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Status of women by nationality and level in the United Nations System

This brief analysis provides information on the status of women in the United Nations system by nationality and level as of 31 December 2007. Data was collected from all 31 United Nations entities, and includes staff in the Professional and higher categories and in the General Service and related categories with appointments of one year or more. The representation of women stood at 41.8 per cent (30,358 out of 72,640) at all levels and included all represented nationalities (196). Overall, 74 countries (37.8 per cent) had representation of women of 50 per cent and above, 53 countries (27 per cent) fell within the range of 40-49 per cent, 36 countries (18.4 per cent) fell within the range of 30-39 per cent, and 33 countries (16.8 per cent) had women represented below 30 per cent.

Director level and above

The representation of women at the Director level and above stood at 27.3 per cent (701 out of 2,569) and included 159 nationalities. Regarding the proportions of women, 27 countries (17 per cent) had representation of women of 50 per cent and above, 12 countries (7.5 per cent) fell within the range of 40-49 per cent, 21 countries (13.2 per cent) fell within the range 30-39 per cent, and 99 countries (62.3 per cent) had women represented below 30 per cent. Among the latter, almost half of the countries1 (45 out of 99) did not have any women represented at the Director level and above. This calls for intensive efforts to recruit, appoint, and promote qualified women to senior positions, particularly women from countries with no or low representation of women.

In terms of the actual number of women by nationality, the top ten countries are the United States (114), the United Kingdom (38), Canada (35), France (31), Germany (30), Japan (21), Sweden (18), India (17), Italy (17), and Belgium (13). Among these countries, none had a percentage of women of 50 or more, one (Sweden, 47.4 per cent) fell within the range of 40-49 per cent, four (United States, 38.1 per cent; Japan, 36.2 per cent; Canada, 33.7 per cent; Germany, 33 per cent) fell within the range of 30-39 per cent, and five (France, 23.3 per cent; India, 23.3 per cent; Belgium, 22.8 per cent; Italy, 22.1 per cent; United Kingdom, 21.2 per cent) fell below 30 per cent.

Professional and higher categories

The representation of women in the Professional and higher categories stood at 38.4 per cent (9,393 out of 24,461) and included 193 nationalities. In these categories, 46 countries (23.8 per cent) had proportions of women of 50 per cent and above, 38 countries (19.7 per cent) fell within the range of 40-49 per cent, 46 countries (23.8 per cent) fell within the range 30-39 per cent, and 63 countries (32.6 per cent) had representation of women below 30 per cent. Nine countries2 did not have any women represented in the Professional and higher categories. Although the difference is not as marked as at the Director level and above, serious actions for increasing the representation of women from countries with low representation of women in the Professional and higher categories are needed.

With respect to the actual number of women by nationality, the top ten countries are the United States (1,090), France (679), the United Kingdom (470), Italy (413), Canada (405), Germany (395), Japan (381), Spain (273), Sweden (182), and Kenya (180). Among these countries, two (Japan, 55.6 per cent; Sweden, 55.3 per cent) had a percentage of women of 50 or more, seven (Spain, 48.9 per cent; Kenya, 47.9 per cent; United States, 47.1 per cent; Germany, 44.5 per cent; France, 43.3 per cent; Canada, 41.7 per cent; Italy, 41.3 per cent) fell within the range of 40-49 per cent, one (United Kingdom, 36.2 per cent) fell within the range of 30-39 per cent, and none fell below 30 per cent.

General Service and related categories

The representation of women in the General Service and related categories stood at 43.5 per cent (20,965 out of 48,179) and including 190 represented nationalities. 94 countries (48.7 per cent) had a representation of women of 50 per cent and above in these categories whereas 45 countries (23.3 per cent) fell within the range of 40-49 per cent, 29 countries (15 per cent) fell within the range 30-39 per cent, and 22 countries (11 per cent) had a representation of women below 30 per cent. These numbers depict a better picture of the situation of women by nationality in the General Service and related categories. However, it is important to note that contrary to popular thinking, gender balance of 50/50 in these categories (43.5 per cent) has not yet been reached in the United Nations system.

In conclusion, the status of women by nationality and level seems to mirror the status of women in the United Nations system in general. Indeed, the fact that the number of countries with lower representation of women is larger in the senior positions than in the other categories of staff (Professional and General Service) supports the existence of a negative correlation between level and representation of women, i.e. the higher the level, the lower the representation of women. However, a more detailed analysis of the representation of women by nationality for each level is needed in order to find out other underlying issues or positive trends, and to determine which levels and nationalities should be targeted in terms of recruitment and selection of women.

 

Gender distribution of all staff (P1 to USG and GS) by nationality and level at Headquarters, other established offices and project posts, with appointments of one year or more, as at 31 December 2007

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UN Agency/
Entity
All Staff
(P1 to USG and GS)

USG
(D level and above)

Professional Level
(P level and above)
Summary
FAO
IAEA
ICAO *
ICJ
ICSC
IFAD
ILO
IMO
ITC
ITCILO
ITU
PAHO
UN
UNAIDS
UNDP
UNESCO
UNFPA
UNHCR
UNICEF
UNIDO
UNITAR
UNJSPF
UNOPS
UNWRA
UNU
UNWTO
UPU
WFP
WHO
WIPO
WMO


1 Countries with no representation of women at the Director level and above: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Armenia, Bahamas, Belarus, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Cyprus, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Gabon, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Macedonia (FYR), Malawi, Maldives, Malta, Mongolia, Namibia, Oman, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Samoa, Seychelles, Slovenia, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tonga, Ukraine, Zambia, Stateless.    

2 Countries with no representation of women in the Professional and higher categories: Kosovo, Kuwait, Micronesia (Federated States), Qatar, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.