Time & Perspective Quote by Xavier Espot Zamora

“The time has come” is the polished impatience of institutional politics: a phrase that pretends inevitability while quietly admitting delay. Xavier Espot Zamora, speaking as a sitting minister, isn’t just endorsing gender parity in the abstract. He’s applying pressure to a system that prefers to treat representation as a future aspiration rather than a present obligation. The line works because it’s framed as overdue common sense, not a radical demand. That’s a strategic move in diplomatic spaces where moral urgency often gets translated into procedural caution.

The specificity matters: “a woman as the Secretary General of this Organization” points to the very top job, the symbolic crown of bureaucratic power. He’s not celebrating incrementalism; he’s arguing that the glass ceiling has become embarrassing. The subtext is that merit has long been defined in ways that conveniently mirror the people already in charge. By making the ask about leadership, not just participation, he’s challenging the quiet belief that women can staff the institution without embodying it.

There’s also a pragmatic layer. Small-state leaders like Espot Zamora often punch above their weight by staking out values-forward positions that cost little materially but earn credibility. Advocating a woman Secretary General signals modernity, aligns with broader European norms, and gently corners larger members: if everyone agrees it’s “time”, who, exactly, keeps postponing it? The sentence is diplomacy with teeth hidden in the etiquette.