The COVID-19 pandemic has been an unprecedented catastrophe. It has precipitated the worst global public health crisis in more than a century, and has induced the worst worldwide economic crisis since the Great Depression. The pandemic has tested the capacity of our political systems to handle acute emergency, and of our laws and policies to protect the most vulnerable. It has upended our daily routines, strained our coping mechanisms, and exposed, in dramatic detail, the fractures and inequities embedded in our social systems.

Last fall, with the launch of our UN Senior Leadership Appointments Dashboard, we were able to quantify the “halting progress” on gender parity at the UN. We are pleased to announce that we have updated the dashboard to include all the data from the year 2020—and that the progress continues. While this article highlights some of our key headlines from 2020, we encourage you to explore the updated dashboard and the varied analysis it offers.