Women remain underrepresented in decision-making processes, UNESCO Assistant Director-General Åsa Regnér stated during a special joint session of the 3rd High-Level Meeting of International Organizations and the 6th Ministerial Meeting of the Baku Process in Baku, Report informs.
The session was held under the theme From Partnership to Joint Action: Strengthening Global Engagement for Intercultural Dialogue in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
Regnér highlighted that the conditions faced by women are often not equal to those of men: "This situation is also linked to prevailing attitudes and conditions in societies. As a result, women are pushed away from decision-making processes. One of our goals should be to address this problem. It is well known that the cultural sector, in all its breadth, is often driven forward by women and their work. In many countries, women make up the majority of teachers, librarians and journalists, work in the tourism sector, and today they are also scientists and partners in the research that we all rely on."
The Assistant Director-General also stressed that a joint study conducted by UNESCO and the International Center for Journalists found that three-quarters of the women journalists who participated in the research had experienced online violence.
"This shows that more than half of them have been subjected to such abuse. As a result, 45% of women have imposed certain restrictions on their own use of social media," she said.
In conclusion, Regnér expressed her gratitude to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, the Government of Azerbaijan, and the Ministry of Culture for the high level of organization of the event.