Following the unsuccessful attempt to get a woman appointed as UN secretary-general in 2016 and the drop in women in senior posts in 2015, it appeared that gender equality at the UN was as distant as ever. Yet, gender equality within the Secretariat and UN system has been on the organization's agenda since 1970, with goals and target dates set for the level of women's participation and achievement. These have been met in some issue areas (for example, in so-called feminine portfolios) and organizations, but not others. As part of the special issue on “The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Looking Back to Look Forward,” this essay traces the evolution of efforts to increase the representation of women in the UN system and takes stock of their current representation therein, analyzing the data on the Secretariat and appointments to senior posts as well as in various operations and programs.
Gender equality has long been a goal within the UN system, particularly for women’s representation among the professional staff. Yet it was more an aspiration than the target of serious action, let alone with leadership from the UN Secretary-General. It could not be addressed, however, without adequate data revealing women’s absences. Building a dataset based on Human Resources Statistics Reports has enabled the authors to show the patterns in the UN Secretariat and the secretariats of eighteen agencies, funds, and programs. The analysis reveals persistent gender-specific conceptualizations of issue areas as more masculine (e.g., peace, security, finance, trade) or feminine (health, human rights, population), creating “glass walls” and “glass ceilings” that have limited women’s appointments to high-level positions in certain areas. The results reveal the limits of goal setting, the slowness of change, and the difference that leadership from the UN Secretary-General can make in the UN’s “long march” toward gender equality.
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