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UNESCO calls on governments to expand women's participation in decision-making processes

UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér

27 October 2026 13:15 (UTC +04:00)

The cultural sector, in a broad sense, is often built on women's labor, UNESCO Deputy Director-General Åsa Regnér said at a special joint session of the 3rd High-Level Meeting of International Organizations and the 6th Ministerial Meeting within the framework of the Baku Process, APA reports.

She stated that women make up a significant proportion of teachers, librarians and journalists in many countries.

"Protecting the rights of women and girls is particularly important for developing intercultural dialogue, ensuring equal participation in public life and the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Worldwide, 133 million girls are out of school, while 2.4 million girls and young women in Afghanistan are deprived of access to education."

According to the UNESCO Deputy Director-General, three-quarters of female journalists who participated in a 2026 study jointly conducted by UNESCO, UN Women and the International Center for Journalists experienced online violence.

"Approximately half of them reported that online violence was linked to violence occurring in real life, while 45% said they practiced self-censorship on social media."

Regnér added that women are also underrepresented in decision-making in the fields of artificial intelligence and digital technologies. They account for 26% of workers in data and artificial intelligence, 15% in engineering and 12% in cloud technologies.

She stated that only 24 of the 138 national artificial intelligence strategies worldwide take gender issues into account. The lack of women's participation in technology development and decision-making processes could lead to inequalities becoming entrenched in these systems as well.

The UNESCO official emphasized that women's participation must be ensured in decisions concerning the reconstruction of schools, cultural institutions and communities following conflicts and disasters.

She called on governments to expand women's participation in public dialogue and decision-making processes and to establish concrete mechanisms and indicators for measuring results to ensure gender equality.