SDG 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Why is there a need for a specific Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality?

The answer is quite simple:

• gender equality is a fundamental human right.
• women and girls, in all their diversity, must have equal rights and equal opportunities.
• they must be able to lead lives free from violence and discrimination.

However, this equality is far from being achieved and currently no country in the world has achieved it, which is why, as UN Women denounces, SDG 5 is more necessary than ever: 

• Discriminatory laws must be changed and laws that actively promote equality must be adopted:
  → 49 countries in the world still do not yet have laws to protect women from domestic violence, while 39 countries prohibit equal inheritance rights between daughters and sons.

• The elimination of gender-based violence is a priority, as it is one of the most widespread human rights violations in the world today. Its impact can be both immediate and far-reaching, and includes multiple physical, sexual, psychological and even lethal consequences for women and girls. It negatively affects women’s well-being and prevents their full participation in society.
  → According to data from 87 countries, one in five women and girls under the age of 50 has experienced some form of physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 months. Harmful practices, such as child marriage, continue to prevent 15 million girls under the age of 18 from enjoying their childhood each year.

   

• Achieving an equal distribution of economic resources and a fair balance of responsibility for the provision of domestic and care work by men and women, in addition to securing human rights, would accelerate development in many areas.
  → Women spend 2.6 times more time doing domestic work than men, but while families, societies and economies depend on this work, for women it means less income and less time for other activities.
• Sexual and reproductive rights are fundamental to women’s autonomy and empowerment.
  

  → Yet only 52 per cent of women who are married or in union make their own decisions freely about consensual sex, contraceptive use and health services

• Women’s leadership and political participation are at risk, both locally and globally. Women are under-represented not only as voters, but also in leadership and political positions, public administration, the private sector or academia. This reality contrasts with their undoubted capacity as leaders and agents of change, and their right to participate equally in democratic governance.

  → Despite the increase in the number of women in political office in recent years, in particular through the application of special quotas, women still hold only 23.7 per cent of parliamentary seats, a figure that is far from parity. The situation is not much better in the private sector, where globally women hold less than one third of middle and senior management positions.

If you would like to learn more about these gender gaps and discriminations in the classroom, we recommend the following materials:

• On the UN Women website you can find:
  • Infographic: Women’s human rights.
  • Welcome to Equiterra, where gender equality is real.

UNDP also provides relevant data on the implementation of SDG 5:

• Links to the annual SDG Monitoring Reports.
• Factsheet “Why Gender Equality Matters“, or an infographic with relevant data on the main gaps.

Interesting videos to use in the classroom

• SDG 5 – Sustainable Development Goals for Children

• Why Gender Equality Matters

• Gender equality means empowering women and girls

• 25 years of progress and promises for women’s rights