The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015, at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as a call to action in which all countries must act in a global partnership to end poverty and hunger, fight the climate crisis and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity, leaving no one behind.

Over the years, the eloquent words have reflected the urgency of against-the-clock, concrete, and intersectional action. 2023 marks the midpoint in the timeline to achieve the SDGs; yet, the average fulfilment of the targets is not even halfway through progress.

Even before the global pandemic, progress towards the achievement of the SDGs was little and slow towards many Goals, including eradicating poverty and hunger, minimising maternal mortality, increasing access to drinking water and sanitation and achieving gender equality.

However, according to the Sustainable Development Goals 2022 Report, cascading and interlinked crises are putting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in severe danger, “along with humanity’s very own survival”. The confluence of emergencies, including COVID-19, climate change, the energy crisis, and geopolitical conflicts, are creating spin-off impacts on food and nutrition, health, education, the environment, and peace and security, affecting all the Sustainable Development Goals.

However, even though the 2030 Agenda has hopes of leaving no one behind, the impacts of those crises and the brunt of not acting towards fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals are not borne equitably worldwide. Inequalities are intersectional and often threaten multipliers, whence particular groups of people face compounding and overlapping forms of inequalities and discrimination based on multiple and intersecting identities. These include but are not limited to geographic, economic, political and legal, social and cultural, technological, and demographic factors. Therefore, if actions are not taken to proactively and comprehensively address existing inequalities, current and forthcoming crises will intensify the disproportionate vulnerabilities, increasing the multiple gaps already dividing society.

Although sometimes biasedly extrapolated by some in highly developed societies, gender equality is not yet a given reality. In many countries, there are significant differences between rights realised and opportunities available for women and men due to societal roles, leading to gender inequality ingrained in sociocultural norms and values.

A snapshot of gender equality across the Sustainable Development Goals can reveal some discrepancies along the progress towards inclusive, just and sustainable development.

Regarding the first SDG – No Poverty –, the Report Progress on the SDGs – the Gender Snapshot 2022 states that, globally, over 380 million women and girls live in extreme poverty, meaning they survive on less than $1.90 per day. Moreover, suppose current trends continue, and progress on achieving the SDGs remains slow, the number of women and girls living in these extreme poverty conditions will be higher by 2030 than today. SDG 2 – Zero Hunger – showcases similar projections, as if nearly 1 in 3 women experience severe food insecurity, rising prices are likely to exacerbate hunger worldwide.

The third SDG – Good Health and Well-Being – also reflects disproportionate consequences for women worldwide, given that unsafe abortion is a leading cause of maternal mortality and morbidity. Currently, 1.2 billion women and girls of reproductive age live in countries and areas with some restrictions on access to safe abortion, and 102 million live in places where abortion is prohibited altogether.

In regards to Quality Education, extended conflicts, wars and renewed efforts to keep girls out of school perpetuate gender gaps in access to school and learning. In fact, 54% of girls who are not in formal education worldwide live in crisis-affected countries. According to UN Women, disasters reinforce inequalities, including increasing women’s unpaid care work, sexual and gender-based violence risks, time poverty, and disproportionate loss of livelihoods for women, which also results in reduced education opportunities.

The latest data available on SDG 5 – Gender Equality – shows that the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030 and that, at the current pace, it will take another 286 years to close the global gender gap, removing discriminatory laws and close prevailing gaps in legal protections for women and girls. Almost 1 in 3 women have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime. In addition, nearly 70% of managers/supervisors and 85% of Fortune 500 CEOs are men, whence at the current pace of change, parity will not be achieved for another 140 years. On top of this, despite progress, only 26% of countries have a comprehensive system to track gender budget allocations.

Regarding SDG 6, Clean Water and Sanitation, the lack of clean water claims the lives of more than 800,000 women and girls every year. Likewise, with respect to Affordable and Clean Energy, energy remains out of reach for millions of women and girls, worsened by the current energy crisis, with adverse effects on health, education, security and socioeconomic empowerment.

Inequalities are also persistent under the umbrella of SDG 8, where instead of celebrating decent work and economic growth, women’s labour force participation is projected to remain below pre-pandemic levels in 169 countries and areas. With respect to SDG9, women hold only 2 in every 10 science, engineering, and information and communication technology jobs globally.

Concerning SDG 10 – which aims to reduce inequalities – the assessment reveals that women are left more vulnerable and exposed to external events, as they are more marginalised in many societal spheres. In fact, by the end of 2021, about 44 million women and girls had been forced to flee their homes due to climate change, war, conflict and human rights violations. Data on SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities – reports that 49% of women in urban areas feel unsafe and are vulnerable to sexual harassment and violence.

In terms of Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water and Life on Land, women, who are more likely to be poor and marginalised, are disproportionately affected by natural disasters and climate change. 80% of people displaced by climate change are women, who also face an increased risk of abduction and sexual abuse during migration.

Strong institutions that support just and peaceful societies are not possible without women. Nevertheless, only 4 in every 10 women globally hold judicial positions. Lastly, Partnerships for the Goals and funding for gender equality are also not keeping pace with the increasing severity of global challenges and backlash against women’s rights. Only 4.6% of bilateral allocable Official Development Assistance goes to programmes where gender equality is the main objective.

All in all, data is precise when showcasing that women and girls experience uneven backlashes due to gender inequalities and structural barriers, which expose them to increased risks and inflate their vulnerability. As the world is on the run to pursue sustainable development, it is paramount to act for and invest in women, as a society cannot realise its full potential when half of the population is side-lined.

One approach becoming progressively more chosen when assessing progress on women’s and girls’ rights, as a sub-set of human rights and necessary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, is gender mainstreaming. It is a strategy for implementing greater equality for women and girls in relation to men and boys by assessing the implications for women and men for any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. Likewise, it makes women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres. Ultimately, this strategy has hopes to benefit women and men equally and not perpetuate inequality, allowing for equitable, inclusive and sustainable development, leaving no one behind.

1 Gender sensitivity means understanding and considering socio-cultural norms and discriminations to acknowledge the different rights, roles and responsibilities of women and men in the community and their relationships (UN).

2 Gender responsivity includes specific action to reduce gender inequalities (UNFPA).  

References

UN CC:e-learn, UN Environment, UN Women (n.d.). E-course: Gender Equality and Human Rights in Climate Action and Renewable Energy.

United Nations (2022). The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022. Retrieved from:

https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2022/The-Sustainable-Development-Goals-Report-2022.pdf

UN Women (January 10, 2023). Advancing Gender Equality: UN Women at Davos 2023. Retrieved from:

https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/announcement/2023/01/un-women-at-davos-2023

United Nations, UN Women (September 2022). Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals - The Gender Snapshot 2022. Available at:

https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/Progress-on-the-sustainable-development-goals-the-gender-snapshot-2022-en_0.pdf

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