In rural farming initiatives in Kenya, in boardrooms in Geneva, in high-level policy discussions in Washington, D.C. — the words “gender parity” are being uttered aloud, written on signs, inked on budget lines and presented as the necessary new normal at a rapidly increasing rate around the world.
In global development, the two words took central stage throughout the past year’s race for U.N. secretary-general, when many hoped the organization would set an example by electing a woman as its leader for the first time. The hope fell flat — but the new SG, António Guterres, has promised an intensified focus on women leadership at the U.N.
The call for gender parity from field office to corner office, meanwhile, grows louder.