A statement of the Baha’i International Community to the 65th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, 2021
Against the backdrop of a world undergoing profound change, there is a growing recognition of the indispensable role that women in leadership play. In the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, nations in which women contributed more prominently to the leadership of society were seen to have generated a degree of stability across a variety of short-term indicators, including public health and economic security. At the community level, women continue to play an indispensable role—and often lead—in caring for the sick, educating the young, tending to the needy, and sustaining the social and economic fabric more broadly. Never has it been more clear how much humanity benefits when women’s leadership is embraced and promoted at every level of society, whether in the family or the village, the community or local government, the corporation or the nation. Bringing the full extent of this capacity to bear on contemporary challenges will require movement on at least two fronts: increasing women’s presence in roles of leadership and the affairs of society, and applying more widely and consistently the qualities that women tend to bring to processes of problem-solving and decision-making.