Madame Deputy Secretary-General,
Distinguished panellists,
Colleagues and friends,

I am delighted to have this opportunity to speak to you today. I am particularly grateful to the Group on Equal Rights For Women and the Women's Environment and Development Organization for organizing this panel. We owe a particular debt of gratitude to Ms. Brewster and to the members of the Equal Rights Group who have worked tirelessly to advance the gender equality agenda.

As the Deputy Secretary-General pointed out in her remarks, we have much to celebrate - over the last decade, gender issues have increasingly become the focus of attention, linking the empowerment of women to the solution of many of today's global problems - from globalization and poverty, to armed conflict, illiteracy and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The advancement of women requires not only women's participation in public life but also women's active involvement in defining the political, economic and social agenda. Evidence suggests that were it not for women's participation at decision-making levels, issues such as childcare, violence against women, social protection, food security and unpaid labour would not have received the attention they have from policy-makers. Many innovations which are taking place in working conditions, such as the introduction of flexible work schedules, may be traced to the impact women have had on the world of work. To cite another example - one which directly benefits men - current consideration of entitlements such as paternity leave would not have happened had it not been for the dramatic increase in dual career families. This is a concrete example of how men as well as women benefit when issues are examined through a gender lens.

Within the United Nations system, we still have a way to go before we reach the goal of 50/50 in staffing. One organization, the United Nations Fund for Population Activities, has achieved and maintained the 50/50 goal. In a few UN departments, DPI, OHRM, OPPBA, this has also been achieved. In several others, including the Secretariat as a whole, women comprise between 30 and 40 per cent of Professional staff.

Although we may be sometimes impatient with the rate at which women's overall representation has increased, we should be encouraged by the growing numbers of women in positions of authority and influence in the United Nations. These women play a significant role in breaking down stereotypes about what kinds of jobs women should and can do. I might add that it is not only women in top echelon positions who make a difference, but those who have joined the management ranks at the P-5 and D-1 levels as well. These women are particularly important as they have the opportunity, in their daily work, to demonstrate their leadership and competence to a large number of staff and to inspire other women, at all levels, to take the steps necessary to advance their careers.

The commitment of managers is key to the achievement of gender balance and the promotion of gender equality. As the Deputy Secretary-General indicated a few minutes ago, managers must be sensitive to the need for more women - and also to the needs of women. Which leads me to the subject of women in the General Service and related categories. The staff in the General Service category, the majority of whom are women, make a significant contribution to the work of the Organization. OHRM is to be congratulated for the work it has done in strengthening staff development programmes for this category of staff. More needs to be done, however, by individual programme managers to encourage and facilitate the career development of General Service staff, including through managed reassignments, the design of more challenging job descriptions, and stints as staff in peacekeeping operations. We must all strive to make the workplace in which we spend so much of our lives more inclusive and team-based, by encouraging the creativity and full participation of all staff.

Over the years, we have measured our progress in improving gender balance in the Professional and higher categories largely on the basis of the annual increase in the percentage of women and the annual rates at which men and women have been recruited and promoted. While we have had strategic plans in place, these have dealt principally with broad issues of human resources management - introduction of career development programmes, development and access to training programmes, improving our capacity to do human resources planning.

A year ago, the Secretary-General decided we needed to adopt a more proactive strategy of accountability which would:

1. identify the opportunities for improving women's representation in individual departments;
2. assist managers in evaluating and expanding the pool of women candidates;
3. promote ownership of the Organization's goals of gender equality at the level of those who make the difference - our programme managers; and
4. establish the accountability of our managers for meeting these goals.

This strategy was initiated in January of last year when the Secretary-General wrote to heads of departments to review their record in selecting women candidates and to ask for their cooperation and support in the elaboration of departmental action plans to improve women's representation. These plans were introduced by Ms. Salim and myself to heads of departments last August. Under the plans, department heads have been asked to set targets for the selection of women candidates based upon a review of their current and projected vacancies. They have also been asked to take steps to evaluate and enhance the pool of women candidates for upcoming vacancies.

Thirteen departments and offices have participated in the initial series of action plans for the period 1 July - 31 December of last year. The performance of departments under these plans will shortly be reviewed and reported to the Secretary-General. In evaluating progress, we will seek to identify the particular obstacles or constraints faced by individual departments and we will work closely with OHRM to refine strategies for improving women's representation to take into account these challenges.

It is important to emphasize that departmental targets are not quotas. It is not the aim of the action plans, as it is not the aim of the special measures, to promote the selection of less qualified women. The objective is to ensure that we identify and give the fullest consideration to women candidates. Competence for the job remains the most important consideration in the selection process.

We also need to devise strategies to identify and encourage more women to contribute to one of the Organization's most vital and fundamental objectives - the maintenance of peace and security. In its landmark resolution 1325 of 31 October 2000, the Security Council stressed the importance of women's equal participation and full involvement in all efforts to maintain and promote peace and security, and the need to increase their role in conflict prevention and resolution activities, especially at decision-making levels. As Ms. Frechette noted, the Secretary-General has formed a senior appointments group to advise him on the selection of personnel for senior mission appointments, taking into account the need to improve both gender balance and geographical representation in senior appointments. The Secretary-General has also asked that the planned staffing strategy for civilian personnel for peace operations include guidelines on fair gender and geographical distribution as recommended in the Brahimi Report.

In the coming year, we need to move the work/family agenda forward. The World Bank, UNDP and UNICEF have been among those in the lead within the UN system in advancing this agenda. Within the Secretariat, issues such as alternative work schedules, improved child care arrangements, and effective spousal employment assistance, are under active review by the Quality of Work/Life Committee chaired by OHRM. OHRM will also be undertaking a thorough review of work/life conditions throughout the Organization with the aim of proposing practical improvements in conditions of service. These innovations, once introduced, should go a long way towards improving the UN's ability to attract and retain top quality staff, particularly women.

We also need move the enabling environment agenda forward. I specifically refer to the need to make every staff member, whether at a headquarters locale or in a field operation, aware of the meaning of harassment, abuse of power, and sexual harassment. This, however, cannot be a goal in itself; we must put on the table the discussion of formal and informal redress procedures for staff and human resources practitioners alike so that we eliminate this crippling phenomenon which affects women and men alike. In doing so, we should identify best practices, particularly in other UN organizations. The ILO, for example, has recently concluded a joint contract between the Staff Union and Management on how to deal with harassment-related grievances.

While we have reason to celebrate today - particularly when we take a moment to consider the contribution so many women have made and are making, at all levels and in all categories, to the United Nations - we must work harder to seize and build upon the opportunities presented by new and more open ways of thinking about women's role in society and in our own Organization. Let us today honor the foresight of those who drafted the United Nations Charter and renew our commitment together to the goals of gender equality affirmed in Article 8.