Why it’s time the United Nations is led by a woman

Nature - 09/04
With efforts towards gender equality stalling, voting in a first female head of the UN would provide powerful representation for half the world’s population — and be good for all of it.

António Gutteres and Ban Ki-Moon are the latest examples in a long tradition of male United Nations leaders.Credit: Drew Angerer/Getty

Thirty years ago, the world saw an event that would sadly be hard to envision today: representatives from 189 countries endorsing a plan to improve the lives of women across the world. The event was the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, in Beijing in September 1995. It was attended by almost 50,000 delegates, mostly women. The Beijing Declaration, as it came to be known, recognized that gender equality is not only a human right, but also transforms societies and enriches all lives.

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