The year 2026 has only just begun, but it is already anticipating some significant events in the world, including in the international development sector. One of these is the election of the United Nations Secretary-General – a key role in the largest development organization in the world – which is scheduled for the second half of the year. Personal qualities, background, and skills aside, the debate around the Secretary-General’s next candidature are once again focused on the gender of the candidate with all nine Heads of the UN since the inception of the organization in 1945 being men. With the last campaign in 2016 featuring a record number of women who ‘ran’ for the role (seven), the 2026 elections are expected to be a turning point with over 190 organisations and more than 300 civil society leaders having written an open letter to support only women candidates. Does the gender for this position matter more than professional qualifications, and if not, what qualities should the next UN Secretary possess? We asked some experts to share their opinions on this issue. Check out their insights below.
Key Takeaways:
- The term of the current United Nations Secretary-General, elected in 2021, Antonio Guterres, ends on December 31, 2026.
- The UN Security Council’s current President Sierra-Leone published the letter which encourages member states to “strongly consider nominating women candidates” because so far there has been no female UN Secretary-General.
- However, the first candidate officially nominated as of January 9, 2026, is Rafael Grossi, the Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
- According to experts, for more than 80 years – since its inception in 1945 – the United Nations has been led exclusively by men due to systemic and political barriers, male-dominated power networks, and persistent stereotypes.
- Political independence, diplomatic credibility, moral authority, strong management skills, inclusive leadership, and the ability to lead effectively during global crises are among the qualifications mentioned by experts for the next UN leader.
- To ensure legitimacy, Member States must guarantee a transparent and inclusive selection process, with clear public criteria, open dialogue with candidates, and the meaningful participation of civil society.
DevelopmentAid: For more than 80 years, no woman has ever served as UN Secretary-General. What systemic or political barriers do you believe have contributed to this?
“For over 80 years, the exclusion of women from the position of UN Secretary-General has not been accidental; it is the predictable outcome of a selection architecture designed around geopolitical accommodation rather than institutional merit. The veto power of permanent members, the absence of binding eligibility criteria, and the informal practice of “regional rotation” have collectively produced a system where political risk-minimization takes precedence over leadership capacity. These structural elements – not a lack of qualified women – explain the persistent imbalance.”
“The barrier is structural. The Security Council’s P5 veto (“P5” refers to the five nations granted permanent seats and veto power when the UN was formed in 1945, largely because of their roles as victors of World War II – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia (originally the USSR) – editor’s note) acts as the real gatekeeper, privileging geopolitical acceptability over transformative leadership (Reuters, 2025; UNGA, 2015). This interacts with male-dominated diplomatic pipelines and gender bias that codes “security leadership” as masculine, despite UN commitments under CEDAW, Beijing, and the Women, Peace and Security agenda (United Nations, 1979, 1995; UNSC, 2000–2019).”
“For more than 80 years, the United Nations has been led exclusively by men, not because of a lack of qualified women, but due to systemic and political barriers such as opaque negotiations among Member States, male-dominated power networks, and persistent stereotypes about what leadership should look like. These dynamics have long shaped who is seen as “electable” at the highest level of global governance.”
“The selection process is dominated by the Security Council, especially the P5 using opaque, informal practices that favor political insiders. Gender bias in leadership norms, unequal access to senior diplomatic pipelines, and weak political sponsorship for women candidates have also played major roles.”
“There is a compelling and long-overdue case for appointing a woman as the next United Nations Secretary-General. Gender parity at the highest level of global leadership matters symbolically and substantively. But symbolism alone is not enough. In an era defined by geopolitical fragmentation, democratic backsliding, a growing number of armed conflicts, and deepening mistrust in multilateral institutions, the UN cannot afford a purely representational appointment.”
DevelopmentAid: What leadership qualities and skills should be prioritized for the next Secretary-General, regardless of gender?
