Emphasis on Female Leadership for the United Nations' New Secretary-General
As current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's term nears its end, growing pressure to elect the organization's first female leader draws attention.
As the United Nations leaves its eighth decade behind, calls and expectations for the organization to be led by a female secretary-general for the first time in its history are gaining strength.
Gender Inequality and Global Trends
According to UN Women data, it is calculated that at the current rate of progress, achieving gender equality will take 171 years, and women's political leadership continues to lose momentum.
The fact that administrations in the overwhelming majority of countries around the world remain in the hands of male leaders highlights the picture of global inequality.
Statements from Leaders
Speaking at high-level annual global gatherings, some heads of state and senior officials openly support having a female leader at the helm of the organization.
Sarah Hendriks, one of the leaders of UN Women, emphasized that recent meetings bear the traces of a male-dominated world and that this situation must change.
Nomination Process and Current Status
While current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's second and final five-year term ends at the end of December, a total of seven candidates are competing for the succession.
There are four female and three male candidates in the race, and two female candidates managed to come to the forefront in recent trend polls.
Security Council and Decision Mechanism
In the recent informal vote held within the 15-member structure of the Security Council, Rebeca Grynspan from Costa Rica and Caroline Rodrigues Birkett from Guyana took the top spots.
Although the General Assembly has the final say, the actual decision-making authority in the election process rests with the five permanent members of the Security Council with veto power.