Gender Equality in Public Administration
2021
This report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) provides an overview of global progress on women’s participation and leadership in public administration, analyzing gender equality using data from 170 countries worldwide. The report builds on evidence from the Gender Equality in Public Administration (GEPA) initiative, which aims to expand women’s participation in public institutions, support empowerment, and increase access to data on gender equality to inform policymaking. The report finds that on average, women’s participation in public administration is nearly 46 percent globally, representing progress toward equal numbers of men and women in civil service roles, though significant gaps in representation remain. The report finds that women’s participation in public administration varies widely across countries and is significantly lower in regions experiencing conflict. Women continue to have limited involvement in certain policy sectors, and remain underrepresented in leadership and decision-making roles, facing barriers in advancement, including their involvement in the global COVID-19 response.
The report highlights that achieving gender equality expands far beyond parity for men and women in public administration roles; the authors provide policy recommendations which help reimagine public administrations to be gender inclusive, diverse, and more representative of the publics they serve.
Gender Equality in Public Administration
Source:
Global Report on Gender Equality in Public Administration. United Nations Development Programme 2021. https://www.undp.org/publications/global-report-gender-equality-public-administration.