SADC Executive Secretary H.E. Dr. Stergomena Lawrence Tax today wished SADC Secretariat staff and their families a happy and commemorative International Women's Day. Dr. Tax also thanked male employees for supporting female employees in discharging their duties with dedication and commitment.
In a memo to Secretariat staff on the occasion of commemorating International Women's Day today, Dr. Tax said "As we commemorate this very important day, I wish to remind ourselves that empowering women is empowering humanity as women are the backbones of our economies and pillars of our economic productivity. Since women make up the majority of the poorest in the SADC region, there is no doubt that their empowerment will make a difference in addressing poverty and reaching the set targets of poverty reduction/eradication".
The Executive Secretary noted that "It is therefore important that we should endeavour to integrate a gender perspective in our different policies, programmes and activities across all sectors of regional integration so that we can realize the SADC vision of ensuring economic well-being and improvement of the standards of living and quality of life of the people of Southern Africa."
