The report by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs also presented a set of recommendations to eliminate gender inequality.
Published on Monday Progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals: Gender Snapshot 2024According to this report, the proportion of girls and women living in extreme poverty has decreased.
This figure increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, but has now fallen below 10 percent.
One out of every four parliamentary seats is held by a woman MP, a major achievement compared to a decade ago.
At the same time, 56 legal reforms were implemented around the world, including efforts to eliminate gender discrimination.
Nevertheless, according to the data presented in the report, all indicators of the fifth Sustainable Development Goal for achieving gender equality are currently out of reach.
Seema Bauhaus, executive director of UN Women, said the report speaks of a truth that cannot be denied. Progress may be made, but it is not fast.
In view of this, she appealed for the removal of all barriers faced by women and girls and called for gender equality to be transformed from an aspiration to a reality.
Long journey to equality
At the current pace of progress, achieving gender parity in parliament will likely remain a pipe dream and not be achieved until 2063.
It will take 137 years to lift all women and girls out of poverty. One in four girls will continue to be married before adulthood, while child marriage will only be eradicated by 2092.
The UN agency chief said world leaders are preparing to attend a future summit in New York on September 22-23.
“They are called upon to crystallize the international consensus on ending gender inequality, achieving gender equality and advancing the empowerment of all girls and women. “It seems like a distant goal, but it’s achievable.”
The enormous cost of the gender gap
The report emphasizes that gender inequality comes at a high price.
For example, countries that fail to adequately educate their young populations lose a total of $10 trillion each year.
Low- and middle-income countries could lose $500 billion over the next five years if they fail to close the gender gap in digital media.
In this context, UN Women has put forward recommendations to eliminate gender inequality in all areas under the Sustainable Development Agenda.
This includes legal reforms. For example, countries that have legal provisions to address domestic violence have lower rates of intimate partner violence.
The report said that decisive action should be taken at future summits with the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action coming up.
End discrimination against women and girls, and invest in improving their lives to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.