Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to join you today as we launch the 2024 edition of the SDG Gender Snapshot, produced jointly by UN DESA and UN Women.
For six years, this report has mapped the terrain of gender equality, reflecting our progress, setbacks, successes and failures in our efforts towards a more equitable and inclusive future for women and girls. The story it tells, is a wake-up call we cannot afford to ignore.
Let's first acknowledge the progress we've made.
Women's representation in national parliaments has reached a historic 26.9 per cent in 2024, up from 22.3 per cent in 2015, gradually reshaping political landscapes.
Child marriage rates have declined globally, with the proportion of young women married before 18 dropping to one in five compared to one in four 25 years ago.
Between 2019 and 2023, 120 countries enacted 56 legal reforms to remove discriminatory laws.
Despite these gains, not a single indicator under SDG 5 has been fully met.
Yet, there is hope.
Gender equality is not just one goal; it sits firmly at the core of all SDGs.
For example, legislations that codify girls’ right to education and investments in midday meal programmes have allowed countries in Central and Southern Asia to make significant progress in closing gender gaps in lower-secondary schools. As a result of increased schooling, girls in the region will be able to make better health decisions for themselves and their families and will have access to better jobs and higher incomes in the future.
Now, imagine replicating this success across sectors and countries.
The 2024 Gender Snapshot highlights opportunities for development by empowering women and girls. For example:
? Closing gender gaps in agriculture would add 1 trillion US dollars to global GDP and lift 45 million people out of food insecurity.
? Connecting households to electricity could improve women’s employment prospects outside the home by up to 23 percentage points.
? And investing the care sector could create nearly 300 million jobs by 2035.
However, we can’t fix what we can’t measure.
The glaring gaps in gender data are more than just missing numbers; they reflect missed opportunities for change. Investing in gender data is not optional—it’s essential. It’s the difference between stumbling in the dark and confidently moving toward our goals.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Tomorrow, when world leaders gather for the Summit of the Future, they must reaffirm their commitment to gender equality as an urgent priority.
The costs of inaction on gender equality are immense, while the rewards of achieving it are far too great to ignore. We can only hope to achieve the 2030 Agenda with the full and equal participation of women and girls in every part of society.
So, I challenge each of you: Don’t just read this report—act on it. Champion it. Let it fuel your resolve, because achieving gender equality isn’t just about women and girls. It’s about creating a world that’s fairer, more prosperous, and more sustainable for everyone.
Thank you.