Day 3: CSW continues

Journal 3 - CSW

My day started a little later today, and I was relieved to be able to “sleep in” a bit.  I attended the general discussion first and was excited to finally step foot in the General Assembly Hall.  I was in complete awe of the beauty of the hall along with the green carpet that accompanied it.  I heard from the representatives from Angola, Morocco, Slovenia, Luksenberg, Japan, Peru, Israel, Poland, The Republic of Korea, Qatar, and Iceland. As a policy major, it put a big smile on my face to hear about the progress each country has made towards gender equality. Among some of the efforts included Poland’s expansion of the parental leave program and Luksenberg’s establishment of legal quotas to combat gender based stereotypes.  While I’m aware that we have a lot more progress to make as a global community, gatherings at the UN reminds me that it is indeed possible for countries to come together as coalitions to address issues of inequality.

We ended the day on a positive note at the CSW reception, where we got to mingle with women from around the world, all dedicated towards the same thing.  If anything was revealed to me tonight, it was the power of the youth.  As some of the youngest people in the room, each person mentioned how proud they were to see us so engaged in women’s issues.  Not only does it reassure me that I’m on the right path in my life, but it makes me hopeful to be the next generation.  I can only hope that I can make these women proud.

A group of powerful, passionate women at the CSW reception