Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 8th Sept. UN Women on Thursday warned that the world is falling behind in terms of closing the gender gap as part of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
UN Women issued the new Gender Snapshot report warned that if current trends continue, over 340 million women and girls will be living in poverty by 2030.
The report said it represents 8% of the female population worldwide.
The agency noted that close to 1 in 4 will experience moderate or severe food insecurity and at the current rate of progress, the next generation of women will still be spending 2.3 more hours per day on unpaid care and domestic work than men.
UN Women’s report noted that the gender gap in power and leadership positions “remains entrenched”.
Sarah Hendriks, the acting Deputy Executive Director of the UN Women described it as “a resounding call to action.
“We must collectively and intentionally act now to course-correct for a world where every woman and girl has equal rights, opportunities, and representation. To achieve this, we need unwavering commitment, innovative solutions, and collaboration across all sectors and stakeholders.”
The report provides comprehensive analysis on gender factors across all 17 SDGs, in light of the ambitious goal of achieving true equality.
It includes sex-disaggregated data on the intersections of gender and climate change for the first time.
It projects that by mid-century, under a worst-case climate scenario, climate change may push up to 158.3 million more women and girls into poverty.
That’s 16 million more than the figure for men and boys.
The report finds that older women face higher rates of poverty and violence than older men.
In 28 of the 116 countries with data, fewer than half of older women have a pension.
The progress on SDG 5 – gender equality is clearly way off track.
The report showed that the world is simply failing women and girls with only two Goal 5 indicators “close to target” and no indicator at the “target met or almost met” level.
It suggests that an extra $360 billion per year in needed to achieve equality and women’s empowerment across key goals in money terms.
Maria-Francesca Spatolisano head of the Policy Coordination at the UN’s economic and social affairs department, DESA said “Gender equality is not just a goal within the 2030 Agenda.”
“It is the very foundation of a fair society, and a goal upon which all other goals must stand.
She added “By breaking down the barriers that have hindered the full participation of women and girls in every aspect of society, we unleash the untapped potential that can drive progress and prosperity for all.”
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