{"id":12103,"date":"2015-09-16T11:09:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T10:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/the-ndc-welcomes-ambassador-marrit-schuurman\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T09:12:46","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T08:12:46","slug":"the-ndc-welcomes-ambassador-marrit-schuurman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/the-ndc-welcomes-ambassador-marrit-schuurman\/","title":{"rendered":"The NDC welcomes Ambassador Marriët Schuurman"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ambassador
Ambassador Marriët Schuurman addresses Senior Course 127, NDC Faculty and Staff.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

On 16 September 2015, the NATO Defense College had the pleasure of welcoming Ambassador Marriët Schuurman, the NATO Secretary General\u2019s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security.<\/p>\n

Upon arrival, Ambassador Schuurman was welcomed by NDC Commandant MajGen Janusz Bojarski (POL F) and the Dean Dr Daria Daniels Skodnik (SVN C). The Ambassador then received an update on College activities during her office call with the Commandant, before attending a lecture in the Maynard-Thorn Auditorium on \u201cThe significance of Economics for Security and Stability\u201d by NATO\u2019s former Senior Defence Economist Adrian Kendry. <\/p>\n

During her visit, Ambassador Schuurman delivered a lecture entitled \u201cWomen, Peace and Security in NATO-led Operations\u201d. The lecture, addressed to Senior Course 127, NDC authorities, Faculty and Staff, was followed by a question and answer session. Dr Daniels Skodnik introduced the speaker and offered concluding remarks.<\/p>\n

The Ambassador\u2019s visit was a unique opportunity for the NDC to be apprised of recent developments in gender equality.<\/p>\n

Gender inequality remains one of the most prevalent forms of human rights violations today. Decades of effort and awareness-raising have only been partially successful in eradicating the gap between men and women, and boys and girls across the globe. Amongst the most severe restrictions that continue to shackle women in different regions are forced marriage, the lack of mobility, restricted ownership of land, limited access to education, clothing requirements, sexual subjugation and female infanticide. These issues tend to be more critical in regions such as East Asia, the Middle East as well as Sub-Saharan and Central Africa. Nevertheless, even the most developed countries which are perceived as being the most advanced in gender equality issues still experience difficulties in closing the gap. <\/p>\n

The workplace and the home are the main areas where women are discriminated against. Women tend to be disadvantaged in terms of salary and career development. For instance, women in the EU earn on average 16% less than their male counterparts according to a report published in 20141<\/sup><\/a>. Moreover, in countries like Portugal and Hungary the gender pay gap is not only high (over 20%) but it is increasing. In addition, on both sides of the Atlantic women are often expected to juggle tasks between the workplace and the home. <\/p>\n

One of the recent campaigns attempting to tackle the issue of gender inequality is the \u2018HeForShe\u2019 solidarity movement launched by UN Women. The initiative is supported by NATO authorities, who have endorsed the campaign in order to demonstrate the Alliance\u2019s strong commitment to eradicating inequality. Instead of focusing solely on women\u2019s efforts to address the issue, the \u2018HeForShe\u2019 campaign broadens the narrative to encourage men to take a stand as well. The \u2018HeForShe\u2019 campaign strives to encourage men and boys to be stakeholders and advocates, taking action and raising their voice in support of gender equality.<\/p>\n

The NATO Defense College is fully aware of the challenges posed by gender inequality. It is committed to taking proactive steps in order to raise awareness and alleviate the problem. Vox Collegii, the magazine of the NDC has repeatedly featured a special section on \u201cNATO & Gender\u201d over the past two years. Likewise, the NDC\u2019s commitment to recruiting and retaining a diverse and talented workforce is highlighted by the fact that the number two position \u2013 Dean – is currently held by Dr Daria Daniels Skodnik \u2013 the first woman Dean in the College\u2019s near 65-year history. <\/p>\n

Ambassador Marriët Schuurman was appointed the NATO Secretary General\u2019s Special Representative for Women, Peace and Security in October 2014. She holds a Master\u2019s degree in Translation Studies from the University of Amsterdam with a minor in Law. Ambassador Schuurman is a career diplomat. Prior to her nomination as Special Representative, Ambassador Schuurman was the representative of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.2<\/sup><\/a> <\/p>\n

Ambassador Schuurman also served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Head of Cooperation to the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Sudan and she held the position of Head of the Great Lakes Unit in the Sub-Sahara Africa Department. Previous appointments include Country Economist and Deputy Head of Cooperation in the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Lusaka, Humanitarian Assistance Officer in the Ministry\u2019s Western Balkans Taskforce and political officer in the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Moscow.<\/p>\n

1.<\/sup>Tackling the gender pay gap in the European Union, European Commission, Directorate-General for Justice. 2014, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union<\/a><\/p>\n

2.<\/sup>Turkey recognizes the Republic of Macedonia with its constitutional name.<\/a><\/p>\n

NDC Public Affairs Office

\n(prepared by Miss Jana Dekanovska, CZE C)
\n<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ambassador Marriët Schuurman addresses Senior Course 127, NDC Faculty and Staff. On 16 September 2015, the NATO Defense<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","editor_plus_copied_stylings":"{}","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"post_badge":[],"class_list":["post-12103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"NDC","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/author\/admin_3rwqf6tj\/"},"modified_by":null,"author_meta":{"display_name":"NDC","author_link":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/author\/admin_3rwqf6tj\/"},"featured_img":null,"featured_image_urls":{"full":"","thumbnail":"","medium":"","medium_large":"","large":"","1536x1536":"","2048x2048":"","trp-custom-language-flag":"","morenews-featured":"","morenews-large":"","morenews-medium":""},"category_info":"News<\/a>","tag_info":"News","comment_count":0,"coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["News<\/a>"],"unlinked":["News<\/span>"]}},"relative_dates":{"created":"Publi\u00e9 11 ans il y a","modified":"Mis \u00e0 jour 6 mois il y a"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Publi\u00e9 le septembre 16, 2015","modified":"Mise \u00e0 jour le janvier 15, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Publi\u00e9 le septembre 16, 2015 11:09","modified":"Mise \u00e0 jour le janvier 15, 2026 09:12"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12103\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12103"},{"taxonomy":"post_badge","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ndc.nato.int\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_badge?post=12103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}