Agents
When we are talking about agents we are talking about speeches in which women are framed as active decision-makers, economic contributors, or rights-holders in their own right.
How women are portrayed?
Every year, the United Nations organises a General Debate, during which each country delivers a speech. They have 15 minutes to talk. Lots of words can be used.
But... we asked ourselves:
How much are women mentioned?
- Each rectangle represents a speech.
- Each cross-stitch represents a speech in which women are mentioned.
Women are mentioned in 105 of the total 197 speeches.
Women are mentioned in 105 of the total 197 speeches.
| Speaker | Country | Speech | Mention women |
|---|---|---|---|
| António Guterres | Secretary-General of the United Nations | Secretary-General | Women and children |
| Dr. Khalilur Rahman | President of the General Assembly (opening) | President of the General Assembly | Women and children |
| Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva | Brazil | President | Women and children |
| Donald Trump | United States of America | President | Women not mentioned |
| Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein | Jordan | King | Women not mentioned |
| Recep Tayyip Erdoğan | Türkiye | President | Women and children |
| Sadyr Zhaparov | Kyrgyzstan | President | Women not mentioned |
| Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani | Qatar | Amir | Women not mentioned |
| Gitanas Nausėda | Lithuania | President | Women not mentioned |
| Keiko Sofia Fujimori Higuchi | Peru | President | Women and children |
| José Antonio Kast | Chile | President | Women not mentioned |
| Emmanuel Macron | France | President | Women not mentioned |
| Alexander Stubb | Finland | President | Women not mentioned |
| Guillaume of Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Grand Duke | Women and children |
| João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço | Angola | President | Women and children |
| Khurelsukh Ukhnaa | Mongolia | President | Women and children |
| Lee Jae Myung | Republic of Korea | President | Women not mentioned |
| Jennifer Geerlings-Simons | Suriname | President | Women |
| Julius Maada Bio | Sierra Leone | President | Women and children |
| Denis Bećirović | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Chairman of the Presidency | Women and children |
| Sylvanie Burton | Dominica | President | Women and children |
| Guy Parmelin | Switzerland | President | Women not mentioned |
| To Lam | Viet Nam | President | Women not mentioned |
| Mathew Antonio Patrick Herminie | Seychelles | President | Women not mentioned |
| David Ranibok Adeang | Naoero | President | Women not mentioned |
| Deogratius Ndejembi | United Republic of Tanzania | Vice-President | Women and children |
| Tshering Tobgay | Bhutan | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Kamla Persad-Bissessar | Trinidad and Tobago | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| Takaichi Sanae | Japan | Prime Minister | Women |
| Andy Burnham | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Andrej Plenković | Croatia | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| Maxime Prévot | Belgium | Deputy Prime Minister | Women |
| Nasser Bourita | Morocco | Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad | Women not mentioned |
| Ahmad Al-Sharaa | Syrian Arab Republic | President | Women not mentioned |
| Edgars Rinkēvičs | Latvia | President | Women not mentioned |
| Nicuşor-Daniel Dan | Romania | President | Women not mentioned |
| Évariste Ndayishimiye | Burundi | President | Women |
| Masoud Pezeshkian | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | President | Women and children |
| Santiago Peña Palacios | Paraguay | President | Women not mentioned |
| Petr Pavel | Czechia | President | Women not mentioned |
| Javier Gerardo Milei | Argentina | President | Women |
| Alar Karis | Estonia | President | Women |
| José Ramos-Horta | Timor-Leste | President | Women and children |
| Mohamed Younis Menfi | Libya | President | Women not mentioned |
| Surangel Whipps | Palau | President | Women not mentioned |
| Nikos Christodoulides | Cyprus | President | Women not mentioned |
| Luis Rodolfo Abinader Corona | Dominican Republic | President | Women |
| Duma Gideon Boko | Botswana | President | Women |
| Daniel Roy-Gilchrist Noboa Azin | Ecuador | Constitutional President | Women not mentioned |
| Volodymyr Zelenskyy | Ukraine | President | Women not mentioned |
| Iliana Iotova | Bulgaria | President | Women and children |
| Faustin Archange Touadera | Central African Republic | Head of State | Women |
| José Raúl Mulino Quintero | Panama | President | Women and children |
| Taye Atskeselassie Amde | Ethiopia | President | Women not mentioned |
| Karol Nawrocki | Poland | President | Women |
| Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah | Namibia | President | Women |
| Peter Pellegrini | Slovakia | President | Women not mentioned |
| William Samoei Ruto | Kenya | President | Women not mentioned |
| Aleksandar Vučić | Serbia | President | Women not mentioned |
