SDG 5 – Gender equality
At the Beijing +30 juncture, progress on gender equality and women’s empowerment falls short.
Thirty years after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, the world’s most comprehensive blueprint for achieving equal rights for all women and girls, gender equality is far from being achieved. Some countries still challenge women’s civil liberties, and legal restrictions related to marriage, employment and access to economic resources remain widespread. Despite gains in political participation, gender parity is still the exception, not the norm. Reaching gender equality is possible, but it demands intersectional, integrated, comprehensive and gender-responsive policy packages that strengthen legal frameworks; dismantle deeply rooted economic and structural barriers, including discriminatory social norms; and scale up investments in all areas.
Inclusive legal frameworks
Robust laws and policies that promote gender equality and address gender discrimination are essential to achieving change.
Yet data from 131 countries in 2024 reveal substantial challenges. No country achieves a perfect score across four areas measured:
- legal frameworks and public life
- violence against women
- employment and economic benefits
- marriage and family
Violence against women and girls
Combating violence, harassment, and the abuse of women and girls in all forms and in all spheres of life, including online, will determine the achievement of gender equality.
The rates are even more alarming in Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand), where over 1 in 4 women (28.6%) faced such violence, and in sub-Saharan Africa, where 1 in 5 women (20.4%) were affected.
Harmful practices
Harmful practices severely undermine the well-being of women and girls, including through long-term physical, emotional and psychological repercussions. They lead to profound societal consequences by perpetuating cycles of poverty, inequality and social instability.
Unpaid care work
Strengthened care policies, services, jobs and infrastructure are required to recognize, reduce and redistribute the unpaid care and domestic work burden, which is primarily shouldered by women.
Women in Northern Africa and Western Asia spend over four times as many hours as men, while in Oceania, Europe and Northern America, women spend approximately twice as many hours. Trend data across countries are limited but indicate that gender ratios in time spent on unpaid domestic and care work have decreased in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, the United Kingdom and the United States. In just a few cases, notably the Dominican Republic, Mongolia and Japan, a decrease in the ratio was accompanied by a reduction in the time women used for these activities. Ratios have remained largely unchanged in Canada, Guatemala and Switzerland.
Leadership and decision-making
Women are often denied leadership and decision-making roles in politics and the private sector.
The number of countries with 50% or more women in their lower or single chambers doubled from three to six between 2015 and 2025. Quotas have helped drive these successes.
Legal frameworks and land rights
The lack of legal frameworks and limited land rights for women undermine gender equality.
Digital inclusion
Improving women’s access to mobile phones can boost economic independence.
Gender gaps in mobile money account ownership have significantly narrowed as well: 37% of women in low and middle-income countries owned such accounts in 2011 vs 73% in 2024.
Gender-responsive budgeting
Most fiscal systems do not track resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment throughout the public financial management cycle.
