Gender equality lies at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which asserts gender equality as both a fundamental human right and a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.

The evidence collected in this discussion paper shows that gender equality is critical to achieving a wide range of objectives pertaining to sustainable development. These include promoting economic growth and labour productivity, reducing poverty, enhancing human capital through health and education, attaining food security, addressing climate change impacts and strengthening resilience to disasters, and ensuring more peaceful and inclusive communities. It therefore argues that accelerating gender equality in all spheres of society leads to a more rapid increase in progress towards achieving the 2030 Agenda.