Women breaking the glass ceiling at UN

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The United Nations has reached gender parity targets at some of its most senior levels, as part of an ambitious strategy to narrow the gender gap among civilian staff in the organization.

In his first year as UN chief in 2017, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres promised to make gender parity at the United Nations a priority.

One year on, he is following through on that promise to achieve parity at the UN's senior levels by 2021, and across the entire UN system by 2028.

The secretary-general has already reached parity within his own cabinet, which now includes Amina Mohammed as deputy secretary-general, the UN's second-highest-ranking position; Rosemary DiCarlo as head of the powerful Department of Political Affairs; Henrietta Fore as executive director of Unicef; and Michelle Bachelet as the high commissioner for Human Rights.

Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Amina J. Mohammed speaks during the 2017 Global Citizen Festival in New York, September 23, 2017. /VCG Photo

Parity has also been reached among UN Resident Coordinators in charge of country teams abroad.

Dr. Paige Arthur at the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, which independently monitors data on senior UN appointments, says the gender gap at this level has effectively been halved since Guterres assumed office in 2017.

"So in fact, the secretary-general is on track not just to meet the targets, but also to beat them, in relation to senior appointments. And by our calculations, he will actually achieve parity in senior appointments by the end of 2019, which is well ahead of the target that he's set for himself in 2021."

The progress is unprecedented, but the goal isn't a new one. What's changed is that the UN is now armed with a roadmap and a task force, with a woman in the lead – UN Under Secretary-General and Senior Advisor on Policy Ana Maria Menendez.

"The first challenge is that the strategy is of course about numbers because ultimately you will be successful if you have reached 50-50 right. But it's not totally a question of numbers. It's also a question of a cultural shift," the under secretary-general told CGTN.

"So you need to change the mentality, and the mentality so far in the organization – as in many other workplaces, enterprises, companies, governments, universities – has always been male-dominated."

A female peacekeeper in the Chinese peacekeeping construction and engineer detachment to Lebanon awaits inspection before setting off in Huizhou, south China, May 11, 2018. /VCG Photo

Other challenges include overcoming the UN's massive bureaucracy, making work environments more inclusive, and filling civilian positions in the field, according to Menendez.

"At headquarters, it is easier to recruit women, but it's difficult sometimes in the field, and this is because in the field we need specialists in logistics, in engineering, and in general terms, not only in the UN. In the job market, you always find less women in these kinds of professions or specialties than men. So this is another challenge."

The Gender Parity Strategy only covers UN civilian staff and not military and police personnel, like the UN's blue helmets, which are deployed by member countries.

In a sign of progress, UN member nations this year elected Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces of Ecuador as the new president of the General Assembly.

It is only the fourth time in the 73-year history of the world body that a woman has been elected to the position.

(Cover: The 73rd President of General Assembly Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces delivers a speech after she was elected at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, June 05, 2018. /VCG Photo)