Council on Women and Girls Leaders at the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women

Executive Director of the White House Council on Women and Girls Tina Tchen speaks to the 54th Session of the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women. March 3, 2010.

This week Tina Tchen and Valerie Jarrett traveled to New York City to participate in the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the U.N. Headquarters. The Commission was created in 1946 to advise the United Nations Security Council on the promotion of women’s rights. Every year representatives from UN Member States, joined by their civil society counterparts, meet to evaluate our global efforts on gender equality, identify challenges, and set policies for continuing to further women’s advancement. This year’s conference is being attended by more than 2,000 women from around the world who have come together to review progress on women’s rights in the 15 years since the signing of the Beijing Declaration and subsequent Platform for Action. As part of the events, Valerie Jarrett met with the U.S. public delegation to the Commission and Tina Tchen met with civil society groups and UN agency leaders to discuss challenges and opportunities and explore areas for collaboration.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice speaks to the 54th Session of the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women. March 3, 2010.

Read about the week’s activities from Kristin M. Kane, Public Diplomacy Officer for the Bureau of International Organization Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

Jayne Thomisee is Associate Director of the Office of Public Engagement