All the UN Secretary-General’s Men — and Why This Must Change

By Cathleen Jeanty. Originally published on 1 October 2024 by Devex on its website.

The low number of women’s voices at UNGA, one of the most prominent global stages, undermines the very goals nations pledged to achieve with the SDGs

In 2015, all of the United Nations member states unanimously agreed to adopt the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Nearly a decade later, those same member states agreed almost unanimously to undermine that commitment on the grandest stage possible by allowing only nine of the 133 speakers at the 79th United Nations General Assembly’s general debates last week to be women — a mere 6.8%. In a stunning irony, the adoption of the Pact for the Future felt more like a relic from the past.

I wish I could say I am surprised, but I am not. The absence of women’s voices undermines the very goals nations pledged to achieve.

In the aftermath, the U.N. endured well-earned backlash, with Secretary-General António Guterres even calling this dearth of women "unacceptable." However, looking beyond the U.N. stage, the exclusion of women’s voices in global leadership reflects a near-universal problem.

Data from UN Women notes that, at the current rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years. For reference, that is older than the United Nations itself, nearly twice over. For only 9 of the 133 general debate speakers to be women, that boils down to roughly 1 in every 15. Put more simply, for every woman afforded a place to speak, 14 men had to speak before she was allowed to.

World leaders have long been paying lip service to the necessity of making space for women’s voices, but the reality speaks otherwise. This can be seen by the fact that we are in a time of wide-scale female oppression across the globe.

A new religious code imposed in Afghanistan further rolls back the rights of Afghan women and literally bans women from raising their voices in public. Iran has seen an intensified crackdown on women’s rights, particularly in response to protests ignited by the death of Mahsa Amini. The enforcement of mandatory hijab laws and the violent suppression of female protestors are reminders of the inequality that is woven into the fabric of our everyday lives.

Even in the United States, home to the U.N. headquarters, women's reproductive rights are being scaled back, and overturning of Roe. vs. Wade has spurred widespread political outrage. In conflict zones, as war continues to ravage Gaza, the United Nations reports that 75% of those injured are estimated to be female. In Ukraine, of the 14.6 million people predicted to need humanitarian assistance in 2024, more than half are women and girls. Similar trends emerge in regions such as Haiti and Sudan, where crises further entrench gender inequality.

It’s impossible to talk about the lack of female representation at the U.N. General Assembly without recognizing the roots of this lack of equality. In an increasingly hostile and militarized world that is grappling with the most conflicts since World War II and more strongmen leaders rising across the globe, we must accept the need for a different definition of diplomacy. And fast.

 In the words of Guterres, with the world “a whirlwind,” can we really afford to get blown away by rhetoric that pales in the face of the needs made evident by our current leadership ecosystem? Can the U.N. maintain a position as a moral and evidentiary authority on gender parity when it fails to reach it within its own chambers? While the institution has made significant efforts to achieve gender parity, progress is still lacking. To tackle these inequalities, the U.N. can take various steps to pressure member states into implementing necessary reforms.

For instance, the U.N. should require that, in order to qualify for U.N. peacekeeping support, member states must include women equally in peacebuilding and post-conflict governance. This would ensure that women are actively involved in conflict mitigation. Additionally, the U.N. can establish a formal requirement for member states to report on the gender composition of their delegations in periodic reviews, such as the Universal Periodic Review.

As the 2030 deadline for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals approaches, the U.N. must actively collaborate with civil society groups and female-led organizations to address these existing chasms. And, as we approach the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, the global agenda for the achievement of gender equality, it is imperative that member states mark this anniversary with more actionable measures to achieve equality in decision-making spaces. By doing so, the U.N. will be evidencing its commitment to building a more gender-equal world.

Guterres once noted, “We are all better off when we open doors of opportunity for women and girls: in classrooms and boardrooms, in military ranks and at peace talks, in all aspects of productive life.” There is not a better time than now, in 2024, to do just that inside the U.N. halls — and everywhere else. Just as the world faces unprecedented challenges, we are in the midst of an unparalleled opportunity to bring about solutions: We just need to pass the mic and let women speak.