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Within this section, please find information regarding women’s presence within the UN system as well as statistics related to the consideration of issues related to women’s rights and concerns within UN bodies.
Women in the United Nations System
As of 30 June 2009, women in the UN Secretariat constituted:
38.3% (2,894 out of 7,565) of all staff in the professional and higher categories with appointments of one year or more
27.3% (180 out of 660) of all staff at the D-1 level and above
39.3% (2,713 out of 6,903) of all staff at the P level
Gender balance has only been achieved at the P-1 (50%) and P-2 levels (51.5%)
Largest increase: USG (6.8% from 15.4% in June 2007 to 22.2% in June 2009)
Smallest increase: D-1 (0.5% from 28.5% in June 2007 to 29.0% in June 2009)
During the 11-year period June 1998-June 2009 in the UN Secretariat , the overall growth of
women in appointments of one year or more was 3.7%, an increase from 34.6% (1,441 out of 4,164)
in 1998 to 38.3% (2,894 out of 7,565) in 2009.
1 All information in this section is sourced from United Nations, Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women – The Status of Women in the United Nations System (from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2008) and in the Secretariat (from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2009)
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/ianwge/Factsheet%20as%20of%20FEB%202010.pdf
A review of a sample of 21 major peace processes since 1992 shows that women represent a strikingly low number of participants:
Only 2.4% of signatories to this sample of peace agreements were women; No women have been appointed Chief or Lead peace mediators in UN-sponsored peace talks, but in some talks sponsored by the AU or other institutions women have joined a team of mediators. 
A recent positive case is the role of Graça Machel as one of the three mediators for the Kenya crisis in 2008.
Women’s participation in negotiating delegations averaged 5.9% of the 10 cases for which such information was available; Priority gender-specific provisions in peace accords are women’s physical security and human rights guarantees.
2 All information in this section is sourced from UNIFEM Handout: Women’s Participation in Peace Negotiations: Connections between Presence and Influence April 2009
http://www.realizingrights.org/pdf/UNIFEM_handout_Women_in_peace_processes_Brief_April_20_2009.pdf
As of the 30 June 2010 the proportion of women in National Parliaments: The world average percentage of women in Both Houses combined is 19.0%
The world average percentage of women in a Single House/Lower House is 19.1% The world average percentage of women in a Upper House/Senate is 18.3%
As of the 30 June 2010 the regional averages of women in National Parliaments: In Nordic countries the regional average of women in a Single House/Lower House is 42%
In the Americas the regional average of women in a Single House/Lower House is 22.5%, in a Upper House/Senate 22.6% and in Both Houses combined 22.5%
In Europe (OSCE member countries inc. Nordic Countries) the regional average of women in a Single House/Lower House is 22.0%, in a Upper House/Senate 19.4% and in Both Houses combined 21.5%
In Europe (OSCE member countries excl. Nordic Countries) the regional average of women in a Single House/Lower House is 20.1%, in a Upper House/Senate 19.4% and in Both Houses combined 19.9%
In Asia the regional average of women in a Single House/Lower House is 18.6%, in a Upper House/Senate 16.4% and in Both Houses combined 18.4%
In Sub-Saharan Africa the regional average of women in a Single House/Lower House is 18.3%, in a Upper House/Senate 20.4% and in Both Houses combined 18.6%
In the Pacific the regional average of women in a Single House/Lower House is 13.2%, in a Upper House/Senate 32.6% and in Both Houses combined 15.3%
In the Arab States the regional average of women in a Single House/Lower House is 9.2%, in a Upper House/Senate 7.9% and in Both Houses combined 8.9%
3 All information in this section is sourced from The IPU ( The International Organization of Parliaments) 30 June 2010
http://www.ipu.org/wmn-e/arc/world300610.htm
Other facts:
Rwanda has the highest number of women parliamentarians worldwide since the election in September 2008 (56 percent of seats).
A 30 percent minimum for women in representative assemblies was set as a target at the Beijing conference in 1995, while the parity zone is considered between 40–60 percent
Since 1995, this 30 percent benchmark set as the 'critical mass' has been attained in 22 countries, including in six African countries.
95 countries worldwide apply some form of quotas. Out of the 22 countries that boast 30 percent or more women in national assemblies, 18 of them applied quotas in some form.
It will take developed countries at least 20 years and all other countries closer to 40 years to reach the parity zone of 40-60 percent.
Countries with Proportional Representation electoral systems and with quotas can expect to reach the 40 percent threshold on average by 2026.
Women’s presence in public office represents one indicator for Goal 3 of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — “to promote gender equality and empower women”.
Higher numbers of women in parliament and other public office positions generally contribute to stronger attention to women's issues.
Women in public office encourage greater political engagement by ordinary women.
As a regional average, women hold between 7.7 to 28.1 percent of ministerial posts, while individual countries range from 0 to 58 percent.
