China's tennis star Zheng Jie has been named a Promoter of Gender Equality as part of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's partnership with UNESCO.
"I am truly honored to be serving as a Promoter of Gender Equality, especially being the first one from China," said Zheng. "I take the job as a role model very seriously, and I am looking forward to helping young girls and women in my country and around the world to gain better opportunities to succeed in whatever they wish to do. Not only through my efforts as a tennis player, but also because of my passion for women's rights, I hope that I can make a difference on this very important issue."
In this role she joins fellow Sony Ericsson WTA Tour stars Venus Williams and Tatiana Golovin, who were previously named as Promoters of Gender Equality for the program in November 2006 and May 2007, respectively. In her new role as a promoter of gender equality, Zheng will raise awareness of gender quality issues at both a national and global level, and have a direct involvement in women's leadership programs to be developed in China and internationally through the UNESCO-Sony Ericsson WTA Tour partnership.
"I am very happy to announce today that Ms Zheng Jie is being designated as the third UNESCO Promoter of Gender Equality within the framework of the UNESCO-Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Partnership for Gender Equality, joining Ms Venus Williams and Ms Tatiana Golovin," said UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura. "These accomplished young women serve as leaders and role models for women and girls around the world, sending a singularly important message: gender equality is not an outdated, impossible dream, but a goal that can and must be realized in order for us to achieve peace and sustainable development."
