Gender equality woefully off track, new UN report reveals

At the current rate of progress, gender equality would take 171 years to achieve, a new UN report finds as institutions built to advance gains are being defunded and demobilised.Strikingly, not a single indicator on the Sustainable Development Goal for gender equality (SDG 5) is on track to be met by 2030, the initial deadline, according to Gender Snapshot 2026. These targets include ending discrimination, gender-based violence and such harmful practices as forced marriage and female genital mutilation alongside ensuring women’s full participation in leadership and securing economic and property rights.Read the full report here.Who holds the power?Women continue to face systemic barriers to entering political life.The UN report highlights the persistent concentration of political power among men, finding that six in seven countries are currently led by men. Indeed, the cost of running for office can exceed 100 times a country’s average per capita income, excluding many women before the race even begins. In some countries, up to eight in 10 women running for office also face violence in public life. Even when women do enter government, they are disproportionately steered away from t...