| Daniel Francisco Chapo | Mozambique | President | Women |
| Mamadi Doumbouya | Guinea | President | Women not mentioned |
| King Mswati III | Eswatini | Head of State | Women not mentioned |
| Nasry Juan Asfura Zablah | Honduras | President | Women |
| Jakov Milatović | Montenegro | President | Women not mentioned |
| Delcy Eloína Rodríguez Gómez | Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | Acting President | Women not mentioned |
| Jessica Rose Epel Alupo | Uganda | Vice President | Women not mentioned |
| Justin Nsengiyumva | Rwanda | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón | Spain | President | Women |
| Xavier Espot Zamora | Andorra | Head of Government | Women not mentioned |
| Judith Suminwa Tuluka | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| Antonio Tajani | Italy | Deputy Prime Minister | Women |
| Saida Mirziyoyeva | Uzbekistan | Head of Administration of the President | Women |
| Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa | Zimbabwe | President | Women |
| Michaël Randrianirina | Madagascar | President of the Refoundation of the Republic | Women and children |
| John Dramani Mahama | Ghana | President | Women and children |
| Mahmoud Abbas | Palestine (State of) | President | Women and children |
| Mohamed Irfaan Ali | Guyana | President | Women not mentioned |
| Hassan Sheikh Mohamud | Somalia | President | Women |
| Azali Assoumani | Comoros | President | Women and children |
| Joseph Nyuma Boakai | Liberia | President | Women and children |
| Rodrigo Paz Pereira | Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | Constitutional President | Women not mentioned |
| András Bálint Baka | Hungary | President | Women not mentioned |
| Yamandú Orsi | Uruguay | President | Women |
| António Costa | European Union | President of the European Council | Women |
| Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue | Equatorial Guinea | Vice President | Women not mentioned |
| Mohammed Jallow | Gambia (Republic of The) | Vice President | Women |
| José Manuel Restrepo | Colombia | Vice President | Women |
| Benjamin Netanyahu | Israel | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| Luís Montenegro | Portugal | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye | Senegal | President | Women not mentioned |
| Ratu Naiqama Tawakecolati Lalabalavu | Fiji | President | Women not mentioned |
| Tiémoko Meyliet Koné | Côte d’Ivoire | Vice President | Women not mentioned |
| Kashim Shettima | Nigeria | Vice President | Women not mentioned |
| Abdullah Abdulkader Al Alimi-Bawzer | Yemen | Vice President | Women |
| Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah | Kuwait | Crown Prince | Women |
| Mia Amor Mottley | Barbados | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Nikol Pashinyan | Armenia | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Anutin Charnvirakul | Thailand | Prime Minister | Women |
| Irakli Kobakhidzhe | Georgia | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Tarique Rahman | Bangladesh | Prime Minister | Women |
| Rob Jetten | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | Prime Minister | Women |
| Janez Janša | Slovenia | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| Kyriakos Mitsotakis | Greece | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Anthony Albanese | Australia | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Micheál Martin | Ireland | Taoiseach | Women and children |
| Balendra Shah | Nepal | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Beate Meinl-Reisinger | Austria | Federal Minister for European and International Affairs | Women |
| Ronald Ozzy Lamola | South Africa | Minister for International Relations and Cooperation | Women not mentioned |
| Taneti Maamau | Kiribati | President | Women and children |
| Hussain Mohamed Latheef | Maldives | Vice President | Women |
| Ali Falih Al-Zaidi | Iraq | Prime Minister | Women |
| Nawaf Salam | Lebanon | President of the Council of Ministers | Women not mentioned |
| Christophe Mirmand | Monaco | Minister of State | Women and children |
| Hilda Heine | Marshall Islands | President | Women not mentioned |
| Robert Abela | Malta | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane | Lesotho | Prime Minister | Women |
| Feleti Teo | Tuvalu | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Hristijan Mickoski | North Macedonia | President of the Government | Women not mentioned |
| Matthew Cooper Wale | Solomon Islands | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| Philip J. Pierre | Saint Lucia | Prime Minister | Women |
| Edi Rama | Albania | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif | Pakistan | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| James Marape | Papua New Guinea | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Lamine Zeine Ali Mahaman | Niger | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Philip Edward Davis | Bahamas (the) | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Alix Didier Fils-Aimé | Haiti | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| Ilídio Vieira Té | Guinea-Bissau | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Moustafa Kamal Madbouly | Egypt | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Godwin Friday | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Prime Minister | Women |
