By Gcina Ntsaluba
A new United Nations report shows the world is not doing enough to help women and girls achieve equality. Without major changes, 351 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030.
The report, named the ‘Gender Snapshot 2025’, looks at how women are doing across the globe. The results show that while some progress has been made, much more work is needed.
Poverty hits women harder
Right now, about 376 million women and girls live on less than R37.30 per day. That’s 21 million more than men and boys in the same situation. Most of these women live in Africa and parts of Asia.
Women also struggle more with hunger. About 64 million more women than men don’t have enough food to eat. Poor nutrition makes women sick more often and for longer periods than men.
Technology creates new problems
The internet and new technology like artificial intelligence are changing how people work. While 70% of men use the internet, only 65% of women do. This gap is biggest in poorer countries.
New AI technology might also take away more jobs from women than men. Women are twice as likely to work in jobs that computers might replace.
But technology could also help. If more women got access to phones and the internet, it could help 343 million women and girls by 2050. It could also add R26 trillion to the world’s economy by 2030.
Violence remains common
Violence against women is still a major problem worldwide. More than one in eight women has experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner in the past year.
Each year, 4 million girls undergo female genital mutilation. Nearly one in five young women gets married before turning 18.
Women lack political power
Women now hold about 27% of seats in national governments – better than before but still far from equal. At the local level, women’s representation has stopped growing and sits at about 36%.
Even more shocking: 102 countries have never had a woman as their top leader. Women also hold only 30% of management positions in businesses worldwide.
Climate change makes things worse
Climate change hurts women more than men. By 2050, up to 158 million more women and girls could be pushed into poverty because of climate problems. Most of these would be in Africa.
Despite facing bigger impacts from climate change, women are often left out of important decisions about how to fix the problem. Only 39% of countries include women’s voices when making climate policies.
Health improvements slow down
Some good news: fewer women die during childbirth now than 25 years ago – deaths dropped by about 40%. More women also get help from trained medical workers when giving birth.
But other health problems persist. Anemia (a condition that makes people weak and tired) is expected to get worse among women, rising from 31% in 2025 to 33% by 2030.
What needs to change
The UN report suggests six main areas where countries should focus:
- Digital access: get more women online and teach them tech skills
- End poverty: invest in social programs and public services for women
- Stop violence: create and enforce laws to protect women
- Share power: put more women in leadership positions
- Include women in peace: let women help solve conflicts
- Climate justice: include women in environmental decisions
The cost and benefits
Making these changes would cost a lot of money – about $22 trillion by 2030. But the report shows this investment would pay off, generating $4 trillion in benefits by the same year.
The report also shows what’s possible with the right approach. If countries act quickly and work together, they could cut the number of women in extreme poverty from 376 million today to just 128 million by 2050.
Data problems
One challenge is that many countries don’t collect enough information about women’s lives. Nearly 70% of national statistics offices say they have less money now to gather this important data. Without good information, it’s hard to know what programs work and what needs to change.
Time running out
The world set a goal to achieve gender equality by 2030 – just five years away. The report makes clear that this deadline will be missed unless countries take much stronger action.
This year marks 30 years since world leaders made promises to improve women’s lives at a major conference in Beijing. While some progress has been made, the report shows those promises are still far from being kept.
Gender equality won’t happen by accident. It requires governments, businesses, and communities to make it a priority and invest the resources needed to make real change.
