UN Photo
Just how rare are women at the UN General Assembly?
Explore the presence–or absence–of women where power is exercised in the international system
UN Photo
Just how rare are women at the UN General Assembly?
Female and male Permanent Representatives to the United Nations by year since 1947
Last updated on 24/01/2025
Note: At its founding meeting in 1946, the UN had not yet formalized the role of Permanent Representatives. Instead, countries were represented by “delegations.” One country, India, listed a woman (Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit) as head of its delegation in 1946.
During the UN’s first 11 General Assemblies, from 1947 to 1957, not a single woman held the title of Permanent Representative.
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit was the first woman to serve as President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1953. She then served as India’s Permanent Representative to the UN and held key diplomatic roles in the United States, Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom.
In 1958, Agda V. Rössel of Sweden became the first female Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.
From 1958 to 1998, the percentage of women among Permanent Representatives remained stuck between 0% and 5%.
In all, 20 UN General Assemblies have taken place without the participation of any female ambassadors.
UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata
In 1972, Jeanne Martin Cissé, a Guinean politician, became the first female ambassador to serve on the UN Security Council. As part of the UN Special Committee Against Apartheid, she called for sanctions on South Africa, contributing to the eventual abolition of apartheid.
UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras
Joy Ogwu served as Nigeria’s first female Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2008-2017, and she was twice the President of the UN Security Council.
ITU/J. Gorlovetskaya
From 2019 to 2022, Rabab Fatima served as Bangladesh's Permanent Representative to the UN and was chosen as the Chair of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission in 2022. She has been a strong advocate for the rights of least developed countries, landlocked developing nations, and small island developing states.
In 2007, the share of women Permanent Representatives finally surpassed the 10% threshold. Since then it has hovered between 10% and 30%, nearing but not quite reaching the 30% threshold.
In 2024, roughly 2 in 10 Permanent Representatives were women.
Out of all member countries, undefined –more than a third of the UN’s membership– have never appointed a woman to this role
An additional undefined countries have appointed only one.
Only undefined countries have appointed more than one woman Permanent Representative throughout their history.
Women Permanent Representatives have been underrepresented across all regions.
Download our full report here
GWL Voices is an organization of women leaders from all regions and backgrounds committed to building a gender-equal international system that effectively responds to today’s challenges of sustainable development, peace, security, and human rights.
Contact: office@gwlvoices.com
Design & Development by Sociopúblico