“We the people (in the UN charter) is not we the men,” sighed UN chief Antonio Guterres at the inaugural meeting of the 78th session as he looked upon an almost all-male audience. That most of the visiting delegations from as many as 193 countries around the world could not find able women while finalising their members is appalling. No qualms about that. What to say about the masses when those who routinely raise the banner of female empowerment fail to walk the talk themselves when expected to cultivate a new breed of women leaders or at least show some willingness to pass the baton? Pakistan is no exception as the caretaker prime minister is said to have taken along all the king’s men but none of the king’s women to represent his country at the UN General Assembly. That women have made significant progress in recent years in terms of breaking through the glass ceiling and achieving leadership positions cannot be emphasised enough. Taking great pride in the Muslim world’s first female prime minister, Pakistan loves to boast about its support of women as agents of change. However, we cannot close our eyes to the long list of challenges that women face; making it incredibly difficult for them to shine through. Even today, a baffling gender bias that paints women as fragile and men as assertive and dominant continues to reign supreme. Despite being equally qualified and experienced, these patriarchal notions make it more difficult for women to be considered for leadership roles or impact their ability to climb through the ranks. “We the people,” a commonly-used expression includes all people of the international community of nations but the successes of those deliberately pushing half its members are a reminder that equality is still a work in progress. Women have fought for far too long for inclusion: from suffragettes to marches against misogynistic customs like Satti to the more recent Aurat marches. They should not be made to fight yet another battle to secure their seats in an organisation that embraces them as its own. *