Making parity a reality: Advancing gender parity across the UN system

The Office of the Focal Point for Women at UN Women leads and coordinates the United Nations’ system-wide network of nearly 450 Gender Focal Points and Focal Points for Women, agents of change who support on-the-ground implementation of the Secretary-General’s System-wide Strategy on Gender Parity and instrumental for the United Nations to reach its mandated goal of 50:50 gender parity.

Annually, Gender Focal Points meet to exchange good practices and are recognized for achievements in advancing gender parity across the UN system in their respective entities. This report summarizes the Global Annual Gender Focal Point Meeting held on 18–20 October 2021. Gender Focal Points joined virtually from duty stations and remote working environments all around the world.

Over the course of the annual meeting sessions, Gender Focal Points were provided with capacity building and training, tools and knowledge exchange, and opportunities to learn from leaders and experts from the UN system, civil society, and academia on how to drive change and leverage the network through resourceful collaborations. Equipping Gender Focal Points with relevant skills and resources will accelerate gender parity progress and empower them to implement tools and guidance, such as the Enabling Environment Guidelines and Field-specific Enabling Environment Guidelines, which provide concrete recommendations to achieve gender parity and improve organizational culture.