a) Geographical representation of professional staff

337.     The principles of geographical representation of Member Nations followed by the Organization were originally established by the 27th Session of the FAO Council in 1957. At its Thirty-second Session held in November-December 2003, the Conference adopted a revised formula for the calculation of geographic distribution similar to that implemented in the UN Secretariat and in several organizations of the UN common system. Under the new methodology, 40% of posts are distributed on the basis of membership, 5% on the basis of member country population, and 55% in proportion to the scale of assessments. The implementation of the new methodology was effective from 1 January 2004. The application of the new formula resulted in a significant increase in the number of equitably-represented countries.

338.     Summary tables indicating the countries that were not within the range of equitable representation as at 31 December 2007 (67 of 189⁴⁰ Member Nations), are shown in Annex 2: Geographical Representation of Professional Staff.

339.     At the end of 2005, 11 countries exceeded the top of their range; 17 countries were under-represented; and 31 were non-represented. At the end of 2007, there were 10 countries that exceeded the top of their range; 19 under-represented countries; and 38 non-represented countries⁴¹. It should be noted that the Organization continues to attribute priority to the recruitment of professional staff from non-represented countries. In this regard, 3 of the 31 countries that were non-represented at the end of 2005⁴² were represented at the end of 2007, while 28 countries remained non-represented. It is also important to note that of the 38 non-represented countries at the end of 2007, 2 were countries⁴³ that became new Members of FAO in November 2005.

b) Gender balance of professional staff

340.     Increasing the proportion of female staff in the professional category is one of the main human resources policy objectives of the Organization. Efforts during the last six biennia have resulted in the steady increase of women in professional posts at headquarters from 21% at the beginning of 1996 to 34% at the end 2007 and an increase in all locations from 18 to 30% (Figure 20). These percentages are based upon the total number of professional staff with fixed-term or continuing contracts at headquarters and other established offices⁴⁴. While the percentage of women in professional posts in offices outside headquarters is significantly lower, the rate of increase has been relatively high, growing from 8% in 1996 to 16% in 2007.

Figure 20: Percentage representation of female international professional staff

341.     The number of female and male staff by grade at the end of 2007 is shown in Table 19. Overall, women constitute half (51%) of the Organization's total staff, 66% of general service staff (G1 - G7), 33% of professional officers (P1 - P5), 35% of other professionals (National Professional Officers and Associate Professional Officers) and 13% of director and higher-level staff (D1 - DDG). Within the director and higher level group, about 16% of both ADG and D-2 level staff are women. Within the professional officers, the proportion of females varies from 56% at P-2, 46% at P-3 to 23% at P-5 levels. The greater number of women at the P-2 to P-3 grade levels reflects the increasing number of qualified young women in the technical fields of the Organization. As older staff retire, it is expected that many of these women will move into more senior officer positions. It should be noted that a draft Human Resources Management Gender Action Plan has been formulated that would enable the Organization to achieve, in the medium term, a better gender balance and, in the longer term, gender parity. It is currently foreseen that this Action Plan should be implemented by the end of 2008.

Table 19: Female and male staff by grade as at 31 December 2007