequalities remain deeply entrenched in every society.

Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka will discuss what UN Women is doing in the lead up to the 20th Anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and how they are working to ensure gender equality is embedded within the Post-2015 Development Framework. She will be in conversation with Virginia Haussegger, ABC broadcast journalist and author.

Presented by

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and ANU Gender Institute