To enable the Committee to gain a better understanding of the scope of the reforms which the Secretary-General intended to implement, it was necessary to outline the nature and extent of those changes. 2. In 1955 the Secretariat had had approximately 4,000 staff members, serving in a handful of duty stations, whereas in 1983 there were 16,000 staff members serving at Headquarters and 175 duty stations. As it changed in size, the Secretariat had necessarily changed in nature, with inevitable implications for personnel policy. 3. The change had affected personnel matters in four areas, the first of which was geographical representation. The number of Member States had tripled since the inception of the Organization, and that considerable increase created some thorny problems when it came to the principle of equitable geographical representation, the application of which each Member justly called for. The most difficult problem of all was over-representation, a matter the Office of Personnel Services had little control over. 4. The second area was the composition of the staff. Whereas in 1955 nationals of some 15 Member States had constituted the nucleus of the staff in the Professional category, today 143 nationalities were represented in the Secretariat, a change which inevitably involved a vast reapportionment of all posts subject to geographical distribution. The countries which had reaped the benefits of a historical situation would have to accept the idea that a number of posts at the top level which became vacant owing to retirement should be filled by nationals from countries with inadequate representation. Also, women constituted more than 50 per cent of the staff as a whole, but their numerical representation was still insufficient in the Professional category and relatively insignificant in the higher echelons. 5. The specific nature of the Organization's mandate had also changed: at 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the organizational changes and reforms within an international organization, specifically related to personnel policy, geographical representation, and staff composition. The mention of the Secretary-General, Member States, and the Office of Personnel Services suggests a focus on international governance and administration, rather than a specific sector or field.

**Category**
International governance, Employment