Growing up, my father’s dream for me was (and
still might be) to work at the United Nations. So, when I received my United
Nations ground pass for the 63rd Commission on the Status of Women today,
I felt unbelievably emotional at small details - the specific U.N. blue background,
my image next to the words “United Nations,” and even the lanyard. These small
details represented the manifestation of my father’s dream that one day his
daughter could represent herself and, most importantly, her values on the world’s
most well-known stage.
As my ground pass hang across my neck during our tour of the U.N., I toured through the United Nations headquarters with my fellow WomenNC scholars. A day after International Women’s Day, we recognized how the headquarters portrayed gender-specific issues like female genital issues next to portraits of all-male U.N. Secretary Generals. We need to invite more voices, female and gender non-conforming individuals, into conversations about gender issues, and I am looking forward to inviting a greater variety of voices at CSW this week.
As we were exiting the headquarters,
we were squinting from not only the hot sun but also the message in the sky. It
could have been one of the cheesy sara-will-you-marry-me or
call-1800-buy-a-car-today. Instead, the serendipitous message in the sky stated
that The Future is Fearless…or Female – we couldn’t come to a conclusion. Looking
back at the photo, I realize that the last word is “Fearless,” but I think the
message still holds.
In a week in which we, as WomenNC
scholars, are moving forward the global conversation on gender issues like
Computer Science education, racialized gender wage gap, and intimate partner
violence, the future is both fearless and female. The future cannot be fearless
without the female voices that embolden our world to be more equitable than our
past. The future cannot be female without our fearless commitment to advancing
gender-equity conversations and initiatives. I am ready for my next week at CSW
to be both fearless and female.
Amy - it's very rewarding to read that you are experiencing and appreciating the power of having that UN pass and being on the grounds of such a major platform as CSW....the many of us who support WomenNC to make this experience possible for you and others are so thrilled that you are getting an introduction to the world stage of work for women and girls ----and I can imagine the pride your Dad must feel as well!!! I look forward to seeing you in action in the future as you continue to develop your career and who knows, maybe you'll be speaking from the GA one day! We will be cheering you on.
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