As candidates vie to become the next UN secretary general, member states must hold them to account on gender equality – a core UN value under coordinated attack, write gender champions Martin Chungong and Tatiana Molcean.

This year, the United Nations will select its tenth secretary general. This consequential decision comes at a moment of acute crisis: tectonic shifts in geopolitics, surging violent conflict, rampant violations of humanitarian law, the erosion of democratic norms and a coordinated rollback of human rights are testing the foundations of the multilateral system – and driving higher demands on UN entities while resources shrink.

In this environment, the choice of who leads the UN carries weight beyond questions of diplomatic balance and regional rotation. It signals not only what the UN stands for today, but whether it has the resolve to stand for its values tomorrow. Gender equality sits at the heart of those core values – and demands, now more than ever, principled and courageous leadership. 

Grounded on the UN Charter and core human rights treaties, and running across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, gender equality must underpin every peace agreement, trade treaty and climate framework that aspires to last. Growing inequality is a key driver of insecurity – and yet the potential of gender equality to strengthen our economies and societies is well-documented. 

This is why accountability for gender equality must be a central criterion in the selection process.

Progress is under attack

Progress, where it exists, has been hard-won. Targeted gender parity efforts have produced the largest cohort of women leaders – 46 per cent in 2025 – in multilateral history. That same year, the UN Secretariat reached parity at professional and higher levels. But it remains fragile. Reform-driven budget cuts risk eroding these gains, and at the most senior operational levels, representation continues to lag.

The picture in foreign aid is even more alarming. A 2025 UN Women report found that 73 per cent of surveyed women’s rights and other civil society organisations working against violence against women were significantly impacted by recent funding cuts, with 41 per cent reporting that they might remain operational for one year or less. One in three has already suspended or shut down programmes aimed at ending gender-based violence.

Read more: Half of women’s rights NGOs brace for closure over aid cuts: UN survey

These financial pressures do not exist in isolation: gender equality is under deliberate, coordinated attack. The anti-gender movement is well-organised in its efforts to reshape policy, restrict rights and reverse norms meant to protect the safety, health and freedom of women and girls, with lasting consequences for society. It is also well-resourced – in Europe alone, it reportedly received $1.18 billion between 2018 and 2022.

In this context, silence from global leadership would not be neutrality – but a concession to the status quo. 

Silence is complicity

Achievements secured over the years unravel quickly when leadership attention shifts. And that attention, while often perceived as purely symbolic, has mattered enormously. Secretary general António Guterres made gender equality a defining commitment of his tenure, driving institutional change and engaging in consistent political advocacy, including as an International Gender Champion, our network of leaders determined to break down gender barriers. That is the standard his successor will inherit and must build upon.  

We encourage all candidates to actively engage with initiatives that advance women’s leadership and equal participation. More than 800 international decision-makers have joined the International Gender Champions network over its ten-year history, signing a panel parity pledge to not speak at single-sex events and aim for 50-50 gender parity and diverse representation, adopting a zero-tolerance stance towards sexism and gender-based violence, and making concrete, publicly trackable personal commitments to gender equality in their own institutions.

These are the principles which should be adopted and embedded, without exception, by all candidates. The next secretary general will navigate a multilateral system in which championing gender equality can carry a high political and personal cost. But that cost pales in comparison to the consequences of failing half of humanity and undermining our collective capacity to find peaceful and sustainable solutions to our challenges.

Read more: Running for the UN’s top job: a process riddled with pitfalls

Achieving gender equality is both a moral imperative and a proven driver of progress – towards stronger institutions, new economic possibilities, more resilient societies and more effective pathways to peace. Member states owe it to the more than eight billion people the UN exists to serve to choose someone prepared to place gender equality at the heart of the UN’s mission – no matter the cost. 

They must press every candidate, clearly and publicly, on how they intend to do so. Whoever leads the UN next must be prepared to answer for gender equality. 

Martin Chungong is the secretary general of the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the outgoing chair of the Global Board of the International Gender Champions (IGC).

Tatiana Molcean is the executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the chair-elect of the Global Board of the IGC.

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