Progress Towards Gender Parity in the United Nations System

Summary of SG Report A/69/346Prepared by UN-Women, Coordination

Division

Status of Women in the UN SystemP-1 to UG, on contracts of one year or more, at all locations

Progress is being made towards achieving 50/50 gender balance, but at too slow a pace.

Overall representation of women in the UN system as of 31 December 2013 is 41.8 per cent - only a 0.3 percentage point increase since 31 December 2012.

The only levels to have attained or exceeded parity are the P-1 and P-2 levels. With every increase in seniority the representation of women decreases.

Representation of women remains under 35 per cent at the senior-decision making levels (P-5 to UG), and is lowest (26.7 per cent) at the UG level.

While still at least 10 percentage points away from achieving parity, the P-4 to D-2 levels reached historic highs in the representation of women in 2013.

The P-3 and UG levels were the only levels to register decreases since 2011.

Ten-Year Progress and Gender Parity Projections for the UN System

• Aside from the P-1 and P-2 levels which have attained parity, no other level is projected to reach parity within the next ten years, based on a 10-yr average annual increment.

• Only the D-1 level has averaged an annual increase of one percentage point or more.

• At the current average annual increment (based on a 10-year trend) overall parity will not be reached until 2028, and not until 2045 for the UG level.

Source: CEB data used for 2003 to 2011. UN entity data submissions used for 2012 and 2013.

Slow and almost static growth in the representation of women in the UN System, P-1

to UG (2003-2013)

Source: CEB (2003-2011), UN Entities (2012-2013)

Only the D-1 level averaged a gain of at least one percentage point per year.

Progress at the UG level has been inconsistent.

Only the P-1 and P-2 levels have achieved parity.

P-1

P-2

P-3

P-4

P-5

D-1

D-2

UG

20 30 40 50 60 70 80

61.0

57.1

45.5

39.0

32.7

30.4

26.9

30.0

54.3

57.9

45.3

40.5

34.2

32.4

30.1

26.7

2013

2011

Percentage of women (P-1 to UG)

Gender parity, by level (P-1 to UG), on contracts of one year or more, at all locations,

in the United Nations system, as of 31 December 2011 and 31 December 2013

Inverse relationship between the representation of women and grade level in the United Nations

System

Source: CEB/2004/HLCM/27 (2003), UN entities (2013)

Progress was made at all levels EXCEPT the UG level registered a significant decline of 3.3 percentage points.

The representation of women continues to be negatively correlated with increases in seniority. With every rise in level, P-2 to UG, the percentage of women declines.

While representation of women continues to be lowest at senior levels, the P-4 to D-2 levels reached historical highs in 2013, with the D-2 level registering the greatest gain of 3.2 percentage points.

>50%40-49%30-39%<30%

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

9

14

6

3

1

9

6

11

HQ Non-HQ

Overall Representation of Women (P-1 to UG)

Num

ber of E

ntities

UN System: Headquarters vs. Non-Headquarters

Note: 32 entities in the UN system submitted Headquarters data. 27 entities in the UN system submitted Non-Headquarters data. Data is for contracts of one year or more. Source: UN entities

23 out of 32 (72%) entities in the UN system have reached parity or are within 10 percentage points of it at HQ locations compared to 10 out of 27 (37%) at Non-HQ locations

11 out of 27 (41%) entities with Non-HQ locations have a representation of 30% or less

HQ & Non-HQ: Appointments & Promotions in the UN system

While Headquarters locations are within 1.4 percentage points of achieving parity in both Appointments and Promotions, the proportion of women appointed and promoted must exceed 50 per cent if the representation of women is make substantive progress at the senior levels.

Appointments and promotions data is for the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013, and covers contracts of one year or more, P-1 to UG. Source: UN entities

HQ Non-HQ0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

48.6

38.7

49.3

36.8

Appointments Promotions

% W

om

en

Non-HQ locations trail progress at HQ by at least 10 percentage points for Appointments and Promotions.

Temporary Contracts

_x000c_Headquarters _x0010_Non-headquarters0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

45.8

37.4

63.7

49.5

One-year or more Temporary

% W

omen

Women are more likely to be on a temporary contract than a more secure contract of one year or more, regardless of location.

