UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) have issued a report that presents evidence on gender equality across all 17 SDGs. Despite significant progress worldwide on gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment, the report reveals that none of the indicators and sub-indicators of SDG 5 (gender equality) are being met.

Titled, ‘Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2024,’ the report shows that women hold one in every four parliamentary seats, which represents a significant increase from a decade ago. The share of women and girls living in extreme poverty has dropped below 10%, following sharp increases during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the first Gender Snapshot in 2019, governments worldwide have enacted more than 50 legal reforms that seek to close the gender gap.

These achievements notwithstanding, the report warns that at current rates of progress, gender parity in parliaments will not become reality before 2063. It estimates that it will take as long as 137 years to lift all women and girls out of poverty. Child marriage is also a concern, with one in five girls continuing to be married as children. 

The report highlights that gender inequality comes at a hefty cost. According to a press release, “the annual global cost of countries failing to adequately educate their young populations is over USD 10 trillion.” Failure to close the digital gender gap could cost low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs) an additional USD 500 billion over the next five years.

The report calls for investing in women’s rights and offers recommendations to eliminate gender inequality across all 17 SDGs by focusing on transitions around: food systems; energy access and affordability; digital connectivity; education; jobs and social protection; and climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.

Released on 16 September 2024, the report calls for decisive action at the Summit of the Future (SoF) and on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025, to increase investments and end discrimination against women and girls and to fulfill the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. [Publication: Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2024] [Publication Landing Page] [Online Report] [UN Women Press Release]