The Gender Snapshot 2022

The Gender Snapshot 2022

News: Recently, the report entitled “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): The Gender Snapshot 2022” was launched by United Nations (UN) Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).

Key Findings:
• The report highlighted that Sustainable Development Goal-5 (SDG-5), or achieving gender equality, will not be met by 2030 at the current pace of progress.
• By the end of 2022, more women and girls will live in extreme poverty compared to men and boys.
• It will take close to 300 years to achieve full gender equality at the current rate of progress.
• Girls from the poorest rural households and in conflict-affected areas are expected to suffer the most.
• In 2021, about 38% of female-headed households in war-affected areas experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, compared to 20% of male-headed households.
• Globally, women lost an estimated USD 800 billion in income in 2020 due to the pandemic.
• Over 1.2 billion women and girls of reproductive age (15-49) live in countries and areas with some restrictions on access to safe abortion.

What factors exacerbate gender disparities?
• Same repeated factors – Aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, wars, backlash against women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
• More women and girls have suffered from food insecurity and hunger due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
• Legal systems across the world don’t ensure uniform protection of women rights in all spheres such as denying women’s rights in marriage and family, unequal pay and benefits at work and unequal rights to own and control land.

Way forward:
• Gender equality is a foundation for achieving all SDGs and it should be at the heart of building back better.
• Cooperation, partnerships and investments in the gender equality agenda, including through increased global and national funding, are essential to correct the course and place gender equality back on track.