Global consensus on gender progress

In recognition of International Women’s Day 2025, I spoke with Lina Al Qaddoumi, Senior Manager of Gender Equality at the United Nations Global Compact, about the progress made in advancing gender equality and the critical actions business leaders must take to drive further change. The evidence is clear: gender equality is good for business. Companies with more women in leadership are more sustainable, resilient and innovative. Closing the gender pay gap alone could boost the global economy by $7 trillion. Yet, progress remains too slow and uneven. Women hold just 8 per cent of board chair roles, 5 per cent of CEO positions and 12 per cent of CFO roles across G20 markets. And at the current pace, it will take 169 years for women to achieve full economic participation. The theme of International Women’s Day 2025—For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment—calls for a more inclusive and equitable future. To unlock opportunities, businesses must: - Commit to equal representation at all levels (Forward Faster Gender Equality Target 1) - Ensure equal pay for work of equal value (Forward Faster Gender Equality Target 2) - Invest in programmes that create economic and educational opportunities - Develop male allies who champion gender equality in the workplace As we mark 80 years of the UN, 30 years since the Beijing Declaration & Platform for Action, 25 years of the UN Global Compact and 15 years of the Women’s Empowerment Principles, we reflect on how far we have come—and how much more we must do. Join us in driving progress #ForwardFaster on Gender Equality. https://lnkd.in/eD6EKK6f #ForAllWomenAndGirls #GenderEquality #IWD2025

🌍 Advancing Gender Parity: Insights from the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 🌍 As a member of Global Shapers Community sharing selected reports of our network in a nutshell. So I'm excited to share the latest findings from the World Economic Forum's "Global Gender Gap Report 2024." This report highlights the progress and challenges in achieving gender parity across economic, educational, health, and political dimensions. Here are some key takeaways: 📊 Global Progress: The global gender gap stands at 68.5% closed, with incremental progress from last year. However, at the current rate, it will take 134 years to achieve full gender parity. 🌱 Top Performers: Iceland leads the index with 93.5% of its gender gap closed, followed by Finland (87.5%) and Norway (87.5%). European economies dominate the top 10, with significant contributions from New Zealand, Nicaragua, and Namibia. 💼 Economic Participation: Economic gender parity has improved slightly, but significant gaps remain. Women’s workforce representation is recovering globally, yet disparities persist in senior leadership roles and technical positions. 📚 Educational Attainment: Near parity has been achieved in educational attainment globally, with scores at 94.9%. However, some regions still lag behind, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to improve literacy and enrollment rates for girls. ⚕️ Health and Survival: The health and survival gender gap is nearly closed at 96%. Despite this, some countries still face challenges in ensuring healthy life expectancy and balanced sex ratios at birth. 🏛️ Political Empowerment: The political empowerment gap remains the largest at 22.5% closed. Only a few countries have achieved substantial progress, emphasizing the need for greater female representation in political leadership. 🌐 Regional Insights: Europe: Leads with 75% of its gender gap closed, showing modest gains in economic parity. Northern America: Scores 74.8%, leading in economic participation but needing improvement in political representation. Latin America and the Caribbean: Achieves 74.2%, with strong parity in labor-force participation. Eastern Asia and the Pacific: Stands at 69.2%, with significant disparities in labor-force participation and workforce representation. Sub-Saharan Africa: Scores 68.4%, showing progress in technical and professional roles but lagging in educational attainment. 🤝 Call to Action: Governments and businesses must collaborate to accelerate gender parity. This includes investing in equitable care systems, promoting women's leadership in STEM fields, and ensuring fair representation in political and economic spheres. Let's continue to champion gender equality and create a more inclusive and equitable world. The journey is long, but with collective effort, we can make significant strides towards closing the gender gap. 🌍💼📚⚕️🏛️ #GenderEquality #WEF2024 #GlobalGenderGap #Sustainability #Inclusion #Diversity #Equity

The latest edition of Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2024, by UN Women and United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, places progress on gender equality and women's rights as a priority at the very start of the UN General Assembly. Progress is undeniable on education, on reduction of female extreme poverty or in Parliamentary representation. But still, the commitment made 30 years ago at the 4th Women's Conference in Beijing to become the first ever equal generation and the commitment nearly 10 years ago to deliver on SDG5 by 2030 have not been met. 1 in 4 girls still are married as children and at current rates gender parity in parliaments will not be achieved until 2063. Progress is achievable but is not fast enough. Equal voice, equal rights , equal opportunities for women and men should not be just an aspiration, but a reality. Investing in women and ending discriminatory laws are a MUST in that direction. The new gender data brings to life the critical issues like violence, peace and security, digital gap or equal salaries, where women and girls can't wait for the world to deliver on gender equality. UN Women United Nations #OurCommonFuture #UNGA #SummitOfTheFuture #GenderEquality #Womensrights #womensempowerment #WeTheWomen #Gender #Women #Data #endchildmarriage #GenderData #SDG5 #GlobalGoals