Sustainable Development Goal 5

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Sustainable Development Goal 5
Sustainable Development Goal 05GenderEquality.svg
Mission statement "Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls"
Commercial?No
Type of project Sustainable Development Goal
LocationGlobal
Founder United Nations
Established2015
Website sdgs.un.org

Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5 or Global Goal 5) concerns gender equality and is fifth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by United Nations in 2015. The 17 SDGs recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. [1]

Contents

SDG 5 has nine targets and 14 indicators. Six of the targets are outcome targets:

The three means of implementation targets [2] are:

Through the pledge to "Leave No One Behind", countries have committed to fast-track progress for those furthest behind first. [4] :54 SDG 5 aims to grant women and girls equal rights and opportunities to live free of violence and discrimination, including in the workplace.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected women as they are more vulnerable and have reduced access to treatment. [5] Evidence shows there has been an increase in violence against women during the pandemic. [6]

Background

The Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations. [7] The broad goals are thematically linked, yet each has its own specific targets to achieve. The SDGs cover a broad range of social and economic development issues, including poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water supply, sanitation, energy, urbanization, environment and social justice. [8]

Targets, indicators and progress

Girls who managed to escape child marriage Escaping child marriage (14521096630).jpg
Girls who managed to escape child marriage

The targets and indicators for SDG 5 are extensive and provide equal opportunity for females (women and girls). [9] Targets cover a broad crosscutting gender issues including ending all forms of discrimination against all females everywhere (Target 5.1), violence and exploitation of females (Target 5.2), eliminate practices such as female genital mutilation and forced marriages (Target 5.3), increase value of unpaid care and promote shared domestic responsibilities (Target 5.4), ensure full participation of women in leadership and decision-making (Target 5.5), ensuring access to universal reproductive rights and health (Target 5.6), fostering equal rights to economic resources, property ownership and financial services for women (Target 5.a), promoting empowerment of women through technology (Target 5.b) and adopting, strengthening policies and enforcing legislation for gender equality (Target 5.c). [10]

Indicators represent the metrics by which the world aims to track whether these targets are achieved.

Target 5.1: End discrimination against women and girls

The first target of SDG 5 is Target 5.1: "End all forms of discrimination against all females everywhere." [7]

World map for indicator 5.1.1 in 2015 - Share of law mandating nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring Law-mandate-nondiscrimination-hiring.png
World map for indicator 5.1.1 in 2015 - Share of law mandating nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring

This target has one indicator. 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. [10]

This means the indicator works towards the legal frameworks which can be applied to promote and enforce non-discrimination on the basis of sex across various measures including hiring, equal pay, marital rape and property rights, among others. [9] [11]

Discrimination against women (or sexism) can be measured with a range of indicators such as early marriage, gender-based violence and women's property rights. [12]

Child marriage has declined over the past decades . [13] :65 Girls from poorer families are more likely to be affected by child marriage than those from wealthier families. [13] :68

The custodian agencies for Indicator 5.1.1 are UN Women and World Bank. [14]

World map for Indicator 5.2.1 in 2016 - Share of women, older than 14 years, who experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the last year Women who experienced violence by an intimate partner, OWID.svg
World map for Indicator 5.2.1 in 2016 - Share of women, older than 14 years, who experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the last year

Target 5.2: End all violence against and exploitation of women and girls

The full title of Target 5.2 is: "Eliminate all forms of violence against all females in the public and private spheres including trafficking, sexual and other types of exploitation." [7]

This target has two indicators: [10] [15]

Target 5.3: Eliminate forced marriages and genital mutilation

Campaign road sign against female genital mutilation in Uganda Campaign road sign against female genital mutilation.jpg
Campaign road sign against female genital mutilation in Uganda

The full title of Target 5.3 is: "Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM)". [7] Evidence shows that there is no health benefit in the case of female genital mutilation [16]

Eliminating harmful practices women are able to live their live full potential lives without any harm. [17]

There are two indicators: [10]

According to a progress report in 2020: "At least 200 million girls and women have been subjected to female genital mutilation, according to recent data from the 31 countries where the practice is concentrated. The harmful practice is becoming less common, but progress is not fast enough to meet the global target of its elimination by 2030". [18] :8

World map for indicator 5.4. 1 in 2015 - Share of average daily time spent by women on domestic work (paid and unpaid) Average-daily-time-spent-by-women-on-domestic-work-paid-and-unpaid.png
World map for indicator 5.4. 1 in 2015 - Share of average daily time spent by women on domestic work (paid and unpaid)

