UN Report Warns Global Gender Equality Goals Are Off Track

According to the 2025 SDG Gender Snapshot report released Monday by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with just five years until the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline, none of the targets for gender equality are on track.

The report draws on more than 100 data sources to track progress across all 17 SDGs, highlighting stalled gains in female poverty, violence, political representation, and economic participation. Female poverty has remained at roughly 10% since 2020, with most affected women living in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia.

Conflict continues to amplify risks for women and girls. In 2024 alone, 676 million lived within reach of deadly conflict, the highest number since the 1990s. The report notes that women and girls in war zones face heightened food insecurity, health risks, and violence.

Violence against women remains widespread. More than one in eight women worldwide experienced physical or sexual violence by a partner in the past year, nearly one in five young women was married before age 18, and an estimated 4 million girls undergo female genital mutilation annually, with over half cut before age five.

Despite these setbacks, the report highlights areas of progress where gender equality has been prioritized. Maternal mortality has dropped nearly 40% since 2000, and girls are completing school at higher rates than ever before.

Technology is also seen as a key avenue for progress. Currently, 70% of men are online compared with 65% of women. Closing this digital gap could benefit 343.5 million women and girls by 2050, lifting 30 million out of poverty and adding US$1.5 trillion to the global economy by 2030.

“Where gender equality has been prioritized, it has propelled societies and economies forward,” said Sima Bahous, Executive Director, UN Women. The report also warns that an unprecedented backlash on women’s rights, shrinking civic space, and funding cuts are threatening hard-won gains. UN Women estimates that 25% less gender data is available today due to survey funding reductions, limiting policymaking capacity.

The report emphasizes the economic stakes of inaction. Accelerated interventions in care, education, the green economy, labor markets, and social protection could reduce the number of women and girls in extreme poverty by 110 million by 2050, unlocking an estimated US$342 trillion in cumulative economic returns, according to Li Junhua, UN Undersecretary General for Economic and Social Affairs.

Global representation of women remains low. Women hold just 27.2% of parliamentary seats worldwide, 35.5% of local government positions, and only 30% of management roles. At the current pace, gender parity in leadership could be nearly a century away.

Marking 30 years since the Beijing Platform for Action, the report frames 2025 as a critical moment. “Gender equality is not an ideology. It is foundational for peace, development, and human rights,” the report reads. UN Women’s Sarah Hendriks stressed that change is possible but requires political will and determined government action.

The report identifies six priority areas for urgent action to achieve gender equality by 2030: bridging the digital divide, ending poverty, eliminating violence, ensuring full and equal decision-making power, promoting peace and security, and addressing climate justice.