“Honouring Women of the African Union: Voices, Work and Community”

• H.E. MAHMOUD ALI YOUSSOUF, Chairperson of the African Union Commission,
• H.E. Ms Lerato Dorothy Mataboge, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy,
• H.E. Ambassador Liberata Mulamula, Special Envoy for Women, Peace and Security,
• Distinguished ladies Directors, Deputy Chief of Staff - CDCP, Vice President of the Staff Association,
• My dear sisters across every department, every directorate, every function of this Commission, across all generations,
• And my dear brothers, Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff - CCP, , Director, President of the Staff Association, and colleagues also present in this room today,

Welcome to this celebration of International Women's Day to pay tribute to the women of this institution.

An institution once dreamed about by the likes of Fatia Bettahar, Phoebe Asiyo, Fathia Nkrumah, Maria Ruth Neto, Nima BA, Albertina Sisulu, Joyce Mpanga, Maria Nyerere, Betty Kaunda, Yodit Imru and many more of our founding mothers.

Women on whose shoulders we stand today to be able to proudly say that, “that institution they once dreamed of”, is today a pioneer that was the first to institutionalise equal representation for women among its peers.

An institution where women represent 37% of the workforce, including 38% of senior leadership positions. An institution where women play an important role, daily, in advancing the development agenda of our continent.

The Africa we want to build outward must indeed first be practised here, within these walls.

And so, to each and every woman in the African Union system: Your work matters. Not as a courtesy. Not as a footnote. But as an essential and indispensable contribution to our Union.

We celebrate you.
We celebrate the leaders who guide our policies and programmes.
We celebrate the young professionals whose talent and ambition shape the future of our Union and indeed of our continent.
We celebrate the mothers who balance professional responsibilities with family life.

And we celebrate and honor the women across every level of this institution - cleaners, gardeners, administrative assistants, security officers, translators, technical staff, as well as our interns and youth volunteers - whose work remains essential and indispensable to the functioning of the African Union.

My dear sisters,

We come from fifty-five member states. Different languages. Different cultures. Different paths. Some of us have been in this institution for many years. Some are just beginning.

And yet we are held together by something deeper than all of that. The Pan-African spirit of Ubuntu: I am because you are.

This spirit must be visible in how we treat one another. In whether senior women create genuine space for the women coming behind them. In whether there is dignity, solidarity and care in how we work with one another across ranks, across functions, across the lines that institutional hierarchy sometimes draws between us.

There is a proverb that echoes across many of our traditions. It says: a single bracelet does not jingle. It takes many, moving together, to make music.

That is us. That is this room.

The solidarity we want for women across this continent must begin inside the walls of our institution. We cannot credibly champion women's rights and justice across fifty-five member states if we do not first practise justice, dignity and care for one another within these walls. This endeavour is incomplete unless joined and genuinely supported by our brothers, at all levels.

Dear Colleagues,

This year’s theme, “Honouring Women of the African Union: Voices, Work and Community,” invites us to listen to one another and to strengthen our sense of community across the institutions of the Union.

It reminds us that our Union grows stronger when every voice is heard, when every contribution is valued, and when our workplace reflects the principles of fairness, inclusion and mutual respect.

The African Union continues to demonstrate leadership in advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment across the continent.

Equally, we continue to advance efforts that promote a supportive and enabling workplace for women, including initiatives that respond to the needs of working families, such as the daycare centre initiative led by the Medical Services Directorate, to strengthen staff wellbeing mechanisms and ensure that the African Union Commission remains a workplace where all colleagues feel valued, respected, protected and empowered.

Our goal is clear: to build an institution that reflects the values we promote across our continent - equality, respect, inclusion and shared responsibility.

Dear sisters and colleagues,

Allow me again to thank you for your dedication, your resilience and your continued contribution to the work of the African Union.

I now have the distinct honour to invite H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, to deliver his statement on the occasion of the International Women’s Day 2026.

But before that, allow me to share a testimony about our Chairperson and brother’s leadership in supporting us. A support that I have experienced myself since assuming office. A genuine commitment to create the conditions for equal opportunities and to support women’s empowerment and leadership in our institution and above all a constant humane leadership.

Thank you.