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Women are leading the world out of crises
By Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador
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By Michelle Yeoh, UNDP Goodwill Ambassador and Oscar Award Winner
Disasters of devastating magnitude, like the 2015 Nepal earthquake – which I personally experienced – and more recent disasters like the earthquakes in Myanmar, Türkiye, Syria and Afghanistan, cause irreparable damage to the lives of those who already have so little, and for generations after. Too many people are left homeless and without means to rebuild or keep their families safe.
In Nepal, I saw the ruins and destruction all around me. I kept thinking how unfair it was that I had a home to go to, unlike the thousands of families whose entire lives were suddenly reduced to rubble. This feeling stayed with me so much so that I returned to Nepal three weeks later to help with relief efforts and then again a year later as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNDP.
What I witnessed in Nepal made me realize that crises like this expose deep pre-existing inequalities. Those living in poverty, especially women and girls, bear the brunt of it. A world that is already unfair… becomes even more unfair.
Gender Equality Is Not Optional—It’s Foundational
My experience inspired me to leverage the platform I was given through my work in film and use it to help others. I wanted to shine a light on inequalities around the world—particularly how disproportionately they impact women and girls.
That’s why I became a UNDP Goodwill Ambassador. I was determined to use my voice to advocate for gender equality globally, especially in times of crisis, when women and girls are the most vulnerable.
Each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is critically important and they fit together like pieces of a puzzle to create a brighter tomorrow for everyone. But the issue of gender equality, Goal 5, is especially personal to me. As an actor in Hollywood, who is female, Asian, and now in my early 60s, I know a thing or two about discrimination. I have spent my decades-long career fighting against stereotypes based on gender, race, and age.
Progress to ensure women’s full and equal economic participation is alarmingly slow. A staggering 2.4 billion working-age women live in countries that do not grant them the same rights as men. At the current pace, it will take 300 years to achieve full gender equality. We don’t have that kind of time.
We are now past the halfway mark toward the 2030 target date to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. What I have learned through my work with UNDP is that realizing these Global Goals will only be possible if we achieve true gender equality, everywhere, and in all aspects of life.
Dana, a single mother of three, in her newly rebuilt home in Nigeria, after spending years in a displacement camp.
When Women Rise, The World Rises With Them
It’s not an exaggeration to say that my life was changed in an instant when the Academy made me the first Asian to win an Oscar for best actress. While I am beyond grateful for this moment of professional success, I want to point the spotlight on those who all too often go unacknowledged: the women who are the backbone of our economies and societies. They are taking care of children and older people, putting food on the table and keeping their communities together in times of crisis and disaster.
At the same time, they are blocked from equally participating in the very same economies that depend on their free labor and are missing from the table when decisions are being made that impact them the most.
I want to put the spotlight on this inequity, which is ingrained in the fabric of our society at all levels—from our lives at home to our economy to our governments. Women shoulder the bulk of unpaid care work, miss out on stable paid employment and are being pushed deeper into poverty by the fiscal policies in the countries they live in.
Here’s the thing. When women do well, everyone wins. Take the global economy, for example. Global wealth would potentially increase by $172 trillion if women had the same lifetime earnings as men, according to the World Bank.
We have a long road ahead towards achieving full gender parity but it all begins with us, here and now.
The film industry I’ve spent a lifetime working in is notorious for unequal pay for male and female actors. In many corners, gender-based discrimination runs rampant. Throughout my career, I have been typecast, stereotyped, put in boxes, and faced a lot of rejection. I have fought against it all, with varying degrees of success. But time and time again, I refused to accept an unfair world. Today, I am living proof that change is possible.
So this is my advice to women: don’t let anyone tell you that your goals are too ambitious or that you will never achieve them. It’s never too late. After all, I won my first Golden Globe and Oscar at 60! I know something about perseverance. And I know that we can win the fight for gender equality.
But we have to do it together and we have to go all in.
Michelle Yeoh travelled to Nepal to help with relief efforts following a 2015 earthquake.
