November 19, 2024
2 read me
See how close we are to Gender Equality Worldwide
UN statistics show progress towards the goal of gender equality, but there is still a long way to go
Around the world, women and girls still face disproportionate discrimination, poverty and violence, as well as lack of access to education, health and property, among other disadvantages. Every year, UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs track progress towards global gender equality—one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, which all UN member countries have agreed to strive to achieve by 2030. The project collects data. government questionnaires and household surveys and other organizations such as the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
The report highlights some important gains: child marriage is on the decline, women have a slightly higher share of parliament and local government, and since 2019, 56 legal reforms have been implemented to close the gender gap. Papa Seck, head of the UN Women research and data division. “But that progress has not been enough to get us where we want to be by 2030. Much more can and should be done.” At the current rate of progress, gender parity in parliaments will not be achieved until 2063, child marriage will last until 2092 and it will take 137 years to end extreme poverty for women.
Objective 5
About supporting science journalism
If you like this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism subscribe. By purchasing a subscription, you’re helping to ensure a future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world.
Achieving gender equality, Goal 5, is one of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. These include ending poverty (Goal 1), ending hunger (Goal 2) and ensuring education for all (Goal 4). All goals are interrelated, and many of their goals overlap; for example, achieving gender equality means ending poverty and hunger for women and expanding access to education. Goal 5 includes 9 targets and 14 indicators.
Federica Fragapane; Source: Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The 2024 Gender SnapshotPublished by UN-Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (the data)
