Where are the women at the top of the UN? The United Nations is 75 years old this year, and it has had nine secretaries general. But not one of them has been a woman. Back in 2016 when candidates to succeed Ban Ki Moon were throwing their hats into the ring, there was a real feeling that the right moment might finally have come to have a woman at the top of the UN. This content was published on April 20, 2021 - 16:00 April 20, 2021 - 16:00 Imogen Foulkes In a voting process that was more transparent and more democratic than any previous contest for the post of secretary general, a number of highly qualified women stood, among them Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva, New Zealand’s Helen Clark, and Susana Malcorra of Argentina. But when all the votes were counted, it was a man, Antonio Guterres, who succeeded.