“The next Secretary-General must embody a different profile – someone capable of exercising operational authority in environments of coercion, integrating human rights and protection mandates into upstream decision-making, and resisting the institutional drift that characterizes multilateral responses to conflict, atrocity prevention, and global inequality.”
“The next Secretary-General must combine principled realism with prevention-first leadership, institutional reform capacity, and the courage to defend the Charter and human rights without capture by great-power politics (UNGA, 2015).”
“From my experience working in humanitarian and protection contexts, effective leadership is defined not by title or gender, but by ethical courage, empathy, and the ability to act decisively in times of crisis. The next Secretary-General must demonstrate a strong commitment to human rights and gender equality, have proven experience in complex emergencies, and have the capacity to rebuild trust in multilateral cooperation.”
“Political independence, diplomatic credibility, moral authority, strong management skills, inclusive leadership, and the ability to lead effectively during global crises.”
“The next Secretary-General must be a reformer with political courage, someone capable of confronting entrenched patronage networks, restoring institutional credibility, and driving difficult but necessary reforms to ensure the UN remains relevant and effective. This role demands moral authority, operational competence, and a willingness to speak plainly to power, including to authoritarian leaders and those who undermine international norms. Leadership models exist. New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern demonstrated that empathetic leadership can coexist with decisiveness and resolve whether in responding to the Christchurch terrorist attacks or steering a nation through the COVID-19 crisis. What matters is not gender alone, but the capacity to lead ethically, independently, and fearlessly in moments of global stress. A woman should be appointed, but she must be the right woman, chosen for strength, integrity, and the ability to renew trust in multilateralism itself.”
DevelopmentAid: How can Member States ensure a transparent and inclusive selection process that meaningfully involves civil society?
“A genuinely transparent process requires more than hearings. It requires codified selection standards, the mandatory disclosure of candidates’ qualifications, an end to back-channel endorsement practices, and formalized civil-society participation.”
“Member States should fully implement Resolution 69/321 through public criteria, open hearings, and institutionalized civil society participation (UNGA, 2015; 1 for 8 Billion, 2025).”
“To ensure legitimacy, Member States must guarantee a transparent and inclusive selection process, with clear public criteria, open dialogue with candidates, and the meaningful participation of civil society, particularly voices from crisis-affected and Global South contexts.”
“Set clear criteria, hold mandatory public hearings, strengthen the General Assembly’s role, formally include civil society input, and improve transparency around Security Council procedures.”
DevelopmentAid: Would publicly committing to support only women candidates strengthen the legitimacy of the selection process or put it at risk?
“A public commitment to consider only women candidates is not inherently illegitimate. What threatens legitimacy is a process that continues to rely on opaque power bargaining. If Member States use this moment to correct an 80-year structural deficit and reinforce merit-based criteria, the system – and not only the symbolism – will benefit.”
“Yes – as corrective justice. After 80 years of exclusion, it can strengthen legitimacy if paired with transparent, merit-based criteria and public scrutiny (1 for 8 Billion, 2025).”
“Supporting only women candidates should not be viewed as undermining merit, but as a necessary correction to a historic imbalance. It can strengthen the credibility of the UN by aligning its leadership with the values of equality and inclusion it promotes worldwide.”
“It can strengthen legitimacy if it is framed as a temporary correction to structural inequality and grounded in merit. It risks legitimacy if it is seen as exclusionary or symbolic without broad political support.”
“My interest in the UN System and its work brought me from 1979 – 1992 to become a civil servant with UNIDO, from a field position (JPO) to the organization’s headquarters in Vienna. Looking at the past leadership of the UN system, I would strongly advise the recruitment of a woman as UN Secretary General. My wish would be a strong woman from a developing country who has received a Nobel Peace Prize for instance. As a former UN civil servant having seen men not fit for positions such as UN Secretary General or a Director General of specialized UN Agencies, I strongly believe that the merit of a Nobel Peace Prize would be a positive approach to selecting such a person for the post of UN Secretary General for a change.”
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