A/HRC/30/70 Prime Minister, several government ministers, a speaker of parliament and an opposition leader. Citing articles 7 and 8 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, she stressed the need to ensure equality in all spheres of life, including in the family and the workplace, as well as to ensure equal opportunity in education, health and security. Reference was also made to general recommendation No. 23 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, which called on Governments to lead and guide public opinion and change attitudes that discriminated against women or discouraged women’s involvement in political and public life. 45. Ms. Akhter said that in Bangladesh the mindset of men needed to be changed to address these discriminatory and discouraging attitudes. She stressed that terrorism in the name of religion was an important challenge to women’s participation in politics and the economy. Bangladesh had instituted a quota system for women’s representation in parliament since 1973; currently, 50 seats were reserved for women and 20 of 300 parliamentary seats were occupied by women who had been directly elected to fill those seats. However, Ms. Akhter highlighted that although the Constitution of Bangladesh guaranteed equal rights for women, this was not always evident in all spheres of life. 46. She pointed out the importance of achieving equality in local government and the need to build the capacities of women at the local level. She called on everyone to take positive initiatives, including at the grassroots level, to change the mindset of men, to ensure that women could work together with men on an equal basis, and to empower young women with the goal of achieving equality. 47. Citing her own experience, Ms. Falolou highlighted the importance of the role that women leaders had played as role models in shaping her own personal development as a leader. One such role model has been Ms. Marie-Elise Gbedo, formerly Minister of Justice and Minister of Commerce of Benin and an accomplished businesswoman, lawyer and politician, in addition to being a courageous and tenacious advocate for women’s rights. Ms. Falolou also paid tribute to YWCA and its work to promote women’s leadership and empowerment. 48. As a youth educator and coordinator of YWCA Benin, Ms. Falolou described her work in training young women and girls to be future leaders, as well as engaging with teachers, parents, local authorities, religious leaders, Parliament and the Government through workshops and other activities. At the international level, she continued to participate in numerous workshops, training courses, forums and conferences representing African youth and engaging policymakers. 49. She highlighted the various barriers to women’s participation, which included attitudes, discriminatory laws and practices, the persistence of sociocultural stereotypes, and family and childcare responsibilities. Without the active participation of women and the inclusion of their views at all levels of decision-making, she said that the goals of equality, development and peace could not be achieved. 50. She said that women must have the courage to challenge cultural barriers, be confident and dare to be different, set life goals and the means to achieve them, be better informed about legislation, have the ambition to gain access to positions of responsibility and believe in their potential. In conclusion, she said that the most important determinant of women’s participation in economic and political decision-making was education, citing the African proverb: “If you educate a boy, you train a man. If you educate a girl, you train a village”. 51. Ms. Ollier observed that the venture capital industry was a world dominated by men and an area where men held 90 per cent of the decision-making posts. Although gender stereotypes did exist and attitudes tended to be masculine and aggressive—which often made it difficult for men to incorporate women in this area—one of the challenges were the 10