How UNICEF is building a stronger values-based culture to achieve results for every child
Annual session of 2023
NEW YORK, United States of America, 22 June 2023 ─ The UNICEF Executive Board wrapped up its annual session of 2023 last Friday. A common thread running across the rich discussions held over three and a half days was the importance of continued investment in a values-based organization. Speakers emphasized how cultivating and promoting values such as equity, diversity and inclusion are fundamental propellers to drive change for every child.
“I am confident that our discussions, as always, will keep the rights, protection and betterment of the lives of children at the centre of our focus,” said UNICEF Executive Board President, Ambassador Marie-Louise Koch Wegter (Denmark), in her opening remarks.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell stressed that “our capacity to successfully reach children in need, to tackle the issues and crises they face, and to leave no one behind, is dependent on how we can continue to improve our organization.”
In this regard, she touched on several recent initiatives and successes, including the organization-wide global leadership meeting from which five key commitments would be taken forward; formalization of the global technical teams; and progress on work to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse.
Achieving results, inside and outside UNICEF
On the first day of the session, Executive Director Russell presented her annual report to the Executive Board. As the first report on the implementation of the new Strategic Plan, 2022–2025, it recorded overall good progress for children. Internally, efforts multiplied to strengthen organizational culture; externally, concerted action ensured that most result areas are on track. Some highlights include:
Results for children in 2022:
- Despite the challenges posed by the global food and nutrition crisis, 356.3 million children under 5 years of age – more than ever before – benefited from programmes to prevent malnutrition in all its forms.
- 37.9 million out-of-school children and adolescents (49 per cent girls) accessed education, including 3.1 million children on the move and 18.6 million children in humanitarian settings.
- 77.9 million children were vaccinated against measles.
- 26 million people gained access to at least basic sanitation services, 30.6 million to basic water, 23.6 million to basic hygiene, while more than 39 million people were reached with water, sanitation or hygiene services in humanitarian emergencies.
- UNICEF scaled up programming to prevent violence, exploitation and harmful practices, including through parenting support programmes, which reached 11.8 million caregivers in 2022, up from 3 million in 2021.
- Across all Goals Areas, UNICEF disability-inclusive programmes reached more than 4.5 million children with disabilities in 142 countries, including in humanitarian crises.
Results for UNICEF staff in 2022:
- Diversity, equity and inclusion became more institutionalized with the recruitment of a Culture and Diversity team.
- Gender parity advanced, reaching 48.9 per cent women staff in 2022.
- About 40 per cent of UNICEF offices met the organizational benchmark on psychological safety and trust, a significant increase from 28 per cent in 2021, but with noticeable regional contrasts.
And the new UNICEF Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy stipulates that by 2025, UNICEF will increase the number of employees with disabilities by at least 2 per cent across all offices, with the aim of reaching 7 per cent representation by 2030.
Additional results can be viewed in the Executive Director’s report, as well as the UNICEF 2022 Annual Report.
Scaling up efforts on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse
The Board was also presented with the annual report on UNICEF humanitarian action. In keeping with its commitment to strengthening organizational culture, in 2022, UNICEF scaled up efforts on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, including in its humanitarian responses.
As a result, in 2022, 89 per cent of country offices with a humanitarian response had sexual exploitation and abuse reporting systems fully in place, while supporting their partners with capacity-building in this area. Also, as part of its survivor-centred approach, UNICEF provided training to humanitarian country teams and inter-agency partners on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse to roll out the United Nations Protocol on the Provision of Assistance to Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
The update on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse added depth to the organization’s progress and challenges in this important area of work. In 2022, UNICEF was able to measure progress, based on a selection of indicators, for the first time in this long-term work.
“This is the first UNICEF action plan to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse that is being presented to the Executive Board”, said Hannan Sulieman, Deputy Executive Director for Management. She added that the plan showed the organization’s work “in tackling the issue from multiple fronts and by many different parts of the organization working in partnership with others.”
Identifying and filling gaps in protection from sexual exploitation and abuse continues to be a priority. UNICEF headquarters and 87 per cent of country offices have now comprehensively assessed their systems and have drawn up action plans to address gaps. The organization carried out a similar assessment with its partners, which resulted in the majority of them having satisfactory safeguarding systems in place by 2022.
However, challenges remain. Long-term investments are needed to address the root causes of sexual exploitation and abuse – which include, among others, social and gender norms tolerant of abuses and the absence of safe; and the absence of safe, quality assistance which might motivate people to report.
Building a stronger UNICEF is instrumental to building a better world for every child
During the session, UNICEF provided an update to the Executive Board on efforts, results and challenges in making its organizational culture stronger. To improve the practice of its core values and become a more diverse and inclusive workplace, UNICEF has implemented many of the necessary enabling factors for impact at scale across the organization in the coming years. Some examples include:
- In 2022, four new policies were approved that provide more flexibility for staff with family care responsibilities. An updated flexible working arrangements policy was also adopted.
- UNICEF has developed new tools, such as the dignity and the domestic abuse toolkits, as well as a guide to help how to consider diversity, equity and inclusion throughout recruitment processes.
- By now, UNICEF has the largest dedicated team of culture and diversity professionals within the United Nations system, and has contributed extensively to inter-agency efforts in this area.
Yet, as the most recent Global Staff Survey indicates, progress has been uneven, slow in some areas and stalling in others. Lack of time by offices to devote to workplace culture, employees’ perceptions of the slow pace of progress, and a persistent low level of psychological safety and trust are among the most significant challenges to progress. UNICEF is working to address this by tackling persistent issues at the organizational level, and by supporting specific offices with tailored advice and support.
Throughout 2022, the UNICEF Ethics Office continued to play a substantive role in promoting an ethical and values-based culture. Highlights range from increasing the number of ethics services provided (from 1,020 in 2021 to 1,473 in 2022) to more than doubling training sessions between 2021 and 2022 (reaching 3,900 personnel globally), through launching the Ethics and Culture Champions Network with more than 480 colleagues in 130 offices globally.
UNICEF Staff Team Awards
A highlight of the session was the presentation of the UNICEF Staff Team Awards, an annual event that acknowledges commitment and care as key enablers of UNICEF work.
With recognition being a key element of a wholesome workplace culture, at the end of the session Executive Director Russell commended five teams from across the organization for being nominated for the awards. The teams were recognized for their valuable contributions in 2022 amid challenging circumstances. From responding in emergencies to reducing poverty and expanding access to education, their work is testament to living UNICEF values each and every day.
Key decisions
By the end of its annual session, the Board had adopted 11 decisions on topics ranging from annual reporting on organizational and humanitarian action, including ethics and evaluation, to updates on protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, organizational culture, fundraising and UN repositioning efforts and a country programme document.
In closing the session, Executive Director Russell said, “we are grateful to the Board for partnering with us in our efforts to ensure that UNICEF is an organization whose people, processes and positions reflect its core values.”
Ambassador Wegter wrapped up the session by commending participants for the fruitful discussions and deliberations and by looking forward to the upcoming second regular session in September.
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The Executive Board will convene its 2023 second regular session from 5 to 8 September.
