Online Discussion: Gender, Education and Employment

In preparation for the fifty-fifth session of the Commission on the Status of Women, the Division for the Advancement of Women is organizing an online discussion on the linkages between women’s and girls' access to and participation in formal and non-formal education and training, and their equal access to full employment and decent work. The discussion will contribute to the findings and recommendations presented to the Commission on the Status of Women.

Podcast participants


Carolyn Medel-Añonuevo is the Deputy Director/Senior Programme Coordinator of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, a research institute of UNESCO promoting non-formal education, literacy and adult education in the perspective of lifelong learning. A sociologist coming from the Philippines, she has been working in the field of women's education for the last 25 years.



May Rihani is Senior Vice President of the Academy for Educational Development (AED), a non-profit organization active in more than 150 countries, and Director of the AED Global Learning Group. She is responsible for educational reform programmes in multiple African and Middle Eastern countries, and focuses on ensuring gender equality in AED’s educational projects and social development programmes. She has addressed girls’ education at a large number of international conferences.



Sakena Yacoobi is President and Executive Director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), an Afghan women-led NGO serving 350,000 women and children each year through its educational learning centers, schools, training and clinics in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Ms. Yacoobi is an Ashoka Fellow, has won numerous awards for her international work in peace and human rights and serves on over 15 affiliated group panels and boards.

Registration will be open from 7 July and will be necessary for participants to post comments. Please visit UN.org