Nov 26, 2025

GWL Voices Welcomes UN Invitation for Member States to Nominate Women for Secretary-General

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Yesterday’s joint letter from the President of the General Assembly and the President of the Security Council formally opened the process to solicit and consider candidates for the next Secretary-General. For GWL Voices and its Madam Secretary-General campaign, the letter is more than procedure: it is a tangible invitation to turn decades of advocacy into a concrete opportunity for gender-equal leadership at the United Nations.

Why this letter matters

The UN letter sets out a transparent, inclusive and structured process for the selection of the next Secretary-General. Crucially, it:

  • Reaffirms the need for transparency and inclusivity in the selection process.
  • Calls for candidates to submit a vision statement and to disclose campaign funding.
  • Announces that the Presidents of the General Assembly and the Security Council will publish and maintain a public list of candidates (including CVs, vision statements and financing disclosures) on a dedicated UN webpage.
  • Offers candidates opportunities to engage in informal dialogues with Member States — including webcasts — widening public scrutiny and engagement.
  • Encourages Member States to strongly consider nominating women, noting with regret that no woman has yet held the post.
  • Advises UN office-holders to suspend United Nations functions during campaigns to avoid conflicts of interest.
  • Allows nomination withdrawals and replacements, ensuring flexibility while encouraging early presentation for a timely and public process.

This is a meaningful step toward an open, accountable and merit-based election — and it explicitly signals the UN’s willingness to make gender parity a part of that process.

What the GWL Voices' MSG campaign celebrates

GWL Voices’ Madam Secretary-General campaign has long argued that the UN’s top job should be open, rigorous and gender-equal. Today we celebrate three advances in particular:

  1. Public transparency: publishing candidate lists, CVs, vision statements and funding disclosures will make the selection far more accountable.
  2. Inclusive engagement: webcast dialogues and informal meetings broaden participation and public scrutiny.
  3. A clear invitation for women: the letter’s explicit call to consider women as candidates transforms rhetoric into an operational expectation.

This letter aligns with the MSG vision: that the next Secretary-General should be chosen through a process that is open, meritocratic, and fully responsive to the urgent demands of our time, including gender justice.

How GWL Voices will mobilize

GWL Voices will accompany this process using its networks, research and communications capacity to ensure it yields a candidate who is gender-committed, qualified and ready to lead. Our activities will include:

  • Amplifying candidates and their vision statements across our platforms.
  • Supporting coalition building among Member States, civil society and movements that champion a woman Secretary-General.
  • Sharing resources for candidates on gender-responsive leadership, climate justice, financing for equality, and inclusive multilateral governance.
  • Enabling a meaningful debate among all candidates.

How you can help

  • Member States: nominate or co-sponsor strong women candidates and ensure nominations include a full vision statement and funding disclosures.
  • Civil society & networks: share candidate vision statements widely; demand transparency and public dialogues; use the public list to hold the process to account.
  • Individuals: amplify the MSG message on social media, and participate in public dialogues on leadership at the UN.

Looking forward

This letter moves us from aspiration to process, and from process to possibility. GWL Voices will keep mobilizing, tracking and amplifying the voices of women leaders who are ready to step up. The Madam Secretary-General campaign welcomes this moment and stands ready to support, scrutinize and celebrate a truly historic appointment: a woman Secretary-General who will lead a more equitable, effective and inclusive multilateralism.