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Agenda 2030

Sustainable development goals
5

Gender Equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Key Targets
  • 1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
  • 2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres.
  • 3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
  • 4 Ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels.
  • 5 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights.
Key Facts
1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence.
Women earn 20% less than men on average globally.
Women hold only 26% of parliamentary seats worldwide.
An estimated 650 million women alive today were married before age 18.
Global Progress

Legal and educational progress on gender equality has been real and measurable since 2000. But deep structural barriers — in political representation, economic participation, and gender-based violence — persist worldwide, and the pace of change remains far too slow.

What We've Accomplished

  • Women's share of parliamentary seats grew from 13% in 2000 to 26% by 2023.
  • Maternal mortality declined by 34% between 2000 and 2020, saving hundreds of thousands of lives.
  • Over 160 countries now have laws criminalising domestic violence.
  • Gender parity in primary school enrollment has been largely achieved globally.
  • Iceland became the first country to make equal pay mandatory through legislation in 2018.

2030 Outlook

Off Track

The World Economic Forum estimates full gender equality will take over 130 years at the current pace. Female labor force participation has barely changed since 1990, sitting at around 47% globally. Only 26 countries have achieved gender parity or better in their legislatures. Violence against women remains at epidemic levels — 1 in 3 women experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime.

Leading Nations

Iceland Ranked #1 for gender equality 14 years running by the WEF; first country to enforce equal pay through law.
Rwanda Leads the world in female parliamentary representation at 61% of seats — above any other nation.
New Zealand Led by a female prime minister for 6+ years; strong policies on equal pay and paid parental leave.
Sweden Pioneered feminist foreign policy; one of the world's narrowest gender wage gaps.
Finland Elected the world's youngest female prime minister; near-universal paid parental leave and childcare access.