Nearly one month after António Guterres took the reins as United Nations secretary-general, signs point to him making good on one of his first promises: appointing equal numbers of women and men to top posts.
Balancing U.N. leadership will align the organization with the human rights and gender equality mission it promotes. But Guterres, the former head of the U.N. Refugee Agency, is also facing added pressure from civil society and member states observing his early steps.
“The U.N. at its core is an old boys network. The data bear that out. As you walk the corridors of the Secretariat building you can see this,” said Melissa Labonte, an associate dean for strategic initiatives at Fordham University, who studies gender parity and U.N. leadership. “The landscape of diplomacy is still very much a man's world… there just have not been enough women moving up through the ranks to populate the highest [U.N.] positions and the men who have dominated those ranks have closed them out.”
About the author
Amy Liebermanamylieberman
Amy Lieberman is the U.N. Correspondent for Devex. She covers the United Nations and reports on global development and politics. Amy previously worked as a freelance reporter, covering the environment, human rights, immigration, and health across the U.S. and in more than 10 countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Nepal, and Cambodia. Her coverage has appeared in the Guardian, the Atlantic, Slate, and the Los Angeles Times. A native New Yorker, Amy received her master’s degree in politics and government from Columbia’s School of Journalism.
