OAS MANDATE

1. Task Force on the Professional Status of and Opportunities for Women at the OAS General Secretariat

2. OAS MANDATE Resolution AG/RES. 2452 (XXXIXO/09), APPOINTMENT OF WOMEN TO SENIOR MANAGEMENT POSITIONS AT THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES, urges the Secretary General to: “Redouble his efforts to achieve, as a matter of priority, the goal of having women, including indigenous women, occupy 50 percent of posts at each grade level within the organs, agencies, and entities of the Organization of American States (OAS), particularly at the P-5 grade level and above, bearing in mind the application of the criteria of diversity and geographic distribution in professional positions”.

3. OAS Staff AssociationTask Force on the Professional Status of and Opportunities for Women at the OAS General Secretariat Mission: To recommend steps to be taken by the General Secretariat to improve opportunities for women to achieve their professional goals.

4. OAS Staff AssociationTask Force on the Professional Status of and Opportunities for Women at the OAS General Secretariat Specific objective: To assess the current status of professional women within the Organization particularly with regard to positions and levels of authority and responsibility and make recommendations for improvement.

5. OAS Staff AssociationTask Force on the Professional Status of and Opportunities for Women at the OAS General Secretariat Shown below are the initial findings of the Task Force based on data collected to date. Data collection will continue and results will be presented in a final report.

6. Total OAS Staff: Gender Distribution as of December 31st, 2009 A Majority of Women at the OAS… Source: OAS Secretariat for Administration and Finance, Department of Human Resources, Reegineering and Streamlining Human Resources Management (CP/CAAP- XXX/10)

7. OAS Staff: Distribution of Women in 2002 and 2009 …but few in leadership positions. Source: OAS Secretariat for Administration and Finance, Department of Human Resources, Reegineering and Streamlining Human Resources Management (CP/CAAP- XXX/10)

8. OAS Staff: Distribution of Women 2002 and 2009 – Reduction in Senior-level Positions Source: OAS Secretariat for Administration and Finance, Department of Human Resources, Reegineering and Streamlining Human Resources Management (CP/CAAP- XXX/10)

9. OAS Top Leadership- Secretaries Women are not present at the highest decision-making level: Source: Feb 2010 Protocol List

10. OAS Top Leadership- Secretaries Source: Feb 2010 Protocol List

11. OAS Top Leadership- Secretaries and Directors - 2010 Conclusions * IACHR, Office of the Inspector General, CIM,CITEL, INN, Retirement and Pension Fund Source: OAS List of Secretaries and Directors, February 2010, OAS Office of Protocol

12. OAS Top Leadership- Secretaries and Directors 2010 Source: OAS List of Secretaries and Directors, February 2010, OAS Office of Protocol

13. OAS Professional Staff by Grade and Gender Women are concentrated in the P01-P03 levels: Source: March 2010 OAS Personnel Register

14. OAS Professional Staff by Grade and Gender Women are well-represented in the lower professional levels but not at the higher levels. Source: March 2010 OAS Personnel Register

15. Conclusions • Preliminary findings show that women have no presence at top level decision-making positions in the core Secretariats of Political Affairs and Multidimensional Security and that they are underrepresented in the leadership of most of the other Secretariats. • Women’s leadership is concentrated in traditional areas such as External Affairs, Education, and in smaller National Offices*. * Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Jamaica, Panama, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines

16. Interim Recommendations • Review  selection and hiring process within the Organization with the objective of adjusting the criteria to reflect gender considerations throughout the whole application process for each position advertised both internally and externally.  Criteria should include lead time for advertising, encouraging gender balance within a Department or section,  and an internal review process to ensure competitive candidates are selected.  • Establish a base line data of where the Organization stands with women in senior positions, levels of authority, and ability to influence policy, budgetary and management decisions. Keep track of progress.  Are more women being included in male-dominated areas of the organization?  Are more men being included in female-dominated areas of the organization?  • Review all current senior positions (P-4 and above) to ensure that each department or secretariat has one senior woman able to take on new responsibilities in management, budgetary decisions levels of authority.

17. Interim Recommendations • Create a mixed working committee, with representation of the Staff Association and HR to review gender policies at the OAS and present concrete proposals. • Implement Staff rule that will require Senior staff responsible for hiring to ensure gender diversity within their areas of operation.  • Include gender diversity in the Performance Evaluation System (PES) evaluation criteria and reporting requirements. • Ensure that the public face of the OAS includes both women and men, that OAS events have both women and men speakers as participants and that web based or printed publications reflect significant presence of women leaders.

18. Next Steps for the Task Force • Request that the Staff Committee President present these preliminary findings to the Secretary General and Human Resources. • Continue with the data analysis. • Formulate and implement a survey on perceptions. • Complete and present the final report, including data, survey results and recommendations before the end of the year.

19. OAS Colleagues We look forward to receiving your observations and comments. Thank you!