The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Where Are the Women in The United Nations Now?

Kirsten Haack; Margaret P. Karns; Jean-Pierre Murray

doi:10.1017/s089267942000043x

The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Where Are the Women in The United Nations Now?

Kirsten Haack, Margaret P. Karns, Jean-Pierre Murray

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10 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

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.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	361-371
Number of pages	11
Journal	Ethics and International Affairs
Volume	34
Issue number	3
Early online date	1 Oct 2020
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/s089267942000043x
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2020

Keywords

UN Secretariat
gender equality
gender parity strategy
hard- A nd soft-issue areas
professional staff
specialized agencies

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1017/s089267942000043x

Karns et al Women in The UN at 75 FINALAccepted author manuscript, 194 KB

Cite this

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The United Nations at Seventy-Five: Where Are the Women in The United Nations Now?

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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