general secretary António Guterres spoke at a meeting of the United Nations Group of Friends on Gender Equality marking the 5th anniversary of his Gender Equality Strategy – a key priority during his first term in office, that remains until now.
He said that “it is important for the United Nations to represent the values it stands for – the values enshrined in the Charter – and to lead by example. Gender equality in our people is the only way to achieve gender equality in our work.”
Solid progress
He added that overall, “we have come a long way” and have made some notable firsts, such as achieving parity in the senior leadership team, for the first time. first in the history of the United Nations, two years ago.
The same is true now among the heads and deputy commanders of peace operations. He notes that five years ago, the percentage of women taking on those roles was only 25%.
Equality was achieved in 2018, among the 130 Resident Coordinators, and women’s representation at headquarters locations has now reached parity, while the number of United Nations organizations Quoc has at least 50% female employees, which has increased from 5 to 26.
‘The void remains’
“At the same time, there are still gaps,” he warned.
Away from the main offices, in humanitarian and peacekeeping operations, he said “progress has been slow, and in some cases we have gone backwards. We should be particularly concerned with reducing the number of women being recruited into entry-level Secretariat positions in this field. This could have a serious impact on the future parity outlook.”
In general, secretariat staff should be roughly equal across “professional” levels by 2025, which is three years ahead of schedule, but that number masks the fact that parity will not be available until 2028. degree in this area.
That means the Master Strategy must now focus on maintaining progress in this area, he said.
talent pipeline
“We will continue to support the Senior Female Talent Pipeline, which has resulted in the appointment of nearly 60 senior women, most in the field, since 2014” and facilitate the convert General Services and National Officer staff to the Professional Work categories.
“And this is an area that requires General Assembly approval and I believe this group of friends will be very active in that area as it is a key tool for bringing women into professional positions,” said Mr. Guterres. in this field”. .
Workplace culture also needs to evolve, he said. And if workplace stereotypes and biases are not controlled, and sexism and racism are tolerated, “we will let those we serve down.”
He said he was determined to take steps to end all forms of discrimination, including sexual harassment.
Room for improvement
The head of the United Nations outlined three areas for improvement. First, focus on gender and geographic diversity as complementary objectives. “Only 36% of professional staff from the African region on the Secretariat are women and this must change.”
Second, we will increase efforts to recruit women for field missionshe said, and third, the UN must double down on our policies and tools, to make it a more attractive employer for women.
“We will continue to work closely with Member States and civil society, particularly from the Southern Hemisphere, to ensure that we reflect all countries and communities, in all levels in our Organization.”
He reiterated that gender equality is essential,”to meet the expectations of those we serve and to build a more sustainable, just, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous world for all.”
