About the Authors...
Between 2007 and 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed several women to Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser positions within the organization. At about this time, a young woman from South Korea, Shana Sung, was just completing a graduate degree in international public policy in New York. She had dreamt of working for the United Nations for as long as she could remember and had been fortunate enough to obtain a temporary position with the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
The deliberateness with which these appointments were made was not lost on Shana. She was inspired to see that the Secretary-General had made a point of “engendering” this top level of UN management and saw each of these women as an inspiration for her own career. The appointments created a strong desire in Shana to learn more about the women in positions of power at the UN. She began to wonder how these remarkably diverse and talented women made it to the top of the organization. What were they doing when they were her age? How did they achieve what they achieved? Shana wanted to understand the paths that led them to where they are today and believed that others might benefit from knowing their stories as well.
She decided to enlist the help of a former classmate and writer who also had a passion for the international public sector, Avril David. The two women set out securing and conducting interviews with senior female managers at the UN with the intention of uncovering the experiences that had the greatest impact on who these women are today as well as lessons they would like to share with people around the world.
As these are some of the busiest women in the world who frequently travel to multiple countries and are responsible for overseeing hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of staff across the globe, the self-managed process was not without difficulty for Shana and Avril. It took an incredible amount of tenacity, optimism and, perhaps, healthy boldness to imagine that they might have the opportunity to sit down, speak to and learn from these women.
At its core, this book is about that kind of tenacity, optimism and boldness. It’s about having the courage to follow one’s heart despite one’s circumstances - to believe in something and to go after it, and if that fails, to start the process over again as if it was the first time. Seemingly impossible tasks like these are what the United Nations is all about. The boldness of its mission and the audacity to presume that despite the tortuous history of humanity, that we might create a world where all people are fed, sheltered, safe, secure, educated and free to realize their potential and hold their beliefs - this is the spirit at the heart of this book.
The profiles in this book tell us that great achievements are possible no matter where one starts.
Please use the form below to contact the authors of Women in Power at the UN.
The deliberateness with which these appointments were made was not lost on Shana. She was inspired to see that the Secretary-General had made a point of “engendering” this top level of UN management and saw each of these women as an inspiration for her own career. The appointments created a strong desire in Shana to learn more about the women in positions of power at the UN. She began to wonder how these remarkably diverse and talented women made it to the top of the organization. What were they doing when they were her age? How did they achieve what they achieved? Shana wanted to understand the paths that led them to where they are today and believed that others might benefit from knowing their stories as well.
She decided to enlist the help of a former classmate and writer who also had a passion for the international public sector, Avril David. The two women set out securing and conducting interviews with senior female managers at the UN with the intention of uncovering the experiences that had the greatest impact on who these women are today as well as lessons they would like to share with people around the world.
As these are some of the busiest women in the world who frequently travel to multiple countries and are responsible for overseeing hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of staff across the globe, the self-managed process was not without difficulty for Shana and Avril. It took an incredible amount of tenacity, optimism and, perhaps, healthy boldness to imagine that they might have the opportunity to sit down, speak to and learn from these women.
At its core, this book is about that kind of tenacity, optimism and boldness. It’s about having the courage to follow one’s heart despite one’s circumstances - to believe in something and to go after it, and if that fails, to start the process over again as if it was the first time. Seemingly impossible tasks like these are what the United Nations is all about. The boldness of its mission and the audacity to presume that despite the tortuous history of humanity, that we might create a world where all people are fed, sheltered, safe, secure, educated and free to realize their potential and hold their beliefs - this is the spirit at the heart of this book.
The profiles in this book tell us that great achievements are possible no matter where one starts.
Please use the form below to contact the authors of Women in Power at the UN.
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Ms. Shana Sung is an Environmental Officer at the United Nations. |
Ms. Avril David is a Lead Communications Consultant for a major international policy organization. |
