Women Remain Significantly Underrepresented as Leaders of Multilateral Organizations

GWL Voices, an organization of women leaders from around the world who are committed to advancing international gender equity, released a report documenting the state of women in leadership roles in the world’s largest multilateral organizations.

The authors examined the number of women leaders at the top 33 multilateral organizations across the globe from 1945 to 2023. Since that time, these organizations have had a total of 382 leaders, only 47 of whom have been women. This means that throughout the past eight decades, women have only been in charge for 12.3 percent of the time. Furthermore, one third of these organizations – including the International Labor Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations (Secretary-General), and the World Bank Group – have never been led by a woman.

Women who have been leaders of these global institutions have mainly overseen areas that focus on children, food, population, and health, such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization. While some recent progress has been made, several organizations – such as the International Telecommunications Union and the International Civil Aviation Organization – have only elected a woman president once in their entire history.

The authors write, “We believe that to achieve equitable development, women must have proportional representation at every level of multilateral organizations, from field offices to headquarters, as well as in secretariats and governing bodies. We will continue to advocate for increased participation by women until the UN system fully embodies its stated values and principles.”