WASHINGTON (TIP): UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri spoke at the first-ever United State of Women Summit on 14 June 2016. Convened by President of the United States Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, the Summit gathered inspirational speakers and aimed to discuss key gender equality issues, including women’s economic empowerment and violence against women.

Ms. Puri took part in the second plenary, on economic empowerment. The only high-level United Nations official attending the White House Summit, she spoke about how the Sustainable Development Goals can accelerate action towards achieving gender equality, and the importance of engaging youth and men and boys in the work to achieve gender equality.

In her speech at the summit, Ms. Puri said: “Promising to ‘leave no one behind’, the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals address a fundamental environmental, economic and social issues and position the achievement of gender equality and women’s empowerment as a precondition and necessary outcome of sustainable development”.

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“Women have, women are, and women will change the world for a #Planet5050“- Lakshmi Puri #StateOfWomen pic.twitter.com/pod00eBraX

— UN Women (@UN_Women) June 14, 2016