LocationsWhy the fight for women’s equality is far from over
Thirty years after Beijing
November 25, 2024
Graphic: Shutterstock
Reflecting on the progress we’ve made in the fight for women’s equality as my teenage girls and son enter young adulthood, I can’t help but feel a sense of frustration and disappointment. It’s been decades since the women’s liberation movement began, yet here we are, still grappling with the same issues that have plagued generations before us, as well as some new backlashes and threats to gender inequality. The reality for many women today remains just as dangerous and unjust as it was decades ago.
The Beijing Conference in 1995 set a visionary blueprint for gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. One of its key commitments was to eliminate violence against women, ensuring that all women could live free from abuse, discrimination, and fear. Yet, as we approach the 30-year mark of this transformative agreement, we must confront the painful reality that progress has been at best slow.
Gender-based violence cannot be tackled until we address its structural drivers, including inequality in education and employment.
- One of the key pillars of any society’s progress is education. In many parts of the world, women still struggle to access basic education. According to UNICEF, 122 million girls are out of school, including 34 million of primary school age, and 87 million of secondary school age. The gaps are starker in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence, where girls are 2.5 times more likely to be out of school than boys, and at the secondary level, are 90 percent more likely to be out of school.
- In many industries, particularly those crucial to the future economy including in STEM, women remain underrepresented, especially in leadership roles. Women are more likely to be sidelined for promotions or development opportunities. As a result, women risk being left behind in future economic growth, rather than driving change and prosperity. Data compiled by UN Women show that women represent 23 percent of cabinet members heading ministries. At this rate, gender equality in the highest positions of power will not be reached for another 130 years.
- The presence of women in leadership matters because women in decision-making roles brings development dividends – better climate and biodiversity outcomes, greater trust in governance and economic benefits. Yet only around one in seven environmental sector ministries worldwide are led by women. And when it comes to the urban environment specifically, women’s limited role in urban design decisions exacerbates inequalities in cities. In 2022, I participated in the launch of a joint report with ARUP - Cities Alive: Designing Cities That Work for Women, which found that women faced sexual harassment in public spaces, reflected by the experiences of 97 percent of women aged 18-24 in the UK, and a lack of access to suitable facilities, with one third of women globally not having adequate toilets.
- Domestic violence is one of the most extreme manifestations of gender inequality and a silent epidemic that continues to claim the lives of countless women every year. The rise of social movements like #MeToo have shed light on the problem, but despite the awareness, the rate of violence against women has not fallen. Gender-based violence (GBV) is a grave violation of human rights whether during conflict or peace times. It leaves deep and enduring scars on individuals and communities. In 2023, the proportion of women killed in conflicts doubled, and documented cases of conflict-related sexual violence increased by 50 percent. In the same year, and despite commitments, women comprised less than 10 percent of negotiators in more than fifty peace processes.
In Papua New Guinea, UNDP works with the police and village courts to strengthen protections for the victims of gender-based violence.
Photo: UNDP Papua New Guinea
It starts at home
I strongly believe that ensuring women have financial and economic independence is one of the most powerful ways to fight GBV. Legal constraints in family law, inheritance, and property rights can greatly restrict women’s ability to gain independence, save money, and hold assets in their own name. UNDP pursues an approach known as ‘Equanomics’, which addresses economic disparities in resources, opportunities and rights.
Through our Gender Equality Seal, we also seek to eliminate barriers that women face in the workplace, with the result that 100 public institutions in 29 countries have established a zero-tolerance policy for gender-based violence and sexual harassment. Guided by its Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025, UNDP integrates a GBV lens across our development and crisis response work.
In Papua New Guinea, UNDP works with the police and village courts to strengthen the referral pathway and case management and support the government and partners to improve administrative data for planning and budgeting. This is part of an European Union and United Nations collaboration since 2017 known as the Spotlight Initiative, implemented through UN Women, UNFPA, UNDP, UNICEF, and the International Labour Organization to end all forms of violence against women and girls by 2030.
UNDP works in more than 90 countries to end GBV. During my time in Serbia, I visited shelters where women fleeing abusive partners were rebuilding their lives. For over a decade, UNDP Serbia has strengthened responses to domestic violence, supporting police, social welfare, and the prosecution system to aid survivors. The #ItsMyBusiness (#TiceMeSe) campaign, which reached over a million people in its first year, encouraged witnesses to report domestic violence. I ran my first half marathon in Belgrade to support it. The campaign helped dismantle the stigma that prevents women from seeking help, as over 70 percent of domestic violence fatalities involved women who never reached out. During my time in Serbia, I witnessed the tragic suicide of a young woman leader in tech due to online bullying – a new insidious form of violence that now threatens our children. I was proud to host, on behalf of UNDP, one of the first discussions on online violence, bringing together influencers, prosecutors, and activists. This year, the campaign expanded with the Ministry of Interior and national broadcaster RTS to promote anonymous reporting and empower communities to create safer environments.
Need for investment
Without a dramatic increase of investments, countries will not achieve the SDG target of eliminating violence against women and girls by 2030. Many survivors continue to endure violence, even after separating from their abusers. The global data is alarming. In 2023 alone, at least 51,100 women fell victim to gender-based violence, meaning one woman was killed every 10 minutes. Only one-quarter of countries have systems in place to monitor financial allocations to gender equality overall and more resources are needed to prevent and address violence against women and girls.
Every year, the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence begins on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and concluding on December 10, Human Rights Day. This year’s UNiTE Campaign theme — ‘Towards 30 years of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action: UNiTE to End Violence Against Women and Girls’ — underscores the urgent need for continued investment in gender equality, justice for survivors, and women’s empowerment.