Gender Equality and the Development of UN Policy

Abstract

The history of gender equality at the United Nations is a story of making women visible, women becoming visible and taking their presence seriously. This chapter shows how discourses of gender equality and policies of gender parity in the UN have developed over time. It shows that women have never been absent from the United Nations, its diplomatic corps and bureaucracy. Yet, their story has remained to some extent a hidden one. The story of gender equality at the UN is a story of making women visible in multiple ways: first, women are made visible through a focus on people, i.e. shining a light on the women who contributed to the creation of the UN and the creation of the gender equality agenda. This includes women diplomats and male allies, the international women’s movement and UN staff. Secondly, women are made visible through a focus on norms, i.e. the role and place of gender equality, defined as international organisations as a workplace in resolutions, treaties and international action plans. Finally, women are made visible through a focus on data, i.e. the use and creation of data to shape knowledge and understanding of gender in the organisation, makes women and their absence visible.