Data is for the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013. Source: UN entities

UN Secretariat compared to the UN System

• As of 31 December 2013 women constituted 40.5 per cent of Secretariat staff (P-1 to UG), a 0.6 percentage point increase since 31 December 2012.

• The Secretariat registers a lower representation of women at every grade level, except P-1, relative to the UN system as a whole.

• While much progress remains, the P-2 to D-1 levels have attained their highest representation of women to date.

P-1 to P-5 D-1 to UG Total0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50 42.7

31.4

41.841.5

28.6

40.5

UN System UN Secretariat%

Wom

en

Data is for for the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013, P-1 to UG, contracts of one year or more, at all locations. Source: UN Entities

UN System & UN Secretariat: Appointments, Promotions and

Separations

The UN system outperforms the UN Secretariat in both Appointments and Promotions. At every level more women are appointed and promoted in the UN system as a whole, than the UN Secretariat.

Appointments: Differences are greatest at the senior levels (P-5 to UG) where the representation of women in the UN system exceeds that of the Secretariat by at least 4 percentage points (D-2) to as much as 8 percentage points (P-5).

Promotions: The largest disparity is at the P-5 level again, with the UN system promoting 7.6 percentage points more women than the Secretariat.

Separations: Despite a lower representation of women, separations are lower in the Secretariat, indicating that its retention of female staff is better than in the system as a whole.

Data is for the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013, P-1 to UG, contracts of one year or more, at all locations. Source: UN Entities

UN System & UN Secretariat: Appointments, Promotions and Separations

Data is for the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013, P-1 to UG, contracts of one year or more, at all locations. Source: UN Entities

Accelerating Progress Towards Parity

Factors impacting representation of women:

Staff Selection Temporary Special Measures

Appointments Promotions/Career

Advancement Separations Organizational Culture

FWAs/Work-life balance Facilitative Policies

Women constituted less than 50 per cent of candidates at all stages of the selection process (P-3 to D-2).

At the UG level women comprised 57.1 per cent of selected candidates. Despite low numbers of women amongst applicants and those forwarded to the Hiring Manager at this level, women constituted at least 50 per cent of the candidates at all other stages of the selection process. The effort to increase the representation of women at this highest level is particularly needed given it was the only one to register a decrease, a significant one of 3.3 percentage points, since 31 December 2011.

While women have long been overrepresented at the P-1 and P-2 levels, they comprise less than half of the total number of applicants, yet are more likely selected for the post - 3/4ths of the time at the P-1 level - alluding to a gender bias that women are perceived as more suited to these lower grades than men.

Representation of Women at Stages of Staff Selection Process

Source: Data submitted by UN entities. 2012 data not available for: FAO, ICAO, ITC-ILO, UNJSPF, UNDP, UNITAR, UN-Women, WHO, UNWTO. 2013 data not available for: FAO, ITC-ILO, ICSC, UNJSPF, UNITAR, UN-Women, WHO.

At the P-3 to UG levels, which account for the majority of staff, women constituted less than 39 per cent of total applicants and those forwarded to HM. Better outreach and recruitment needed.

Every level interviewed and recommended a greater proportion of women than applied or were forwarded to the Hiring Manager. Efforts are being made to increase the number of women put forward for posts.

Women are rostered or selected as the final candidate less than 46 per cent of the time at the P-3 to D-2 levels, and only a third of the time at the D-2 level. Temporary special measures are needed to ensure women are better represented at this final stage.

Total Applicants/ Forwarded to Hiring

Manager

Interview List/ Recommended

List

Rostered/ Selected

Candidate

Representation of Women in the UN System Staff Selection Process, P-1 to UG

Source: Data submitted by UN entities. 2012 data not available for: FAO, ICAO, ITC-ILO, UNJSPF, UNDP, UNITAR, UN-Women, WHO, UNWTO. 2013 data not available for: FAO, ITC-ILO, ICSC, UNJSPF, UNITAR, UN-Women, WHO.

