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The Australian Government has announced that Australia is creating a Global Ambassador for Women and Girls and Penny Williams has been appointed as the first Global Ambassador.
In Australia, Goldman Sachs estimates closing the gap in workplace participation between men and women would boost economic growth by at least 11 per cent. *1
Similarly, the International Labour Organisation estimates that the Asia and Pacific region is losing up to US$47 billion annually because of women's limited access to employment opportunities.
And more than US$16 billion annually as a result of gender gaps in education.2
So addressing the global gender imbalance does not just have moral dimensions – it has strong economic dimensions as well.
As UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon said at the launch of UN Women in February this year, "investing in women is the right thing to do and a smart thing to do – possibly one of the smartest things we can ever do."
Australia has a longstanding commitment to giving women a better deal. The Australian aid program, where we have a long list of tangible outcomes.
In Afghanistan, Australia has helped build over 800 schools and train over 98 000 teachers across the country.
Under the Taliban, school enrolments were a dismal one million in 2001 – of whom none were girls.
Today there are over seven million enrolments and over 2.5 million of those are Afghan girls.
In Nepal, Australia has helped more than 3 000 women set up new businesses through the United Nations Development Program's Micro Enterprise Development Program.
In Bangladesh in 2010, Australia has supported a local NGO, which helped more than 21 000 women in extreme poverty develop sustainable income-generating activities.
Four years after receiving assistance, ninety eight per cent of past beneficiaries have remained above the poverty line. This demonstrates the difference this program is making.
In Papua New Guinea, Australia has helped boost the number of women village court magistrates from 10 in 2004 to 500 by the end of 2010 through increased recruitment and training.
Australia was one of the first countries to pledge multi-year core funding for the UN Women, recognising the important work that the United Nations does to improve gender equality and empower women.
The Government has confirmed, that Australia's advocacy for women and girls in the Asia Pacific will be a particular priority not just because this is the region where the Government believes Australia can be most effective but because this is the region where they need to be most effective.
*1. Goldman Sachs JB Were Research (2009) Australia's Hidden Resource: The Economic Case for Increasing Female Participation
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