It May Take 300 Years to Achieve Full Gender Equality: UN Report

New York: At the current rate of progress, it may take close to 300 years to achieve full gender equality, according to a report launched by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) and UN Women on Wednesday.
 
The new report titled "Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): The Gender Snapshot 2022" highlights that, at the current pace of progress, SDG 5—achieving gender equality—will not be met by 2030.
 
It also shows that global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, violent conflict, climate change, and the backlash against women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights are further exacerbating gender disparities. 

"This is a tipping point for women’s rights and gender equality as we approach the half-way mark to 2030. It is critical that we rally now to invest in women and girls to reclaim and accelerate progress. The data show undeniable regressions in their lives made worse by the global crises—in incomes, safety, education, and health. The longer we take to reverse this trend, the more it will cost us all," Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director, said in a press release on Wednesday.
 
At the current rate of progress, the report estimates that it will take up to 286 years to close gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws, 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership in the workplace, and at least 40 years to achieve equal representation in national parliaments. 
 
Without swift action, legal systems that do not ban violence against women, do not protect women’s rights in marriage and family—for instance, denying women their right to pass on their nationality to their children, or to inherit—do not provide them with equal pay and benefits at work, and do not guarantee their equal rights to own and control land, may continue to exist for generations to come.
 
The report also points to a worrisome reversal on the reduction of poverty, and rising prices are likely to exacerbate this trend. By the end of 2022, around 383 million women and girls will live in extreme poverty (on less than USD 1.90 a day) compared to 368 million men and boys. Many more will have insufficient income to meet basic needs such as food, clothing, and adequate shelter in most parts of the world. If current trends continue, in sub-Saharan Africa, more women and girls will live in extreme poverty by 2030 than today.
 
"Cascading global crises are putting the achievement of the SDGs in jeopardy, with the world’s most vulnerable population groups disproportionately impacted, in particular women and girls. Gender equality is a foundation for achieving all SDGs and it should be at the heart of building back better," said Maria-Francesca Spatolisano, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs of UN DESA.
 
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