Ann Keeling

Ann’s international career in women’s rights, social development and global health has included posts in Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Caribbean, Belgium, USA and UK, and assignments in 70 countries. She has worked with governments, United Nations agencies and not-for-profit organisations on global negotiations and policy development to drive human rights, equality and social justice. As head of gender equality policy in the Government Equalities Office she oversaw early development of the 2010 Equality Act. She has served on numerous boards and stepped down recently after seven years building the non-profit movement Women in Global Health. 

“Sex – female or male – is stamped on our DNA long before we are born and it matters. Sex is the reason 125 million women are ‘missing’ from the world today, aborted because they were female or neglected after birth because they were born girls. If we deny that sex matters, we deny the widespread discrimination and human-rights abuses against women and girls on the basis of their sex. A civilised world fixes and does not tolerate such sex-based rights abuses.”