| Lord Fakafanua | Tonga | Prime Minister | Women and children |
| Mulipola Anarosa Ale Molioo | Samoa | Deputy Prime Minister | Women |
| Geoffrey Hanley | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Deputy Prime Minister | Women |
| Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani | Bahrain | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Jeyhun Aziz oglu Bayramov | Azerbaijan | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women and children |
| Mukhtar Tileuberdi | Kazakhstan | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Mohamed Salem Merzoug | Mauritania | Minister for Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Mauritanians Abroad | Women not mentioned |
| Roberto Velasco Álvarez | Mexico | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Dhananjay Ramful | Mauritius | Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade | Women |
| Abdelmadjid Abdelrahim Mahamat | Chad | Minister of Public Health and Prevention | Women not mentioned |
| Espen Barth Eide | Norway | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Carlos Ramiro Martínez Alvarado | Guatemala | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Maria Malmer Stenergard | Sweden | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women and children |
| Robert Komlan Edo Dussey | Togo | Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration, and Togolese Abroad | Women not mentioned |
| Sabine Monauni | Liechtenstein | Deputy Prime Minister | Women |
| Han Zheng | China | Vice President | Women not mentioned |
| Aren Palik | Micronesia (Federated States of) | Vice President | Women and children |
| John Briceño | Belize | Prime Minister | Women |
| Francisco Avelino Vieira de Carvalho | Cabo Verde | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Vasile Tofan | Republic of Moldova | Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Cardinal Pietro Parolin | Holy See | Secretary of State | Women and children |
| Thongsavanh Phomvihane | Lao People’s Democratic Republic | Deputy Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Sokhonn Prak | Cambodia | Deputy Prime Minister | Women not mentioned |
| Sergey Lavrov | Russian Federation | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women and children |
| Ma. Theresa Lazaro | Philippines | Secretary for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Bruno Eduardo Rodríguez Parrilla | Cuba | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Prince 'Abdul Mateen | Brunei Darussalam | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud | Saudi Arabia | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Vivian Balakrishnan | Singapore | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir | Iceland | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women and children |
| Valdrack Ludwing Jaentschke Whitaker | Nicaragua | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Subrahmanyam Jaishankar | India | Minister for External Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Johann Wadephul | Germany | Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Sirojiddin Muhriddin | Tajikistan | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Luca Beccari | San Marino | Minister for Foreign Affairs, Political Affairs, International Economic Cooperation and Digital Transition | Women and children |
| Abdoulkader Houssein Omar | Djibouti | Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation | Women |
| Maxim Ryzhenkov | Belarus | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women and children |
| Mohamad Haji Hasan | Malaysia | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi | Oman | Foreign Minister | Women |
| Mohamed Ali Nafti | Tunisia | Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration and Tunisians abroad | Women |
| Anita Anand | Canada | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Marie-Édith Tassyla-Ye-Doumbeneny | Gabon | Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, in charge of Integration and the Diaspora | Women |
| Kamina Johnson Smith | Jamaica | Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade | Women not mentioned |
| Ilza Maria dos Santos Amado Vaz | Sao Tome and Principe | Minister of State and for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities | Women |
| Mulambo Hamakuni Haimbe | Zambia | Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation | Women and children |
| Sugiono | Indonesia | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Lejeune Mbella Mbella | Cameroon | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Abdoulaye Diop | Mali | Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation | Women |
| Osman Saleh Mohammed | Eritrea | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré | Burkina Faso | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women and children |
| Ahmed Attaf | Algeria | Minister of State | Women and children |
