Background

The goal of gender parity at all levels in the UN is a commitment that is now two decades old and is reflective of core values that are as old as the Organization itself. While fundamentally a right, parity is increasingly necessary to the UN’s efficiency, impact and credibility. Greater diversity is directly correlated in both public and private sectors with significant gains in operational effectiveness and efficiency. This is particularly important as the UN is being asked to do more with less while increasing impact in all quarters. Across the three pillars, the impact of an inclusive workforce on the UN’s ability to deliver on its mandates is clear. In the area of development, research shows that bringing more women into the labor force would unlock trillions of dollars for developing economies. In human rights, there is no greater protection mechanism for women’s rights than empowerment. And in peace and security women’s meaningful participation has a direct impact on the sustainability of peace, an assertion that is quantifiable. ^[1]  Moreover, for the UN, parity is critical to its credibility as a standard bearer, is an imperative requested by Member States and is reflected in a number of GA resolutions.

At the start of 2017, the picture across the Organization was a mixed one. The Secretary General’s global senior leadership team at the USG and ASG levels across the Secretariat (including Regional Commissions, Special Political and Peacekeeping Missions), Funds and Programmes, Research and Training and Other Entities, and Special Envoys and Advisers comprises 29% women and 71% men. There has been significant progress in some areas. Since 1 January 2017, the Secretary-General has appointed 32 leaders to the SMG (17 women and 15 men), bringing the composition closer to parity with a breakdown of 44% women and 56% men. ^[2]  While there were only 2% female heads or deputy heads of Peace Operations missions in 2006, women currently comprise 25% of the senior leadership missions.

More generally, while only five entities have achieved parity at the professional level and higher, most entities are within only ten percentage points of making parity a reality. But the aggregate figures mas the stark under-representation of women in some of the most visible and critical categories: leadership and senior management, and in the fields, particularly in conflict-affected settings where the UN plays a more prominent role. In particular: there is an inverse relationship across the system between seniority and women’s representation – the higher the grade, the larger the gap in gender parity; the gap to parity is wider in the Secretariat than the rest pf the system at all levels; and the most stark and difficult to address gaps persist in peace operations. The rate of change has also been much too slow, with some levels showing almost no progress in a decade.

Upon taking office, the Secretary-General made a commitment to reach parity at the senior leadership level, including USGs, ASGs, SRSGs and Special Envoys, by the end of 2021, and parity across the Organization ‘well before 2030’. In January 2017 the issue of gender parity was placed as an agenda item of the first Executive Committee meeting and a decision was made to launch a system-wide task force to develop a strategy to realize this commitment and to detail a clear roadmap with benchmarks and timeframes. Between February and April, the Task Force, comprised of approximately 30 entities across the Organization, worked across five working groups to document good practice, review existing policies and past reports and formulate key recommendations. ^[3] The draft strategy that resulted was then presented for consultations across the system, including with Staff Unions, Senior Management Group, Chiefs of the Chief Executive Board for Coordination, and the Human Resources Network as well as bilaterally with a number of senior officials. The resulting feedback was used to revise the strategy for finalization.

While much of the reform and action to successfully achieve this goal will need to happen within entities, missions, and departments themselves, a holistic strategy for the whole UN is needed. This system-wide strategy should form the basis for the revision or creation of entity-specific implementation plans which are informed by the specific context, challenges, and starting point of each entity. The strategy paper is a result of a consultative and inclusive process across secretariat, funds, programmes, specialized agencies and other. The focus is on establishing ambitious, realistic and customized targets and providing bold and targeted recommendations to accelerate change, including encouraging leadership and accountability for achieving these targets; strengthened special measures and their consistent application; and the addressing of changes needed to ensure an enabling policy and institutional environment for inclusion. Specific focus is given to field settings, with emphasis within this on peace operations where the bulk of secretariat staff are located and where the gaps in gender balance, as well as the challenges in addressing this, are the greatest. Lastly, there are separate recommendations with regards to senior leadership appointments, as these are outside the purview of regular staff selection and recruitment policies and require a different approach.

Implementation of this strategy should also further geographic diversity, particularly from underrepresented groups, and the twin goals of parity and diversity should be mutually reinforcing rather than exclusive. Initiatives should be sought which strengthen both simultaneously: For example, in recognition of the low representation of the Arab States amongst Resident Coordinators (4%) and particularly of Arab women, the UNDG for Arab States/Middle East and North Africa has convened a Thematic Group on Women RC/UNCT Leadership. The group focuses on increasing female leadership in the region, with particular attention to staff from the Arab region. While each entity should work to bring these two goals together, as highlighted by the Secretary-General geographic representation cannot be used as an excuse not to achieve gender parity ^[4] and the focus of this plan is therefore on achieving and sustaining gender parity.

Achieving gender balance will be facilitated by a modernization of systems and processes that draws on the evidence and experience of other sectors. Ultimately a more inclusive workforce will contribute to an Organization that visibly demonstrates its core values, has a modelling impact on the communities it serves, and reaps the gains in efficiency and productivity proven to come from gender balanced workforces. ^[5]

Lastly, gender parity should not be conflated with the totality of the UN’s efforts on gender equality. Dedicated financing, expertise, and strengthened programming on gender equality are needed to achieve this goal. As per an Executive Committee decision, each of these have been addressed specifically within the three major reform streams currently underway – on management, the development system, and peace and security architecture. Gender parity is however a crucial first step to orienting the system more strongly to deliver on gender equality and Agenda 2030 as a whole. To ensure that the strategy is in line with other processes of institutional reform, efforts were made to ensure that the recommended actions should be compatible with the principles and actions adopted under the Management reform.