Wonder Woman has long been recognized as the global icon representing justice, peace and equality, and now, the United Nations has made the DC Super Hero an Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls.
The appointment was announced by the United Nations at a ceremony also attended by Lynda Carter, who played Wonder Woman in the beloved 1970s television series, and Gal Gadot, who will star in next year’s feature film, Wonder Woman. Joining them were Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, part of Warner Bros. Entertainment, and Wonder Woman film director Patty Jenkins.
“While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality, in many parts of the world, women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence. Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but also a foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world,” said UN Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, Cristina Gallach, “…and Wonder Woman will be another valuable partner for us to achieve such a world by inspiring her millions of fans worldwide to stand up for gender equality.”
In this new role, the Super Hero, who celebrates her 75th anniversary today, will move beyond battling Super-Villains and help promote the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goal #5, which focuses on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls as a critical component of a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
“The Sustainable Development Goals are among the most ambitious adopted by the UN and require the widest awareness and support not only among governments,” continued Ms. Gallach, “but also among peoples of the world. Wonder Woman will help us reach a broad audience to stand up for action on improving gender equality.”
Whether they know her from comic books, television, video games, animation or film, people around the world have come to recognize Wonder Woman as much more than just a powerful daughter of the gods.
“The greatest honor and responsibility of playing Wonder Woman was serving as a role model for fans around the world, particularly girls,” said Carter. “I’ve seen first-hand how a powerful yet compassionate superhero can inspire women to believe in themselves and men to support equality.”
Despite many gains made in the fight for equality, one in three women still experience gender-based violence and 60% of the world’s illiterate are female. In collaboration with the U.N., DC and Warner Bros. will use multiple media platforms to spread awareness about the challenge and the steps both men and women can take to support a more just world that lives up to the ideals of Wonder Woman.
“Supporting the United Nations’ campaign for female empowerment is a weighty responsibility and one that all of us at DC and Warner Bros. are proud to take on,” said Nelson. “Wonder Woman has always been a trailblazer for women’s rights and we believe she can continue that legacy by expanding and deepening the dialogue around these critical issues.”
In support of this campaign, DC will publish a special comic book in 2017 with Wonder Woman carrying forth the positive message of empowering women and girls. In a first for the company, the comic book will simultaneously be published in the six official languages of the U.N.: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
DC and Warner Bros. will develop special messaging supporting the U.N.’s initiative across a variety of studio platforms, channels and activities, including their “DC Super Hero Girls” graphic novels, television movie and toys.
The studio will also produce a special PSA featuring Gal Gadot in support of Sustainable Development Goal #5.
To celebrate the event, Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot participated in a Facebook Live event, which you can watch below.