Source: Data submitted by UN entities. 2012 data not available for: FAO, ICAO, ITC-ILO, UNJSPF, UNDP, UNITAR, UN-Women, WHO, UNWTO. 2013 data not available for: FAO, ITC-ILO, ICSC, UNJSPF, UNITAR, UN-Women, WHO.

Representation of women at each stage of the staff selection process in the United Nations system, from

1 Jan. 2012 to 31 Dec. 2013

Gender-specific roster

Hiring Manager must request written permission to select male candidate

Retention of female candidates on roster for a longer period

Assessment of staffing changes needed to progress towards par-ity

Special stipulations for staff selection when gender targets are not met

Female required on list of recommeded candidates

Posts for which only internal candidates are considered

Female and/or focal point representation on review body

Female and/or focal point representation on interview panel

Succession planning

Review body to ensure evaluation on approved criteria

Vacancy announcements encourage women to apply

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

0

4

3

7

5

8

14

11

12

14

24

23

1

2

3

6

7

8

11

13

13

18

21

21

2014 2012Number of Entities

Gender-related Staff Selection Measures in the UN system

Source: UN Entities. 30 entities were surveyed by UN-Women on their staff selection measures

There has been uneven progress in the use of gender-related measures for staff selection, with 5 measures decreasing in the number of entities implementing them, 5 measures increasing in usage, and 2 remaining unchanged.

The measure with the most increased usage is succession planning with an additional 4 entities adopting the practice since 2012.

Temporary Special Measures

15 out of 30 entities reported using temporary special measures

An additional 8 entities reported having plans to promulgate or implement them.

While entities reported having temporary special measures such as- female candidate required on the shortlist, mentoring and training programmes for women, among others- the mandatory selection of a substantively equal or better qualified female candidate (ST/AI/1999/9) was notably absent.

Recognition of special measures as a valuable tool in accelerating progress towards gender parity appears to be growing, with 50% of entities citing “a lack of special measures for appointments and promotions” amongst their choices when surveyed by UN-Women in 2014 on the three greatest impediments to achieving gender parity at the P-4 to D-2 levels.

Source: UN Entities

Appointments in the UN System

Since the last reporting period (1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011):

The proportion of overall appointments of women (P-1 to UG) has remained static at 41.2 per cent.

Significant gains were made at the senior levels (P-4 to D-2), ranging from a 1.8 percentage point increase at the D-2 level to 6.8 percentage points at the D-1 level.

Entity-level: Only 2 out of 11 entities retained parity in

appointments since the last reporting period. However, 5 entities registered increases of 10

percentage points or more. 61.8 per cent (21 out of 34) entities have achieved

parity (7 entities) or are within 10 percentage points of doing so (14 entities).

Source: UN entities. Data reflects the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013

Source: UN entities. Data reflects the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013

Appointments: Progress since last reporting period

Women comprise only 1 in 4 appointments at the UG level and 1 in 3 at the D-1 to UG levels

The P-4 to D-2 levels all registered increases since the previous reporting period. Progress notwithstanding women comprised less than 36 per cent of appointments at the senior- levels (P-5 to UG)

Promotions in the UN System As with previous reports, gender parity in

promotions was attained at only the lowest levels (P-1 and P-2).

Parity had been attained at the P-3 level in the previous reporting period, but was not maintained after a dramatic 10.9 percentage point decrease

Overall representation of women amongst promotions regressed at the lower levels.

However, as was found with appointments, impressive gains were made at the highest levels which are the furthest from parity. The D-1 and D-2 levels registered a 6.0 and

6.3 percentage point increase, respectively, since the last reporting period.

Source: UN entities. Data reflects the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013

Promotions: Progress since last reporting period

Source: UN entities. Note: The P-1 was not covered in the last reporting period and the UG level is under the direct authority of the Secretary-General. Data reflects the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013

While there was an overall decrease in the promotion of women since the last reporting period, significant gains have been made at the senior decision-making levels: the D-1 and D-2 levels had an increase of 6 and 6.3 percentage points respectively.

