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SDG of the week: Gender Equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all woman and girls

03.02.2020.

This week the SDG in focus is SDG5: Gender equality.

Ending all discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it’s also crucial
for a sustainable future; it’s proven that empowering women and girls helps economic growth
and development.
UNDP has made gender equality central to its work and we’ve seen remarkable progress in
the past 20 years. There are more girls in school now compared to 15 years ago, and most
regions have reached gender parity in primary education.
 
But although there are more women than ever in the labor market, there are still large
inequalities in some regions, with women systematically denied the same work rights as
men. Sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal division of unpaid care and domestic
work, and discrimination in public office all remain huge barriers. Climate change and
disasters continue to have a disproportionate effect on women and children, as do conflict
and migration.
It is vital to give women equal rights land and property, sexual and reproductive health, and
to technology and the internet. Today there are more women in public office than ever
before, but encouraging more women leaders will help achieve greater gender equality.

What are the exact measurements you can contribute to SDG5 with?

Check out the targets and indicators below:

Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere

• Indicator 5.1.1: Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non‑discrimination on the basis of sex

Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

• Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by the form of violence and by age

• Indicator 5.2.2: Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence

Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation

• Indicator 5.3.1: Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18

• Indicator 5.3.2: Proportion of girls and women aged 15-49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age

Target 5.4: Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure, and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate

• Indicator 5.4.1: Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location

Target 5.5: Ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life

• Indicator 5.5.1: Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments

• Indicator 5.5.2: Proportion of women in managerial positions

Target 5.6: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences

• Indicator 5.6.1: Proportion of women aged 15-49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use, and reproductive health care

• Indicator 5.6.2: Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education

Target 5.a: Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance, and natural resources, in accordance with national laws

• Indicator 5.a.1: (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure

• Indicator 5.a.2: Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control

Target 5.b: Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women

• Indicator 5.b.1: Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex

Target 5.c: Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels

Indicator 5.c.1: Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment