and 38 modified the seventy-years old language to explicitly call for "Member States to consider presenting women as candidates for the position of Secretary-General." In late 2016, the group transitioned into a new and expanded phase for women leadership at senior level positions in the United Nations, for which it changed its name to Group of Friends for Gender Parity. In 2019, the Group achieved 149 Member States. The group was mindful of the strategy and commitments made towards achieving gender parity, particularly in senior positions, laid out in the vision statement and during the informal dialogues by the Secretary-General Guterres. The group stood ready to support and work with Mr. Guterres to promote women's participation and advance women's leadership across the UN system. In order to achieve it, the group fostered open discussions on the necessary steps required to realize this goal. The group also emphasized the required steps needed to be taken towards achieving gender parity, with the ultimate goal of improving the current imbalance of women in senior leadership and comply with the extensive legal basis within the UN mandate on gender parity in United Nations leadership. References External links www.colombiaun.org www.cancilleria.gov.co Misión Permanente de Colombia ante la ONU en Nueva York | Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores 1953 births Living people Foreign ministers of Colombia Permanent Representatives of Colombia to the United Nations Secretaries General of the Union of South American Nations Female foreign ministers Women government ministers of Colombia Colombian women ambassadors