Promotions at the P-3 level fell below parity, decreasing an alarming 10.8 percentage points. The P-4 level also had a significant decrease of 4.5 percentage points.

54.0%

46.0%

Promotions (P-2)

Women

Men

31.7%

68.3%

Promotions (D-2)

Women

Men

56.8%

43.2%

Appointments (P-2)

Women

Men

30.3%

69.7%

Appointments (D-2)

WomenMen

Comparison of Appointments and Promotions at the P-2 and D-2 Levels

Women comprise over half of appointments and promotions at the P-2 level.

However they make up less than a third of appointments and promotions at the D-2 level.

Source: UN entities. Data reflects the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013, P-1 to UG, contracts of one year or more, at all locations

Source: UN entities

Separations in the UN System

There is little or no difference between the attrition rates of men and women. Indicating that increasing gender balance is not primarily an issue of retention.

Attrition Rate=total number of separations/

total number of staff

Reasons for SeparationWhile men and women separate at comparable rates overall, analysis of the two principal reasons for separation finds that women are disproportionately affected:

Appointment Expiration: Accounts for 45.9 per cent of reasons for separations by women, compared to 43.1 per cent of reasons for separation by men.

Indicates that women are more likely (2.8 per cent) to be in posts lacking security

Resignation: 24.5 per cent of reasons for separation by women, 21.7 per cent of reasons for separation by men.

Higher rate (2.8 per cent) of resignation alludes to possibly lower job satisfaction amongst women or extenuating circumstances that might have benefited from a more facilitative and flexible workplace.

Source: UN Entities.

Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs)

• FWAs are defined as one of the four following arrangements:• Option 1: Staggered Working Hours• Option 2: Compressed Work Schedule• Option 3: Scheduled Breaks for Learning• Option 4: Telecommuting

• FWAs and workplace flexibility have been found to: • Increase job satisfaction and productivity • Reduce absenteeism and increase staff

retention• Lower operating costs

• Of the 30 entities surveyed: • 27 entities offer at least one form of FWA.• 9 entities offer all four options• 9 entities offer 3 out of the 4.

Source: JIU/NOTE/2012/4, UN Entities.

Percentage of Staff using FWAs in the

UN System, by sex, 2012 & 2013

2012

2013

2012

2013

2012

2013

2012

2013

Com

pres

sed

wor

k sc

hedu

le

0 2 4 6 8 10 12

2.2

3.3

0.1

0.2

1.2

1.3

3.9

4.3

4.5

6.4

0.1

0.3

0.8

1.3

1.5

1.9

Men

Women

Percentage of staff (P-1 to D-2) using FWAs

Staggered working hours are used more by men.

Telecommuting is used more by women.

Nineteen entities provided data on flexible working arrangements: FAO,IAEA, ICAO, ICSC, IFAD, ILO, IMO,ICJ, ITC, ITC-ILO, ITU, UNFCCC, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNITAR, UNOPS,

WFP, WMO. Source: UN entities

All four options saw an increase in usage over the last year, reflecting the growing acceptance and implementation of FWAs.That said, usage remains low with less than 10 per cent of all staff availing themselves of FWAs.

Number of entities offering each FWA option in the UN System, 2012 & 2014

Telecommuting

Scheduled Breaks for Learning Activities

Compressed Work Schedule

Staggered Working Hours

0 5 10 15 20 25

21

17

12

20

18

16

15

20

2014

2012

Number of Entities

Source: UN entities

The number of entities offering staggered working hours, the FWA used more by men, remained the same while telecommuting, the used more by women, saw the greatest reduction.

Facilitative Policies in the UN System

All 35 entities have maternity, paternity and adoption policies, but there are discrepancies and ambiguity in their terms.

Adoption policies have the greatest deal of variation: While maternity and paternity policies included full pay

and allowances, more than 20% of adoption policies fell under “special leave” distinguishing it from parental leave. This results in uneven coverage dependent on contract type, and can include full, partial or no pay.

Coverage is typically 8 weeks, half of that offered for maternity leave and double that of paternity leave. FAO is the only entity that reported offering 10 weeks.

