The latest edition of Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2024 was launched today in New York by UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. This report highlights that there has been global progress and yes challenges in gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.
Significant advancements include women now holding one in every four parliamentary seats, a notable increase from ten years ago, and the proportion of women and girls living in extreme poverty dropping below 10% following significant rises during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, up to 56 legal reforms aimed at closing the gender gap have been enacted globally since the first Gender Snapshot.
Despite these advancements, the report indicates that none of the indicators and sub-indicators of Sustainable Development Goal 5—focused on gender equality—are being fully met. At the current rate, achieving gender parity in parliaments may not happen until 2063, lifting all women and girls out of poverty might take another 137 years, and approximately one in four girls continues to be married during childhood.
Global Gender Equality Progress in 2024
As world leaders convene for the Summit of the Future on September 22-23, they are called upon to form a new international agreement to close the gender gap, attain gender equality, and enhance the rights and empowerment of all women and girls—an ambitious yet achievable goal.
“Today’s report reveals the undeniable truth: progress is achievable, but is not fast enough,” said Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director. “We need to keep pushing forward for gender equality to fulfill the commitment made by world leaders in the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing almost 30 years ago and the 2030 Agenda. Let us unite to continue dismantling the barriers women and girls face and forge a future where gender equality is not just an aspiration but a reality.”
The report underscores the enormous cost of gender inequality. For example, the annual global cost of countries failing to adequately educate their young populations exceeds USD 10 trillion. Low- and middle-income countries could lose another USD 500 billion over the next five years by not addressing the digital gender gap.
The costs for gender equality inaction is immense
“The costs of inaction on gender equality are immense, and the rewards of achieving it are far too great to ignore. We can only achieve the 2030 Agenda with the full and equal participation of women and girls in every part of society,” said Li Junhua, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
The report offers several recommendations to eliminate gender inequality across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals, such as implementing legal reforms. It notes that countries with legislation against domestic violence have lower rates of intimate partner violence—9.5% compared to 16.1% in countries without such laws.
The report calls for decisive action at the Summit of the Future on September 22-23, and during the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025. It urges increased investments and the end of discrimination against women and girls to fulfill the promise of the 2030 Agenda.
You can read the full report here: https://unwomen.org.au/publications-and-resources/progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2024
About UN Women Australia
UN Women Australia is a non-profit organisation committed to achieving gender equality for all women, empowering them to contribute their unique knowledge and skills to help create a better world for themselves, their families and their communities. Working in over 100 countries across the globe, UN Women runs vital programs that provide women and girls access to technology, training programs and safe spaces, empowering women and girls to obtain an education, become leaders in their community and build a brighter, more equal future for us all.