International Women’s Day: Investing in women’s empowerment and gender equality

In 2024, over halfway to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, as we commemorate International Women's Day, it is crucial to reflect on our collective journey towards gender equality and envision the path ahead.

Globally, while we should rightly celebrate progress in key areas such as women's political representation, maternal mortality, and legislative reform for ending violence against women, the overall picture is one of regression. Our analysis shows that none of the targets for SDG 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are at "met" or "almost met." 99 percent of the world's women live in countries with substantial gender gaps and limited women's empowerment. The average woman scores less than 75 percent of what the average man does against a basket of human development indicators. Globally women hold just 26.7 percent seats in parliament, 35.5 percent in local government and 28.2 percent of management positions in the workplace. Gender gaps in poverty remain high, particularly among women aged 25 to 34. Today, 1 in every 10 women lives in extreme poverty, and if current trends continue, over 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030. In addition, increasing conflicts, disasters, climate change and polarizing societies threaten to exacerbate existing gender inequalities.

We are currently at an important crossroad where standing up for women's rights is more important than ever. As the world marks International Women's Day (IWD) on March 8 under the theme "Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress," the imperative to prioritize investment in women's empowerment has never been more urgent.

U.N. Women estimates that an additional $360 billion annually is needed to...