Rhetorical Analysis of Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s [former Liberian senator, president, and Nobel Peace prize winner who advocates for women empowerment and equality] “Remarks at the UN General Assembly” (2015), argues that while there has been some progress in gender equality, it is slow-moving, and people must take action to make substantial advancements in equal rights and opportunities for women. With a celebratory tone at the beginning of her speech and elevated, scholarly diction throughout, Sirleaf emphasizes the importance of actively working towards gender equity. By utilizing these methods, Sirleaf urges people to take initiative in society to support and develop an imperative change in women’s roles, rights, and freedoms. As the first woman elected to lead an African nation, Sirleaf is a credible speaker who forms a trustworthy relationship with her audience, the entire world, persuading individuals to stand up for women’s empowerment.

Initially, Sirleaf employs a celebratory tone to highlight the slight growth in gender equity and to suggest that improvements must occur at a faster rate. For instance, she joyously declares that “[she] could do no less than respond favorably to join [her audience] and the women of the world in this truly monumental year” (Sirleaf 1). Sirleaf begins her speech by labeling the past year as productive in making progress towards equality to later emphasize that this progress is unsubstantial. Her ceremonial, cheery tone commemorates minor advancements in female empowerment and contrasts her intense desire for colossal change. Similarly, she acknowledges that “progress has been made… more girls are educated, rural women have found their voices, more women hold professional positions, more women are chief executives, more women are in parliament…more women are vying for high political office and some [women] have finally broken the glass ceiling” (Sirleaf 1). Sirleaf identifies the reduction of inequality and provides examples of improvements made. However, she utilizes this triumphal tone to suggest that the world is just beginning to enhance gender equity and must continue to advocate for women’s rights. Essentially, Sirleaf implements a celebratory tone to propose that people must accelerate the process of equipping women with power and liberty to form an equal society. 

Moreover, Sirleaf generates an academic, formal diction by applying statistics and using large, eloquent words, which assists in persuading people to support her claim and fight for equality. For instance, Sirleaf announces that the expected time it will take to resolve gender inequity in society is “a clear manifestation of an unjust world” and people must “hold international meetings, issue communiqués, and declarations” to resolve this inequality promptly (Sirleaf 1). She demonstrates that society must take action to efficiently improve the status of women by implementing powerful word choices that establish herself as a credible, reliable informant. Sirleaf acknowledges that her audience is intelligent and educated; therefore, she employs an elevated vocabulary to exhibit her claim and become a persuasive speaker. Additionally, Sirleaf informs that “it will take 81 years to achieve gender equity in the workplace where the highest echelon remains largely male, and it will take 75 years to reach remuneration between men and women for work of equal value and more than 30 to reach gender balance in decision making” (Sirleaf 1). She influences the world to advocate for the hastening of equality by providing statistics about unequal opportunities for women. Sirleaf effectively delivers her claim by providing evidence about the existing struggles and barriers women face in society. Likewise, Sirleaf elucidates that “women leaders have said unequivocally, it is time for equality and have issued a call for action” (Sirleaf 1). While conveying that the time for action is now, she utilizes extensive vocabulary to validate her beliefs and encourage the world to alter the societal status of women. She successfully advocates for increased education and advanced roles for women by indicating her educational levels with formal word choices. Chiefly, Sirleaf convinces people to support women’s empowerment and aid in the development of gender equity by exercising elevated, academic diction.

Principally, Sirleaf suggests that the world must act to ensure considerable advancements in gender equity through her use of a triumphal tone and scholarly diction. Initially, Sirleaf employs a celebratory tone to describe minor improvements in the societal status of women and emphasize the necessity for this growth to accelerate. Additionally, she uses scholarly diction with broad, eloquent vocabulary and statistical evidence to persuade people to fight for women’s rights and to justify herself as a reliable speaker. Ultimately, Sirleaf applies elevated diction and a rejoiceful tone to successfully persuade society to take initiative in resolving gender inequality.