4 All information in this section sourced from UNIFEM: Facts and Figures on Democratic Governance
http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/democratic_governance/facts_figures.php
Violence Against Women
General
Several studies have revealed increasing links between violence against women and HIV/AIDS.
Women who have experienced violence are at a higher risk of HIV infection: a survey among 1,366 South African women showed that women who were beaten by their partners were 48 percent more likely to be infected with HIV than those who were not.
Economic cost of violence against women is considerable - A 2003 report by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the costs of intimate partner violence in the United States alone exceed US$5.8 billion per year: US$4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care services, while productivity losses account for nearly US$1.8 billion.
Violence against women impoverishes individuals, families and communities, reducing the economic development of nations.
5 All information in this section is sourced from UNIFEM: Facts and Figures on Violence Against Women
http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/facts_figures.php
Crimes against Women in Situations of Armed Conflict
It is now more dangerous to be a woman than to be a soldier in modern conflict. — Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, 2008.
70% casualties in recent conflicts were non-combatants – majority were women and children.
1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) first treaty to expressly recognize this broad spectrum of sexual and gender-based violence as among the gravest breaches of international law.
Almost 50% of all persons indicted by the ICC and other international tribunals - such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; and the Special Court for Sierra Leone — are charged with rape or sexual assault, either as perpetrators or their superiors.
Violence against women during or after armed conflicts has been reported in every international or non-international war-zone, including Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Peru, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Chechnya/Russian Federation, Darfur, Sudan, northern Uganda and the former Yugoslavia.
Sexual violence exacerbates conflict and perpetuates insecurity in the wake of war. It holds entire communities hostage, and has an economic, social, cultural and inter-generational impact: women cannot access water-points and markets; children cannot safely get to school; ‘war babies’ are ostracized.
250,000–500,000 women and girls were raped during the 1994 genocide in Rwanda
20,000–50,000 women and girls were raped during the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990s
50,000–64,000 internally displaced women in Sierra Leone were sexually attacked by combatants
An average of 40 women and girls are being raped every day in South Kivu, DRC. It is estimated that more than 200,000 women and children have been raped over more than a decade of the country’s conflict.
Women and girls are targeted as a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instil fear in, punish, disperse and/or forcibly relocate members of a community/ethnic group.
Out of 300 peace agreements for 45 conflict situations in the 20 years since the end of the Cold War, 18 have addressed sexual violence in 10 conflict situations (Burundi, Aceh, DRC, Sudan/Nuba Mountains, Sudan/Darfur, Philippines, Nepal, Uganda, Guatemala, and Chiapas)
Women have a legal right to be protected from sexual violence, even in the midst of war, and victims have a right to reparations. Amnesty to sexual violence as an international crime (Art. 7 CEDAW; Rome Statute Statute 8(2)(b)(xxii)) is counter international law.
Peace will not be sustained if the deal is considered unjust or if the accord does not take measures to rebuild the foundations of society.
With regard to trials of sexual violence as a war crime, crime against humanity, crime associated with genocide, and use in torture, sexual violence has been the ‘least condemned war crime’. At the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia, 18 decisions resulting in convictions are related to sexual violence. The number is lower in other courts: eight in the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and six in the Special Court for Sierra Leone.
6 All information in this section is sourced from UNIFEM: Facts and Figures on Crimes against Women in Situations of Armed Conflict
http://www.unifem.org/gender_issues/violence_against_women/facts_figures.php?page=7
MDG 3: Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women
INDICATORS
• Female Literacy - Women make up around 64% of the estimated 774 million illiterate adults in the world. Globally 77% of adult women are literate, compared to 87% of men.
• Non-agricultural employment - Worldwide, income-earning opportunities for women have increased. But in developing countries, the majority of women workin the informal sector or as unpaid family workers, and so lack security of income. In Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, this type of work accounts for more than 80% of all jobs for women.
• Political representation - Progress in increasing the number of seats held by women in national parliaments is slow. Worldwide, as of September 2008, women occupied just over 18% of the seats in single and lower houses of national parliaments, a negligible increase over the past year.
Eliminating discrimination against women and girls is essential to eradicating poverty and achieving the MDGs Women have a vital contribution to make: to the economy, to better governance, to peace processes, to their communities and their households.
Gender equality is also an issue of human rights - International human rights treaties prohibit discrimination against women.
The MDG3 Target recognizes that education for girls is one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty and improving mortality rates.
In Africa, children of mothers who have received 5 years of primary education are 40% more likely to live beyond the age of 5
But education alone is not enough. Achieving MDG3 also requires progress in other key areas including: political participation; access to productive assets and employment opportunities; access to health and other services, and protection from violence.
Gender equality underpins progress on all the MDGs. Development makes little sense if half the population is prevented from fully benefiting from, and contributing to it.
7 All information in this section is sourced from the DFID Fact Sheet on Gender Equality
Photosource: United Nations