The current Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres has achieved some impressive results during his two five-year terms in office – from being a strong advocate for human rights and climate action to implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and instituting reform within the UN.  

At the end of 2026, Guterres will step down and hand over the baton to a new Secretary-General who will lead the UN until 2032 – or 2037 if they are elected for a second term. While this may seem a long way off, the selection process is already picking up pace.   

The Secretary-General of the United Nations has an important role to play in international relations. They must act as a diplomat, negotiator and a top civil servant in charge of the large bureaucratic machine of the UN system, which currently employs some 37,000 staff worldwide. 

Since the UN was created in 1948, there have been nine Secretary-Generals – and all of them have been men. Despite women’s increased engagement in high politics around the world, the UN has yet to appoint a woman for the top leadership position. 

UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan at a press conference, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland.

Candidates for the position must be exceptional, possessing the appropriate skills and abilities, a reputation for upholding ‘the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity’ and a commitment to the principles of the UN’s Charter – the international treaty that binds on all UN member states and sets out the rules and frameworks for the UN’s work. 

The UN Charter advocates for women’s equality and empowerment. Equality, equity and diversity are enshrined in the founding principles of the United Nations, the world’s most important institution tasked with enabling our collective peace and security. Guterre’s himself upheld this commitment by championing gender equality in UN programming and women now make up around 50 percent of UN’s Senior Management Group. However, women with the appropriate skills and experience, such as career diplomats and former presidents and prime ministers, should also be given the same opportunities to be appointed Secretary-General as men. Historically, rarely have women been put forward as candidates by member states.   

This all changed in 2014 when civil society organisations launched ‘1 for 7 Billion’, a global campaign calling for reform of the UN Secretary-General selection process. The campaign focused on two key issues: greater transparency in the selection process and gender equality.   

In keeping with the principles of the Charter, the selection process of the Secretary-General is meant to be highly democratic. Yet in practice, it has largely been conducted behind closed doors. Article 97 of the Charter states that the General Assembly should appoint the Secretary-General on the recommendation of the Security Council. All 15 members of the Security Council vote on whether they think candidates nominated by member states are worthy of the job. A candidate is only successful if nine Security Council members and all five permanent members vote affirmatively. This means that the five permanent members of the Security Council – Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and the US – can exercise their veto over candidates, ensuring they retain control over who is appointed. Yet other issues have contributed to the lack of transparency within the UN system and among members of the public around the world.  As co-founder of the ‘1 for 7 Billion’ campaign Natalie Samarasinghe explains: 

The campaign advocated for merit-based selection, transparency, and the engagement of civil society and the public to ensure a more inclusive process. Six of the 11 candidates were women in 2016, largely from Eastern Europe – the region touted to be next in line to lead the UN. In the end, Portuguese former prime minister Guterres was selected. Guterres had already served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and seemed a more neutral actor, given Russia’s relations with some states with the Eastern European region at the time. 

Following these changes, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 77/335 ‘Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly’ in September 2023. The resolution noted for the first time that ‘gender parity and geographical balance have not yet been reached in the appointment and election of heads of the United Nations system’. 

Secretary Haaland in New York to represent the U.S. at the UN’s 23rd Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.

Continued advocacy in 2025 

Although the ‘1 for 7 Billion’ campaign did not reach all its aims, its successes prompted civil society to launch the ‘1 for 8 Billion campaign’ in September 2024 to continue advocating for a fair and inclusive selection process in 2026. Some 55 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), funders and think tanks published an open letter calling on states to nominate women candidates only. Nominations will take place later this year or early in 2026. 

Yet UN member states must also fix the leaky pipeline in politics and diplomacy by creating more opportunities for women to engage in high-level politics – as ambassadors, mediators, peace negotiators, and in defence and security – so they accrue experience required. As researchers have shown, women make up 21% of ambassadors and permanent representatives, but these percentages drop significantly, from 53% in Canada to 0.75% in Russia and 0% in Belarus, Fiji, North Korea and Togo. On a more practical level, women require mentorship and should be given the chance to manage their work-life balance effectively. 

Though women candidates must have the appropriate skills and experience for the job of Secretary-General of the UN, campaigners such as Natalie Samarasinghe contend that candidates also need to be feminist, embodying inclusive and empowering leadership.   

Yet crucially, given the turbulent times the UN is facing financially and politically, coupled with the backlash and backsliding on gender equality, most notably by the US and authoritarian governments, women candidates will need to be highly astute diplomats capable of navigating the fraught politics of the UN Security Council.