| Alexandra Hill Tinoco | El Salvador | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| George Chapatula Chaponda | Malawi | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Vijitha Herath | Sri Lanka | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Constant Serge Bounda | Congo | Minister for Foreign Affairs, La Francophonie and Congolese Abroad | Women not mentioned |
| Mohieldin Salim Ahmed Ibrahim | Sudan | Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women |
| Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar | United Arab Emirates | Minister of State | Women |
| Kim Son Gyong | Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs | Women not mentioned |
| Victoria Louise Hallum | New Zealand | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women not mentioned |
| Vepa Hajiyev | Turkmenistan | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women |
| Walton Alfonso Webson | Antigua and Barbuda | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women |
| Ingrid Jackson | Grenada | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women not mentioned |
| Cecilia Adout Majok Adeng | South Sudan | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women |
| Christina Markus Lassen | Denmark | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women |
| Boris Vasir Marchegiani Carrero | Costa Rica | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women |
| Odo Tevi | Vanuatu | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women not mentioned |
| Marc Hermanne Gninadoou Araba | Benin | Permanent Representative to the United Nations | Women not mentioned |
| Dr. Khalilur Rahman | President of the General Assembly (closing) | President of the General Assembly | Women and children |
In their words
…we intend to commit to is women and children, as well as peace and security.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar. Trinidad and Tobago
Palestinians will carry the pain and trauma left by the genocide of women and children perpetrated.
Luiz Inácio Lula Da Silva. Brazil
They martyred, assassinated our scientists, our men, women and children.
Masoud Pezeshkian. Iran (Islamic Republic of)
This priority commitment serves the entire population, particularly women and children, providing our youth with the means to build their future with confidence.
Michaël Randrianirina. Madagascar
…advocacy for women, children and those whose voices are too often unheard.
Deogratius Ndejembi. United Republic of Tanzania
…advancing the rights of women and children.
Denis Bećirović. Bosnia and Herzegovina
…improving education, health, food security, and advancement of women and children.
Khurelsukh Ukhnaa. Mongolia
Evidence shows
That the paradigm that associates women with children prevents women from being seen as active agents of change for peace, or actors of their own lives, thus limiting their participation in the reconstruction or rehabilitation of societies.
Puechguirbal, N. (2004). Women and children: deconstructing a paradigm. Seton Hall J. Dipl. & Int'l Rel., 5, 5.
How are women perceived?
When we analysed the speeches, we identified three categories.
When we are talking about agents we are talking about speeches in which women are framed as active decision-makers, economic contributors, or rights-holders in their own right.
Victims
When we are talking about victims, it is because they are framed as victims, targets, or members of vulnerable/protected groups in need of assistance.
Mixed
Mixed is when it contains explicit elements of both vulnerability framing and agency/actor framing within the same extract.
In UNGA 81, these categories were reflected as follows:
- Agents
- Mixed
- Victims
Each flower represents whenever 'women and children' was mentioned in a country's speech.
How are speeches oriented?
- Policy reform
- Abstract / Rhetorical
How are speeches oriented?. Policy reform. Abstract / Rhetorical.
The majority of speeches mention women and children in a general narrative context without specific policy commitments.
So what?
We started this small project because, while listening to the speeches in the General Debate, we noticed that the phrase 'women and children' was mentioned many times. We felt that this was an outdated way of framing two groups with distinct rights, needs, and experiences.
After reviewing academic literature on the subject, we started thinking about the implications of framing children as an extension of women's bodies, and as victims with similar needs. By grouping them together, women can be implicitly infantilised, and positioned at the same level as children, rather than recognised as autonomous political and social actors.
In the speeches delivered at UNGA 81, 'women and children' are often framed in broad and abstract terms that emphasise vulnerability, without translating this concern into concrete actions to advance their rights.
This approach can obscure the distinct needs, rights and agency of women and children. In particular, it prevents women from being recognised as active agents of change and actors of their own lives.