Target 5.4: Value unpaid care and promote shared domestic responsibilities

The full title of Target 5.4: "Recognise 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" [7]

This target has one Indicator: Indicator 5.4.1 is the "Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location". [10]

Unpaid care and domestic work includes cooking and cleaning, fetching water and firewood or taking care of children and the elderly. [17] :6 Data from 2020 showed that "women already spend three times as many hours as men on unpaid care work at home". [18] :8

Target 5.5: Ensure full participation in leadership and decision-making

World map for indicator 5.5.2 in 2017 - Sharing percentage of firms with a top female manager Share-firms-top-female-manager.png
World map for indicator 5.5.2 in 2017 - Sharing percentage of firms with a top female manager

The full title of Target 5.5 is: "Ensure women's full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life." [7]

Indicators are: [10]

As of 2020, "representation by women in single or lower houses of national parliament reached 25 per cent, up slightly from 22 per cent in 2015". [18] :8

Target 5.6: Universal access to reproductive rights and health

The full title of Target 5.6 is: "Ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Program-me of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences." [7]

Fertility center in Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen Fertility Center.jpg
Fertility center in Copenhagen, Denmark

Indicators are: [10]

Less women 15 to 49 years of age were able to "make their own decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights" in Central and Western Africa compared to countries in Europe, South- Eastern Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean. [18] :8

Target 5.a: Equal rights to economic resources, property ownership and financial services

The full title of Target 5.a is: "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." [7]

The two indicators are: [10]

Young woman taking a photo with her mobile phone in Sydney - in 66 countries, having a phone is still luxury for women. Girl with mobile 001.jpg
Young woman taking a photo with her mobile phone in Sydney - in 66 countries, having a phone is still luxury for women.

Target 5.b: Promote empowerment of women through technology

The full title of Target 5.b is: "Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women." [7]

This target has one indicator: Indicator 5.b.1 is the "Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex". [10]

A UN progress report from 2020 stated that: "Empowering women with mobile telephones has been shown to accelerate social and economic development. [18] :8

There are wide gender gaps in internet access and use. Men are 21% more likely to have internet access than women, rising to 52% in the world's least developed countries. [19] The majority of those offline are women in developing countries, reinforcing gender inequalities. Between 2013 and 2019, the gender gap in online use rose from 11% to 17%. In least-developed countries over the same period, the gap rose from 30% to 43%. [20]

Target 5.c: Adopt and strengthen policies and enforceable legislation for gender equality

The full title of Target 5.c is: "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." [7] :4

This target has one indicator: Indicator 5.c.1 is the "Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women's empowerment". [10]

Custodian agencies

Custodian agencies are responsible for monitoring and reporting of indicators: [21]

Monitoring progress

An annual report is prepared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations evaluating the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. [18] This is a high-level progress reports for all the SDGs.

Challenges

Girls playing during school time - there is still inequality in education Girls playing school game.jpg
Girls playing during school time - there is still inequality in education

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also poses a challenge in achieving gender equality. The impact of COVID-19 on women has been significant. Some examples include compounded economic impacts, increased unpaid care work (such as during school closures), an increase in domestic violence and other factors. [22]

Even though SDG 5 is a stand-alone goal, other SDGs can only be achieved if SDG 5 is achieved, [17] :4 i.e. the needs of women receive the same attention as the needs of men. The link between SDG 5 and the other SDGs has been extensively analysed by UN Women's report on gender equality in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. [23]

Organizations

Visitors to the stall finish the sentence "I support women in leadership because..." IWD 2014- Parade, official launch, and UN Women stall (14232490474).jpg
Visitors to the stall finish the sentence "I support women in leadership because…"

Several global organizations have vowed to achieve progress towards SDG 5 in various ways. For example:

Related Research Articles

Women's health differs from that of men's health in many unique ways. Women's health is an example of population health, where health is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". Often treated as simply women's reproductive health, many groups argue for a broader definition pertaining to the overall health of women, better expressed as "The health of women". These differences are further exacerbated in developing countries where women, whose health includes both their risks and experiences, are further disadvantaged.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Millennium Development Goals</span> Eight international development goals for the year 2015 by the United Nations

In the United Nations, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 created following the Millennium Summit, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. These were based on the OECD DAC International Development Goals agreed by Development Ministers in the "Shaping the 21st Century Strategy". The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) succeeded the MDGs in 2016.

Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations, and needs equally, also regardless of gender.

