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Women and Gender Equality

Women are paid less than men in the same jobs; they do most of the unpaid household and care work and often have difficulty accessing finance and other wealth-creating resources.

Ana Andrić appreciates how women in Herzegovina are active in all segments of mountain development, from the organization of excursions, to mountaineering, skiing and other activities. Ana, along with hundreds of women from Herzegovina area have been hiking through the Čvrsnica and Prenj mountain ranges for more than a decade, striving to restore life in its villages and contribute to the promotion and preservation of these mountain idylls. She knows that achieving gender equality and women’s well-being in all aspects of life is more crucial than ever if we want to create prosperous economies and a healthy planet. But the trend of underrepresentation of women in the labour market in Bosnia and Herzegovina is constantly present. The â€˜Sustainability of Protected Areas’ project, financed by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by in Bosnia and Herzegovina is working to protect nature and biodiversity beyond mountains.

Çiğdem Kudret was raised in a household where women were discouraged from working outside the home and had never experienced financial independence. After six months of training, in 2019 she joined the production team of a women's cooperative established in the Hatay province of southern TĂŒrkiye. However, after a devastating earthquake in 2023 the cooperative suffered significant losses, leaving only 10 percent of their products salvageable. With the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations () support, the founder of the cooperative, Atiye Sönmez Erdoğdu, relaunched the cooperative’s e-commerce efforts and rallied other members to resume production despite the challenges. 

Women are paid less than men, do most of the unpaid household and care work, and often struggle to access finance. To address this situation, governments, institutions, and development actors must commit to transformative change. This includes introducing fairer tax systems, promoting women in leadership, addressing unpaid care work, expanding employment opportunities, and dismantling policies that hold women back. UNDP's helps institutions create equal opportunities. With the as our guide, and partners are working to unleash women's economic power. This International Women's Day, let's invest in women and accelerate progress. 

World Bank's report,  assesses the gap between legal reforms and actual outcomes for women in 190 economies. 

The International Labour Organization recognizes progress in improving gender equality within national business organizations, stressing the need to remove barriers for women.

The  (CSW) - dedicated to the promotion of global gender equality- . During this two-week event, the UN, its agencies, and civil society will gather in New York to discuss the implementation of the on gender equality and human rights of women and girls. The session will focus on accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions, and financing with a gender perspective.

A Bangladeshi female architect in her studio examining blueprints

On International Women’s Day, we celebrate women and girls around the world and we applaud all they have achieved in the fight for equality. Yet they still face immense obstacles. One of the key challenges in  is an alarming lack of financing, with a staggering USD 360 billion annual deficit in spending on gender-equality measures. It’s time to provide support and funding to women’s organizations on the front lines. Let's join on 8 March, as we rally behind this year's call to “”.

by measures the impact of climate change on the poor, women, and youth. It demonstrates how climate stressors widen the income gap among rural people along the lines of class, and age. By combining socioeconomic data from rural people across 24 countries with over 70 years of climate data, this report reveals how climate change has more adversely impacted female-headed households' livelihoods than male-headed households’. We urgently need to increase awareness of these disparate climate impacts and to direct additional resources towards women's empowerment.

More than 200 million girls and women today are survivors of female genital mutilation, a procedure that involves the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injuries to the female genital organs for no medical reason. Female genital mutilation was outlawed in Kenya in 2011. While it's vital that the practice is banned, women- and survivor-led movements like Women Rising are key to driving real change. This community initiative includes a forum for mothers who have endured the practice and their daughters who will be spared.

Climate change pushes 158 million women and girls into poverty, making them more vulnerable to gender-based violence and less likely to access necessary resources. Women are underrepresented in decision-making positions at all levels, including in the field of climate change. A paradigm change is needed to ensure that women are in the driving seat of climate action. On the occasion of the International Day of Women in Multilateralism (25 January), UNESCO organized a global dialogue that became a platform for leaders, scientists, and activists to highlight the vital link between climate change and gender inequality.

Female scientist examining a Petri dish

Tackling some of the greatest challenges of the Agenda for Sustainable Development - from improving health to combating climate change - will rely on harnessing all talent. That means getting more women working in these fields. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February) is a reminder that women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities and that their participation should be strengthened. Join the conversation during the 9th International Day of Women and Girls in Science Assembly (8-9 February) and advocate for women and girls in science leadership.

woman under a tree

This year's International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (6 February) focuses on the theme "Her Voice. Her Future - Investing in Survivors-Led Movements to End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)." To reach our shared goal of ending FGM by 2030, we require more targeted, coordinated and sustained efforts. Each survivor's voice is a powerful call to action, and their choices contribute to the global movement against this harmful practice. Share #HerVoiceMatters to lead the #EndFGM movement.

Sandra is a law student and designer in Bolivia who faces the challenge of raising her daughter Nathaly as a single parent. She is supported by her mother and grandmother, who are also Cholitas. This is the name given to Aymara indigenous women from the Bolivian Andean region who wear traditional blankets, high top hats, and long voluminous skirts called polleras. Sandra juggles work, studies, and motherhood, but finds solace in weaving and listening to music. Traditional gender roles in Bolivia are changing as many women seek self-sufficiency. Sandra hopes that the moments spent with Nathaly will shape her into a strong woman.

Dr. Zuria Alberto is the leader of a mobile health team that operates in Cabo Delgado, the northernmost province of Mozambique. In this region, there are approximately who are displaced and living in difficult conditions due to climate crises and poverty. The mobile health workers travel by land or sea to reach women and girls living in rural and island areas of the province who may not have access to healthcare otherwise. The mobile team, supported by the (UNFPA), provides a comprehensive range of sexual and reproductive health services. This helps to reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancies, maternal mortality, and gender-based violence.