Transcript Gender Parity - headQuarters

Progress Towards Gender Parity in
the United Nations System
Summary of SG Report A/69/346
Prepared by UN-Women, Coordination Division
Status of Women in the UN System
P-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
Trends for 31 December 2003 to 31 December 2013
P-1
P-2
P-3
P-4
P-5
D-1
D-2
UG
Total
2003 representation
of women
61%
56%
43%
33%
27%
22%
23%
19%
36%
2013 representation
of women
55%
57%
45%
40%
34%
32%
30%
27%
42%
Change in % points,
2003 to 2013
(6.8)
1.6
2.0
7.8
7.0
10.8
7.4
7.3
5.5
0.2
0.8
0.7
1.1
0.7
0.7
0.5
2036
2025
2036
2029
2040
2045
2028
Average annual
(0.7)
0.2
increment (% points)
Year at which gender
Reached Reached
parity will be reached
• 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)
Only the P-1
and P-2 levels
70
have achieved parity.
60
50
% Women
40
30
20
Only the D-1 level averaged
a gain of at least one
percentage point per year.
Progress at the UG level
has been inconsistent.
10
0
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Year
P-1
P-2
P-3
P-4
P-5
D-1
D-2
UG
Source: CEB (2003-2011), UN Entities (2012-2013)
2012
2013
Inverse relationship between the representation of women and
grade level in the United Nations System
26.7
26.9
UG
30.0
30.1
D-2
32.4
30.4
D-1
34.2
32.7
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.
20
30
Progress was made at all levels EXCEPT the UG
level registered a significant decline of 3.3
percentage points.
2013
P-5
40.5
39.0
2011
P-4
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.
45.3
P-3
45.5
57.9
57.1
P-2
54.3
P-1
40
50
61.0
60
70
80
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
Source: CEB/2004/HLCM/27 (2003), UN entities (2013)
UN System: Headquarters vs. Non-Headquarters
11
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
14
14
12
9
9
10
6
11 out of 27
(41%) entities
with Non-HQ
locations have a
representation of
30% or less
6
6
4
3
1
Number of Entities
8
2
0
<30%
30-39%
40-49%
>50%
Overall Representation of Women (P-1 to UG)
HQ
Non-HQ
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
HQ & Non-HQ: Appointments & Promotions
in the UN system
48.6
49.3
Non-HQ locations trail progress
at HQ by at least 10 percentage
points for Appointments and
Promotions.
50
38.7
45
36.8
40
35
% Women
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.
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
HQ
Non-HQ
Appointments
Promotions
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
Temporary Contracts
70
63.7
60
% Women
50
49.5
45.8
37.4
40
30
Women are more
likely to be on a
temporary
contract than a
more secure
contract of one
year or more,
regardless of
location.
20
10
0
Headquarters
One-year or more
Non-headquarters
Temporary
Data is for the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013. Source: UN entities
UN Secretariat compared to the UN System
50
45
42.7
41.8
41.5
40
31.4
35
% Women
Level
UG
D-2
D-1
Subtotal
P-5
P-4
P-3
P-2
P-1
Subtotal
Total
UN System UN Secretariat
% Women
% Women
26.7
24.6
30.1
26.9
32.4
30.2
31.4
28.6
34.2
31.7
40.5
39.2
45.3
43.4
57.9
55.8
54.3
73.3
42.7
41.5
41.8
40.5
40.5
28.6
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
P-1 to P-5
D-1 to UG
UN System
Total
UN Secretariat
• 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.
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
Level
UG
D-2
Appointments (% Women)
UN Secretariat UN System
Promotions (% Women)
UN Secretariat UN System
20.0
26.3
25.0
30.3
26.0
D-1
Subtotal
30.3
27.5
35.6
33.1
P-5
P-4
25.9
35.3
P-3
P-2
P-1
Subtotal
Total
Separations (% Women)
UN Secretariat UN System
31.7
12.5
29.4
26.1
26.1
30.1
29.2
35.9
35.9
26.3
23.9
31.9
29.7
33.9
39.4
27.2
37.7
34.8
40.7
32.3
36.3
35.7
39.0
40.6
54.7
78.3
42.9
56.8
59.8
39.8
51.0
100.0
43.1
54.0
76.2
47.0
53.1
80.0
49.8
61.0
61.8
39.7
39.0
42.8
42.1
39.0
38.5
42.3
41.9
42.5
40.7
44.9
43.3
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
Representation of Women at Stages of Staff
Selection Process
 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.
Source: Data submitted by UN entities. 2012 data not available for: FAO, ICAO, ITC-ILO, UNJSPF, UNDP, UNITAR, UNWomen, WHO, UNWTO. 2013 data not available for: FAO, ITC-ILO, ICSC, UNJSPF, UNITAR, UN-Women, WHO.
Representation of Women in the UN
System Staff Selection Process, P-1 to UG
Total Applicants/ Forwarded
to Hiring Manager
Interview List/
Recommended List
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.
Rostered/ Selected
Candidate
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.
Source: Data submitted by UN entities. 2012 data not available for: FAO, ICAO, ITC-ILO, UNJSPF, UNDP, UNITAR, UNWomen, 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
UG 33.1 D‐2 23.3 28.6 60.0 24.0 50.0 34.0 38.5 D‐1 27.2 P‐5 29.0 30.8 37.4 P‐4 33.1 34.5 40.9 P‐3 37.0 38.7 45.8 P‐2 45.4 41.6 46.9 P‐1 48.1 23.9 56.5 % of Total # of applicants On interview list Rostered 50.0 33.1 42.9 32.5 33.2 38.2 47.7 54.4 34.8 42.3 41.7 44.6 45.8 49.1 50.0 33.3 39.1 35.3 43.2 78.6 57.1 0.0 57.8 75.0 Forwarded to hiring manager by HR On recommended list Selected Source: Data submitted by UN entities. 2012 data not available for: FAO, ICAO, ITC-ILO, UNJSPF, UNDP, UNITAR, UNWomen, WHO, UNWTO. 2013 data not available for: FAO, ITC-ILO, ICSC, UNJSPF, UNITAR, UN-Women, WHO.
