As we mark International Women’s Day 2026, the global call – 'Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls' – reminds us of the continuing challenge of gender equality.
Because equality remains unfinished business.
Across the world, not one target under Sustainable Development Goal 5 has been fully achieved. At current rates, gender parity in parliaments could still be decades away.
For millions of women and girls, especially those living in poverty, progress feels even more distant. The cost of delay cannot adequately be measured in statistics, but in lost potential.
And yet, across our Commonwealth, I see something else.
I see women rebuilding communities after climate disasters. I see young women leading digital innovation. I see entrepreneurs creating jobs, peacebuilders strengthening democracy, and girls stepping into classrooms determined to shape their own futures.
Women and girls are not victims of change: they are leaders of it.
But climate change is not gender neutral.
In our Small Island Developing States and other climate vulnerable countries, women are hit first and hardest.
Without deliberate action, millions more risk being pushed into poverty as temperatures rise and livelihoods are disrupted.
The evidence is clear: when finance reaches those most affected, when gender data informs policy, when women are at the decision-making table, climate action is stronger, fairer, and more effective.
That is why Commonwealth countries supported the Belém Gender Action Plan at COP30 – strengthening gender-responsive climate action through better data, fairer finance, inclusive technology, safer participation, and a just transition for all. And through our Commonwealth Collaborative Network on Gender-Responsive Climate Action, we are turning commitment into co-operation – closing knowledge gaps, expanding access to finance, and strengthening leadership across climate governance.
But policy alone is not transformation.
As we look ahead to the Commonwealth Women’s Forum on the margins of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2026, this is our moment to accelerate:
- To dismantle the legal and social barriers that limit opportunity.
- To expand women’s access to climate finance and markets.
- To strengthen gender-inclusive data and accountability.
- To champion women-led solutions as a foundation for progress.
Climate justice is gender justice.
And the future of our democracies, our economies, and our planet depends on whether we place those on the frontlines of change at the centre of decision-making and investment.
As the first woman from Africa to serve as Commonwealth Secretary-General, I carry with me the lived experience of communities where women’s leadership is essential and transformational. I know what is possible when girls are educated, when women hold office, and when opportunity is shared.
This International Women’s Day, let us all embrace this.
Let us turn commitments into action, action into measurable progress, and progress into lasting, intergenerational change – across all 56 of our nations.
Together, we can build a Commonwealth where every woman and every girl has full rights and full power.
Happy International Women’s Day.
