The 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will open on 8 September 2026. Amid a record number of conflicts, stalled progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and an organized backlash on the rights of women and girls, realizing the rights of all women and girls is more important than ever. UN Women is calling for urgent action: The multilateral system cannot deliver peace, development, or rights for anyone while women do not have equal access to power.
On 17 September 2026, UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) will launch via a press conference the landmark 2026 Gender Snapshot. The report – the world’s leading source of data on gender equality and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – finds that, in 2026, women’s leadership is failing to advance globally, and is reversing, at various levels of power, in many countries.
The report comes ahead of the UNGA High-Level Week (22-26 September), when Heads of State and Government, ministers, and civil society leaders gather in New York, and as Member States embark on the process of selecting the tenth United Nations Secretary-General – a position no woman has held in the UN’s 81-year history.
Key events
UNGA81 Media report launch: “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2026”
When: 17 September 2026, 12.30 p.m. EDT
Where: UN Headquarters, New York, Press Briefing Room S-237
