Leadership, Women and the UN programme strikes a chord

245 women from various countries across the globe including Peru, Venezuela, Jamaica, United States, Switzerland, Sweden, Austria, Azerbaijan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Congo, Chad, India, Malaysia, Thailand, Fiji and other 57 duty stations have attended the Leadership, Women and the UN programme in the past three years.

The Leadership, Women and the UN programme was created in 2015 in response to the underrepresentation of women leaders in the UN system and the need for a forum for female UN staff at the P4 and P5 level to learn, share and act.

“Our goal was to design a programme not only equipping UN female staff with successful leadership approaches and experiences, but also building a strong supportive network of female leadership agents across the UN system. The fact that we’ve already welcomed so many women from all over the world and that they value our training for their personal and professional growth is a great success,” said Ariane Sabet, Course Coordinator at UNSSC in charge of the programme.

Since 2015, participants from over 45 UN agencies and departments have been attending this programme annually to gain a better understanding of different approaches to leadership as well as the gender aspects of leadership. The programme provided them the opportunity to increase their self-awareness through a 360-degree leadership assessment and personality profile, and develop a set of skills and competencies in communication for transformative and charismatic leadership, effective negotiation, and change. It has also been creating a unique space for UN female staff to learn from each other’s experiences and build lasting relationships.

The programme has struck a chord with women across the UN family and resulted in a 100 % recommendation rate. The acting Chief of Staff for the World Health Organization (WHO) and former Leadership, Women and the UN participant, Ms. Erin Maura Kenney, stated: “Leadership, Women and the UN is an excellent course – very well organized and facilitated, top notch speakers, practical and results oriented. I have concretely strengthened my leadership skills and my working style. I left the course with an action plan that I am implementing and tracking. And the extra bonus was getting to know so many interesting and accomplished women. Highly recommended!”

Motivated by the positive feedback, the Leadership, Women and the UN programme has been expanding its geographical reach and increasing the number of yearly editions. Thus, in 2018, we are happy to bring it closer to our cherished audience in Vienna, Turin, Geneva and Cairo.