Following the recommendation entailed in the Secretary-General’s System-wide Strategy on Gender Parity: the present guidelines have been developed by UN Women, in coordination with the Human Resources Network of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), and the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM).

These guidelines will focus on three thematic areas to increase inclusivity and diversity within the UN, as follows:

1. Flexible working arrangements are mutually beneficial arrangements between personnel and their managers in which both parties agree on when, where and how work is executed.
2. Family-friendly policies are those that further enable staff to effectively balance personal, family (i.e. having a child, caring for an ageing relative or self-care during life-changing events) and professional commitments as needed throughout the span of their career.
3. Common standards of conduct are a prerequisite for a safe, discrimination-free and supportive workplace. These standards include guiding principles that encourage value-based behavior to reduce misconduct, abuse of power and harassment.

The “Enabling environment guidelines for the UN system” were developed following a consultative and participatory system-wide approach. Together with the Human Resources Network of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB) and the Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM), UN Women explored key challenges and good practices from across the UN system to help build an enabling environment, benefiting from the expertise of the Gender Focal Points across the system and many other stakeholders.