Equality Now is a non-governmental organization founded in 1992 to advocate for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls. Equality Now works through public policy channels to create a just world for women and girls. Through a combination of regional partnerships, community mobilization and legal advocacy the organization works to encourage governments to adopt, improve and enforce laws that protect and promote women and girls' rights around the world.

International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN's efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation. It was first introduced in 2003.

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity charged with working for gender equality and the empowerment of women. UN Women is charged with advocating for the rights of women and girls, and focusing on a number of issues, including violence against women and violence against LGBT people.

The OECD Gender, Institutions and Development (GID) Database, or GID-DB, contains more than 60 data indicators of gender equality. The GID-DB was introduced in 2006 by the OECD Development Centre to provide a data tool to help researchers and policy makers determine and analyze obstacles to women's social and economic development. It provides these gender-related data for up to 162 countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, thereby covering all regions and country-income-categories of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goals</span> United Nations goals for people for 2030

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by all United Nations members in 2015, created 17 world Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They were created with the aim of "peace and prosperity for people and the planet..." – while tackling climate change and working to preserve oceans and forests. The SDGs highlight the connections between the environmental, social and economic aspects of sustainable development. Sustainability is at the center of the SDGs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women in Sudan</span>

Sudan is a developing nation that faces many challenges in regard to gender inequality. Freedom House gave Sudan the lowest possible ranking among repressive regimes during 2012. South Sudan received a slightly higher rating but it was also rated as "not free". In the 2013 report of 2012 data, Sudan ranks 171st out of 186 countries on the Human Development Index (HDI). Sudan also is one of very few countries that are not a signatory on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's empowerment</span> Giving rights, freedom to make decisions and strengthening women to stand on their own

Women's empowerment may be defined in several ways, including accepting women's viewpoints, making an effort to seek them and raising the status of women through education, awareness, literacy, and training. Women's empowerment equips and allows women to make life-determining decisions through the different societal problems. They may have the opportunity to re-define gender roles or other such roles, which allow them more freedom to pursue desired goals.

Nigeria has the highest rate of female genital mutilation (FGM) in the world in total numbers. It is usually experienced by girls aged 0 to 15 years old. It involves either partial or complete removal of the vulva or other injury to the female genital organs and has no medical benefit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 16</span> United Nations sustainable development goal

Sustainable Development Goal 16 is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015, the official wording is: "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels". The Goal has 12 targets and 23 indicators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 15</span> 15th of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to protect life on land

Sustainable Development Goal 15 is about "Life on land". One of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015, the official wording is: "Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss". The Goal has 12 targets to be achieved by 2030. Progress towards targets will be measured by 14 indicators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 10</span> UN Sustainable Development Goal

Sustainable Development Goal 10 is about reduced inequality and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The full title is: "Reduce inequality within and among countries".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 8</span> Global goal to promote decent work and economic growth by 2030

Sustainable Development Goal 8 is about "decent work and economic growth" and is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals which were established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. The full title is to "Foster sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all." Progress towards targets will be measured, monitored and evaluated by 17 indicators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 7</span> Seventh of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve affordable and clean energy for all by 2035

Sustainable Development Goal 7 is one of 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015. It aims to "Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all." Access to energy is an important pillar for the wellbeing of the people as well as for economic development and poverty alleviation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 4</span> 4th of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to achieve quality education for all

Sustainable Development Goal 4 is about quality education and is among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in September 2015. The full title of SDG 4 is "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable Development Goal 1</span> First of 17 Sustainable Development Goals to end global poverty

Sustainable Development Goal 1, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015, calls for the end of poverty in all forms. The official wording is: "No Poverty". Member countries have pledged to "Leave No One Behind": underlying the goal is a "powerful commitment to leave no one behind and to reach those farthest behind first".

Feminist foreign policy, or feminist diplomacy, is a strategy integrated into the policies and practices of a state to promote gender equality, and to help improve women's access to resources, basic human rights, and political participation. It can often be bucketed into three categories: rights, resources, and representation. The concept was first coined and integrated into governmental policy by Margot Wallström, former Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister. The objectives of feminist foreign policy include :

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on female education</span> COVID-19 impact on education of females

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on female education. Female education relates to the unequal social norms and the specific forms of discrimination that girls face. In 2018, 130 million girls worldwide were out of school, and only two out of three girls were enrolled in secondary education. The COVID-19 pandemic may further widen the gaps and threatens to disrupt the education of more than 11 million girls. In addition, girls are less likely to have access to the Internet and online learning.

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