Greater efforts needed to achieve gender equality: Lithuania

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite on Thursday used her address to the United Nations to call for much greater coordinated efforts to achieve global gender equality.

"Gender equality issues are rarely associated with overcoming the economic crisis or stopping climate change," the president said as she was addressing the general debate of the UN General Assembly which opened here on Thursday morning at the UN Headquarters in New York.

"However, it has been estimated that the elimination of gender discrimination in the labour market could increase the GDP (gross domestic product) by as much as 30 percent," the president said.

Grybauskaite said that gender equality on a global scale will only become possible when a certain level of security and economic development has been achieved.

"Let us put all our efforts together to eradicate intolerance and discrimination which so often are the main reasons for so many conflicts in the world," she said.

"Security, environment and gender equality -- all are interdependent. And all need to be adequately addressed on the international agenda. It is a prerequisite for ensuring sustainable development."

Source: Xinhua