Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, distinguished guests.
To you, and especially to all the women and girls of the world – but also to all men and boys – I say: Happy International Women's Day!
I am honoured to have been invited to speak.
I'd like to reflect on today's theme: "Invest in women, accelerate progress."
The creativity, insight, knowledge, and expertise of women in every sector of our societies, right across our world - from footballers to tech entrepreneurs to climate-smart farmers to home-based mothers caring for their families, often on top of earning a living - these skills have never been more advanced and undeniable.
We should all be so inspired by the determination and strong voices of young women leading climate action; by the courage of women human rights defenders.
I must say, I am personally so moved by the extraordinary resilience of the more than 614 million women and girls living in conflict areas across the world, who are keeping their families alive in the face of destruction and deprivation.
Today more than ever, we see women holding positions of power in all aspects of society.
Thank goodness.
After all, we are still, as we always have been, half the world.
