GWL Voices: 3 Key Insights from UNGA81 and New York Climate Week 2026

UNGA81 and Climate Week NYC 2026 showed that support for multilateral cooperation remains strong, but also that defending the status quo is no longer enough. Across the General Debate, 154 of the 197 interventions by leaders (78.2 percent) referred to UN institutional reform, with particular attention to the composition and representation of the Security Council.

For GWL Voices, the central question goes beyond who is represented within multilateral institutions: it is who helps shape decisions from the outset. More than 10 GWL Voices members participated in UNGA81 under the banner of Strengthening Multilateralism and Women’s Representation and Leadership, bringing this agenda into high-level discussions, side events, academic spaces and climate negotiations.

1. Renewal requires shared ownership, not just broader representation

UNGA81 showed strong support for multilateral cooperation, but also a clear demand to renew it.

For GWL Voices, the question is not only who is represented, but who helps shape decisions from the outset. At its flagship event, Who Gets to Shape the Global Conversation?, part of the Madam Secretary-General initiative, GWL Voices Co-founder Helen Clark noted that, unlike in 2016, two women now lead the indicative ballots for the next UN Secretary-General. GWL Voices President Susana Malcorra, however, warned that the goal is not a woman “for the sake of a woman,” but leadership capable of driving transformation while ensuring that half the world’s population is finally represented.

Binaifer Nowrojee framed the challenge in terms of power: “Power never concedes without a demand.” The same message ran through the launch of Words Matter, which showed how the language used in Security Council resolutions can determine whether women and girls are reflected in priorities, implementation and peace processes. As GWL Voices member Arancha González-Laya put it: “This cannot be a conversation of women talking to women about women we need to work with men and boys and making sure that at the end is about the solidity of democracy". Members Jan Beagle and Sigrid Kaag also participated in the event examining how terminology can influence political attention.

At the HER TURN Leadership Lab at Columbia University, students moved from inclusion to co-creation, developing concrete proposals for the next Secretary-General, Member States and young people. With the participation of Annalena Baerbock, former president of the UN General Assembly, GWL Voices member Carol Bellamy and the youth (including Jocast Samuel, UN youth fellows and Léa Tricaud) the Lab reinforced a central lesson: women, young people, civil society and the Global Majority must help shape multilateral agendas from the beginning—not be consulted after decisions have been made.

2. Representation matters but influence is the real test

Across UNGA81 and Climate Week, the distinction between being present and having influence emerged as a central concern.

The selection of the next UN Secretary-General represents a historic opportunity: for the first time, a woman has a real possibility of becoming Secretary-General. But the significance of that moment cannot rest solely on who occupies the position. As GWL Voices’ UNGA81 discussions emphasized, the question is whether a change in leadership can also change how decisions are made, who participates in shaping them and what priorities are placed at the centre of the multilateral agenda.

The same gap between representation and influence was particularly visible in global climate governance. GWL Voices Spotlight Report on Women in Global Climate and Environmental Leadership found that women’s representation decreases as influence increases. Women hold approximately 90% of national gender focal point positions, but only around one third of national focal points responsible for setting countries’ overall negotiating priorities. Across the seven institutions examined, women occupied top leadership positions for just 30.3% of the years between 1972 and 2025.

The implication is clear: having women in the room is necessary, but it is not sufficient.

This was also reflected in the HER TURN Intergenerational Dialogue on Climate, where students from Columbia Climate School and emerging leaders were invited not simply to discuss climate policy, but to question what is working, what is missing and what needs to change with GWL Voices Executive Director (a.i) Cristina Gallach and member Flavia Bustreo. The dialogue emphasized that young people should not be treated as future participants, but as actors already contributing to political and institutional debates.

In Her Turn, the Leadership Lab built on the Decalogue developed through the HER TURN Harvest, with young participants translating its principles into concrete action. They developed a list of actions based on the Decalogue, offering a practical reflection of young people’s priorities and proposals for the next UN Secretary-General and for a broader process of UN reform.

Representation becomes transformative when those represented have the power, resources and opportunities to shape priorities and outcomes.

3. The future of multilateralism will be measured by delivery

A consistent message throughout UNGA81 and Climate Week was clear: commitments must translate into action and implementation.

The credibility of multilateralism ultimately depends on whether it can turn political commitments into results. UNGA81 highlighted the need to make the system more capable of delivering, from peace and security to climate, technology and AI, health, development and economic resilience.

Climate governance offers a particularly clear test. As the global climate agenda moves from negotiation towards implementation, women must be at the centre of that transition. GWL Voices’ Climate Week discussion highlighted the need for measurable gender targets in climate finance, stronger gender-responsive data and greater attention to the connection between climate negotiations and implementation.

Mary Robinson, GWL Voices member, argued that women’s participation is a condition for effective climate action: “When women lead, stronger action follows… Women’s participation in climate leadership is not a quota; it’s a condition for climate action that changes people’s lives.” She identified just transition, gender-responsive data and fair finance as priorities for the next phase of implementation.

The same principle shaped the HER TURN Leadership Lab. Participants were asked to translate principles into practical proposals, focusing on participation, prevention and coalition-building. Their work underscored that inclusive leadership is not simply about creating new structures, but about strengthening existing coalitions and ensuring that participation leads to concrete action.

This is particularly important for the next generation. Young people are already shaping political and social change, and their participation must move beyond consultation towards genuine influence over decisions that will determine their future.