Standardization of Policies (Recommendations): Adoption leave should be defined as parental leave not

special leave. Leave should be counted in days not weeks, and the

requirement for them to be continuous lifted. Inclusion of stipulations for multiple births and if both

parents are staff members.Source: UN entities

Breastfeeding Policies in the UN System

Only 90% of entities have defined breastfeeding policies, the same amount as when last surveyed in 2012.

While the conventional time off for breastfeeding is two hours per day (including travel time) three entities allowed no more than one hour per day (including travel time). Notably one of these entities indicated this period should count as the lunch period.

Progress in Breastfeeding Policies since 2012:

UNDP, whose facilitative policies are followed by several other UN entities, revised its breastfeeding policy in 2013 to increase the duration of time off by thirty minutes for each additional breastfeeding infant

In 2013, UNRWA opened a breastfeeding space for nursing mothers in its West Bank Office, the first of its five field offices to do so.

Source: UN entities

Gender Balance Focal Points

To meet the UN-SWAP requirements for PI:10 Focal Points (FPs) must:

be at a P-4 level or higher have written TORs allocate 20 per cent of their time to FP

functions

The majority of entities (19 out of 30) have FPs at the P-3 level or lower.

9 entities reported having FPs at the General Service level.

While the SG has promulgated TORs for Gender Balance FPs in the Secretariat only 13 out of 30 entities confirmed having FP TORs.

The greatest area of weakness appears to be the lack of time they are able to devote to their FP duties.

Only 1 entity reported that its FP allotted more than 20 per cent of their time to their FP functions

The majority of entities (75%) reported that their FPs allot less than 20 per cent of their time to their FP functions.

Source: UN entities

Gender Focal Point Coverage

Gender mainstreaming only

Equal representation only

One or more focal points for each area

One focal point for both areas

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

7

2

5

6

Number of Entities

The majority of entities have FPs covering both gender balance and gender mainstreaming. Only five entities have a FP for each.

Source: UN entities

Career Development in the UN System

26 out of 30 entities have leadership and managerial training programs, but only four target trainings at women.

16 out of 30 entities (53%) cited “inadequate career development for female staff” as one of the three greatest impediments to achieving gender balance.

Mentoring programmes are a cost-effective, informal means of increasing job satisfaction, motivation and career aspirations. But only 9 entities reported employing such programmes

Best Practices: UNDP has launched leadership and mentoring

programmes in its Regional Bureaus, and has found them critical for helping new staff adjust to their duty stations and has aided in the retention of staff.

WFP launched the INSPIRE Programme, a Women’s Career Development and Leadership Programme, to build the capacity of mid-level and senior female staff.

Source: UN entities

Gender Policies/Action Plans/Strategies

18 out of 30 entities reported having a gender policy/action plan/strategy in place All but four of which specify senior

accountability mechanisms 4 of the 12 entities without a policy in place

reported plans to develop one, the most notable of which is the UN Secretariat.

Obstacles: Amongst entities without policies, “small size and special status” of the entity, “lack of human and financial resources”, and “parity has been achieved” were cited as reasons for its absence.

Robust gender policies have resulted in significant advances towards gender parity: UNAIDS- After launching a Gender Action Plan

with an emphasis on accountability and career development the representation of women at the P-5 level increased by 8 percentage points and female heads of country offices by almost 50 per cent from 2013 to 2014 alone.

Source: UN entities

Gender Balance Monitoring

Monitoring mechanisms such as those below, are means of gaining invaluable insights with which to guide gender-related policy development. However, they remain severely under-utilized and inconsistently implemented.

Gender Balance Scorecards

Global Staff Surveys

Exit Interviews

Gender Balance Scorecards The Secretariat includes gender balance

scorecards in senior managers’ compacts, and monitors them for compliance.

Since 2010 the scorecards set a target for improving the representation of women at the senior (P-5 and above), non-senior (P-2 to P-4) and General Service levels by 50% of the gap between current representation and parity. The resulting ratio is applied to entity’s vacancies, with a target of filling vacancies at this ratio.

Despite its merits as a management tool, usage remains limited outside the Secretariat, with only 5 entities implementing them.

