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The problem with populist gender equality-by-numbers

It’s important to have more women in public and political debates. But having a seat at the table isn’t the same thing as being heard.

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Photo by Violaine Martin/UN Geneva/Flickr. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Some rights reserved.

Henrietta H. Fore, new UNICEF Executive Director briefs the press, Palais des Nations in January 2018. Photo by Violaine Martin/UN Geneva/Flickr. (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) Some rights reserved.

In November 2017, I attended the Council of Europe’s World Forum for Democracy, in Strasbourg, France, as a youth delegate. At the event, I started to count the number of women and men represented among the 123 speakers, moderators, and rapporteurs.