The 21st century must be the century of women's equality, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday evening, in a call to transform the world by ensuring equal participation for all.

Addressing the faculty and students at The New School, a university in New York City, the UN chief declared himself a proud feminist and called for men everywhere to support women's rights.

"Just as slavery and colonialism were a stain on previous centuries, women's inequality should shame us all in the 21st. Because it is not only unacceptable, it is stupid," he said.

For the UN chief, gender inequality and discrimination against women and girls remains an overwhelming injustice across the globe.

"From the ridiculing of women as hysterical or hormonal, to the routine judgement of women based on their looks; from the myths and taboos that surround women's natural bodily functions, to mansplaining and victim-blaming - misogyny is everywhere," he said.

At the heart of the issue is power, as male-dominated power structures underpin everything from national economies, to political systems, to the corporate world and beyond, he noted.

He pointed out that patriarchy, however, also has an impact on men and boys, trapping them in rigid gender stereotypes, declaring that a systemic change is long overdue.

"It is time to stop trying to change women, and start changing the systems that prevent them from achieving their potential. Our power structures have evolved gradually over thousands of years. One further evolution is long overdue. The 21st century must be the century of women's equality," he said.

Dismantling gender inequality is critical to solving intractable global challenges such as conflict and violence, and the climate crisis, the UN chief stated.

It also will help close the digital divide, lead to fairer globalization, and increase political representation.

"The opportunity of man-made problems -- and I choose these words deliberately -- is that they have human-led solutions," he said.

As the UN turns 75 this year, the global body is taking greater action to support women's rights, he added.

The UN chief pledged to deepen his commitment to highlighting and supporting gender equality over the remainder of his mandate. 

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