The next 2 years for UN-GLOBE

Dear UN-GLOBE colleagues,
 
It’s been about a month since we held the UN-GLOBE Board elections. Thank you to all those who voted.
 
The new UN-GLOBE Board is already hard at work. I wanted to let you know of our agenda going forward.
 
We will work on 5 priorities for the next 2 years.
 
1. We will continue to push for new parental policies across the UN system that treat all families equally. We believe parents are parents. They deserve equitable parental leave time whether their children are adopted, born through surrogacy, or given birth by the staff member. 
 
2. We will continue to push for equal pension benefits for all staff members. At a time when the majority of organizations of the UN system now recognize all legal same-sex unions, the UN provider of pension benefits, the UNJSPF, should do the same. No same-sex spouse of a staff member should go unrecognized. We have recently written to the Chef de Cabinet of the Secretary-General on this. She has promised to look into it. 
 
3. We will introduce proposals for inclusive workplaces for transgender and intersex staff members. All staff members deserve dignity and equal opportunities.
 
4. We will introduce proposals for inclusive workplaces for staff members with HIV/AIDS. A stigma-free workplace is our cause, and we’ll embrace it.
 
5. We will introduce a survey to measure the satisfaction of LGBTI staff in the UN system, and to measure attitudes towards LGBTI issues. Having hard numbers can benefit us all, staff and administrators alike.
 
Attitudes take time to change. Policy changes can take even longer.
 
What is important is that we start by changing the conversation. When we open people’s minds; when we make them see a problem where they thought there was none before; when we make administrators realize that our policies cater to heterosexuality, and not to diversity, we would have taken a big step forward. And we would be that much closer to our ultimate goals.
 
The UN system may rarely change overnight. 
 
But we will continue to push for our causes until the changes do come.
 
Best,
Alfonso
 
Hyung Hak Nam
President, UN-GLOBE