Gender-related Staff Selection Measures in the UN system
Vacancy announcements encourage women to apply
21
Review body to ensure evaluation on approved criteria
21
Succession planning
14
Female and/or focal point representation on interview panel
13
12
Female and/or focal point representation on review body
13
11
Posts for which only internal candidates are considered
11
Female required on list of recommeded candidates
8
8
Special stipulations for staff selection when gender targets
are not met
Assessment of staffing changes needed to progress towards
parity
Retention of female candidates on roster for a longer period
6
7
3
3
Hiring Manager must request written permission to select
male candidate
Gender-specific roster
2
0
The measure with the most increased usage is
succession planning with an additional 4
entities adopting the practice since 2012.
7
5
0
2014
14
23
24
18
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.
4
1
5
2012
10
15
20
Number of Entities
25
Source: UN Entities. 30 entities were surveyed by UN-Women on their staff selection measures
30
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 asfemale 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
Appointments: Progress since last reporting period
70
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)
64.1
59.8
60
58.0
56.8
50
45.0
42.9
42.1 42.1
% Women
39.4
40
35.6
35.6
33.9
30.0
30
28.8
28.5
30.3
30.8
25.0
20
10
0
P-1
P-2
P-3
P-4
1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011
P-5
D-1
D-2
UG
1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013
Source: UN entities. Data reflects the period 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013
Total
Women
comprise
only 1 in 4
appointments
at the UG
level and 1 in
3 at the D-1
to UG levels
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
60
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.
58.6
53.4
50
54.0
43.2
46.0
40
% Women
42.741.6
40.5
33.234.7
36.1
30.1
30
31.7
25.5
20
Promotions at the
P-3 level fell below
parity, decreasing10
an alarming 10.8
percentage points. 0
The P-4 level also
had a significant
decrease of 4.5
percentage points.
P-2
P-3
P-4
1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011
P-5
D-1
D-2
Total
1 January 2012 to 31 December 2013
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
Comparison of Appointments and Promotions at the
P-2 and D-2 Levels
Appointments (P-2)
43.2%
Promotions (P-2)
Women
Women
Men
Men
46.0%
54.0%
56.8%
Appointments (D-2)
Promotions (D-2)
30.3%
31.7%
Women
Men
Women
69.7%
68.3%
Men
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
Separations in the UN System
Level
UG
D-2
D-1
Subtotal
P-5
P-4
P-3
P-2
P-1
Subtotal
Total
Separations
by Men
51
119
252
422
711
988
849
271
13
2,832
3,254
Separations
by Women
18
42
118
178
394
633
841
423
21
2,312
2,490
Attrition Rate=total number of separations/
total number of staff
Source: UN entities
% Women
Separations
26.1
26.1
31.9
29.7
35.7
39.0
49.8
61.0
61.8
44.9
43.3
Attrition Rate Attrition Rate
of Men
of Women
0.13
0.12
0.14
0.12
0.10
0.10
0.11
0.11
0.09
0.09
0.08
0.08
0.08
0.10
0.10
0.11
0.13
0.15
0.09
0.09
0.09
0.09
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.
Reasons for Separation
While 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.
Scheduled breaks
for extended
learning
Compressed
Telecommuting
activities
work schedule
Staggered
working hours
Percentage of Staff using FWAs in the
UN System, by sex, 2012 & 2013
2013
4.3
2012
3.9
2013
1.3
2012
1.3
1.2
0.8
2013
0.2 0.3
2012
1.9
Staggered working hours
1.5
Men
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.
Women
0.1
0.1
2013
3.3
2012
6.4
2.2
0
4.5
2
Telecommuting is used
more by women.
4
6
8
Percentage of staff (P-1 to D-2) using FWAs
10
12
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
Number of entities offering each FWA
option in the UN System, 2012 & 2014
20
Staggered Working Hours
20
15
Compressed Work Schedule
12
2014
2012
16
Scheduled Breaks for Learning Activities
17
18
Telecommuting
21
0
5
10
15
Number of Entities
20
25
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.
Source: UN entities
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
6
One focal point for both areas
The majority of
entities have FPs
covering both gender
balance and gender
mainstreaming. Only
five entities have a
FP for each.
5
One or more focal points for each area
2
Equal representation only
7
Gender mainstreaming only
0
1
2
3
4
5
Number of Entities
6
7
8
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 genderrelated 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), nonsenior (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 Scorecard
Part 2
Example Gender Balance Scorecard
Part 3
Example Gender Balance Scorecard
Part 4
Example Gender Balance Scorecard
Part 5
Example Gender Balance Scorecard
Part 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
Conclusion
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.
Recommendations
 Gender policies are key drivers of
institutional change and an
important means of coordinating
and aligning policies, programmes
and resources towards genderrelated 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.
Conclusions
There is an inverse
relationship between
the representation of
women and seniority
which is also the case
for appointments and
promotions.
Recommendations
 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 NonHeadquarters locations.
Conclusions
Recommendations
 Mobility
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.
 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
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.
Recommendations
 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 UNSWAP.
 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.