UN Deems Gender Equality by 2030 Impossible
By Reva Lingala
According to the United Nations’ “The Gender Snapshot 2023” report, the UN’s goal of achieving gender equality by 2030 has been deemed impossible. Because of the lack of progress in issues regarding education, employment, government, and health, the world is failing to reach full gender equality. The UN Women agency claims that “the world is failing women and girls.”
The Gender Snapshot reports are created to provide an analysis of gender equality throughout the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The report is made to highlight the progression towards achieving gender equality by 2030.
The 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals were released in 2015 and “[provide] a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future.” Alongside gender equality (SDG #5), this includes goals such as working towards zero poverty, improving the quality of education around the world, and fighting the climate crisis. In many ways, these goals interact and affect one another, encouraging us to resolve the systemic failures that cause these issues, rather than focusing only on temporary solutions.
Examining the goal of zero poverty, the report found that 1 in every 10 women live in extreme poverty. If this continues, more than 340 million women will be living in extreme poverty in 2030. Due to climate change worsening, it is possible that more of these women will experience severe food insecurity.
Looking at the goal of quality education, millions of girls don’t have the opportunity to go to school. In some areas, like Afghanistan, it is prohibited for females to continue with their education after elementary school. The report states by 2030, “an estimated 110 million will remain out of school.” Due to education barriers, there is a rising gap in leadership positions and jobs for women. Around the world, women hold only 27% of seats at the national level, 36% in local governments, and 28% in managing positions in workspaces. Ongoing gender barriers, such as harassment in the workplace and pay disparities, limit the role of women in the workplace. The report finds that because of harassment in workplaces and pay disparities.
While there has been progress over the last decades, the world is still not on track to achieve gender equality by the intended goal of 2023. The key areas that need more work are disparities in pay, access to jobs, and harassment and discrimination in the workplace. In order to achieve gender equality we must raise more awareness and funding on the issue of equality for women and promote female entrepreneurship to see more development in gender equality. According to the report, around $6.4 trillion is needed per year in order to end poverty and hunger and to support women globally.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi! My name is Reva and I am currently a senior in high school. I compete in speech and debate and mock trial which has led me to discover my passion for politics and law. I’ve always enjoyed writing which is why I decided to join Women in Politics. In my spare time, I enjoy baking and going on walks.