Source: UN entities

Example Gender Balance Scorecard

Full template available at: http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/fpgenderstrategy.htm

Example Gender Balance ScorecardPart 2

Example Gender Balance ScorecardPart 3

Example Gender Balance ScorecardPart 4

Example Gender Balance ScorecardPart 5

Example Gender Balance ScorecardPart 6

Global Staff Surveys

Provide valuable insight into staff contentment and functionality of organizational culture policies, affecting work-life balance, career development, etc.

According to UN-SWAP reporting, only 15 entities conduct regular global personnel surveys. This is less than a quarter (24%) of all UN-SWAP reporting entities.

Source: UN entities

Exit Interviews/Surveys 21 out of 30 entities use exit interviews, but

only 9 of which systematically record and analyze results.

Only 10 entities have made exit interviews mandatory. In cases where not mandatory, the majority of entities reported that surveys were completed by separating staff only “some” of the time, and only two entities reported they were completed “all” of the time.

Amongst entities utilizing exit interviews only 12 out the 21 conduct them electronically in order to protect confidentiality and garner more candid results. Meanwhile 5 entities conduct only in-person interviews, counter to commonly accepted good practices for exit interviews.

Source: UN entities

Conclusions and Recommendations

The goal of gender parity is not being realized in a reasonable time frame. At the current rate no level, P-3 to UG, will reach parity within the next ten years. While the P-4 to D-2 levels are at historic highs they remain at least 10 and up to 20 percentage points from achieving gender balance.

Gender policies are key drivers of institutional change and an important means of coordinating and aligning policies, programmes and resources towards gender-related targets.

Temporary special measures reintroduced to the staff selection process to ensure substantial equality in the treatment of men and women.

Reasonable annual targets

Accountability measures for senior management implemented to ensure gender balance objectives are respected and progress made.

Conclusion

Recommendations

There is an inverse relationship between the representation of women and seniority which is also the case for appointments and promotions.

Temporary Special Measures for staff selection to ensure women are given equal consideration, and mandatorily selected if they are equally or more qualified.

Increased outreach and recruiting efforts.

Mobility concerns should be kept under review in order to recruit and retain women at both Headquarters and Non-Headquarters locations.

Conclusions

Recommendations

Great disparities exist in between Headquarters and Non-headquarters locations. If progress is to be made, special attention must be given to obstacles particular to Non-HQ locations.

Mobility FWAs: Strengthened

implementation of work-life balance policies. Clear guidelines for the utilization of FWAs and trainings are disseminated to staff, including senior management. It is recommended that tracking of usage be informal and accountable through performance

Harassment, discrimination and abuse of authority policies should be tracked system-wide, with reported incidents and their outcomes shared.

Staff surveys and exit interviews should be made mandatory in order for comprehensive results to be garnered and used in the development of policies.

Conclusions

Recommendations

Gender equality policies constitute a key driver of institutional change and are an important means of coordinating and aligning policies, programmes and resources towards gender-related targets.

Entities should promulgate and implement gender policies as a means of accelerating progress towards achieving gender goals.

UN-SWAP compliance should be prioritized to meet the CEB deadline in 2017. Gender policies are the requirement of the first performance indicator of the UN-SWAP.

Coordination with UN-Women by heads of entities, to ensure their development and implementation of policies and measures to advance towards gender parity are consistent with those of the UN system.

Conclusions

Recommendations

Policies and practices for career development (leadership trainings and mentoring programmes) and succession planning for staffing changes are under utilized.

The use of managerial trainings targeted at women is recommended. The low-cost, informal use of mentoring has also been shown to increase job satisfaction and career aspirations.

Department heads should plan for staffing changes and use them as opportunities to advance towards 50/50 gender balance.

Conclusions

Recommendations

Discrepancies in facilitative policies exist, particularly regarding adoption leave and breastfeeding policies.

Maternity/paternity/ adoption leaves and breastfeeding policies should be standardized to ensure their equitable allocation. Further, as recommended by the pregnancy task force, the requirement that parental leave be one continuous period should be removed.

Conclusions

Recommendations