Gender discrimination is deeply rooted in our societies and even our own minds. The resulting gender disparities are further magnified by a highly unequal world.
Complicating factors in recent years include the pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic crises, conflict, and the climate emergency, all of which intersect with surging pushback against gender equality and polarized political debate.
More women live in conflict and crisis: In 2023, more than 170 armed conflicts occurred; 612 million women and girls lived within 50 kilometres of these, more than double the number in the 1990s.
Too many women and still poor: Almost 10 percent of the world’s women and girls remain stranded in extreme poverty with few options to get out. In the worst-case climate scenario, an additional 158.3 million women and girls could be pushed into poverty by 2050. Once promising improvements in reducing maternal mortality have ground to a halt, mostly in the poorest and most fragile countries and communities.
113 countries have never had a woman Head of State: Progress on women’s political participation is happening, with the share of women more than doubling globally, from 11 per cent to 27 per cent today. Yet the rate of change makes gender parity a distant dream.
The global crisis of violence against women and girls continues with few signs of abating: Around 736 million women have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner or sexual violence from a non-partner at some point in their lives. Rates tend to rise during crises, and new forms are emerging through digital technologies.
Furthermore, women and girls still face far greater risks from gender discrimination when they also confront other forms of exclusion, such as those based on disability, race, age, income or sexual orientation.