Gender parity in parliaments will not be achieved until 2063, it will take 137 years for there to be no more women or girls living in poverty, and 1 in 4 girls is still married before reaching adulthood. In the same vein, at the current rate, it will take 257 years to reduce the gender pay gap globally (United Nations).
These are data from the report of UN Women (2024) published this Monday in the framework of the International Equal Pay Day,
Almost 30 years after the Beijing Declaration and only 6 years away from 2030, although there has been progress, it is not fast enough. So far, none of the indicators have been met. Sustainable Development Goal 5relating to gender equality.
Gender inequality in economic losses
The gender gap causes losses. This is demonstrated by the cost of inadequate and unequal education provided to young populations, More than 10,000 billion dollars lost. Furthermore, it is estimated that if low- and middle-income countries do not eliminate the digital divide, they could lose an additional $500 billion in five years.
“The cost of inaction on gender equality is immense and the benefits of achieving it are too great to ignore,” said the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.
The wage gap in Spain
Spain is no exception to this situation. Women earn, on average, 5,212 euros less per year than men, which represents a wage gap of 18.36%; 7 out of 10 people who work part-time are women; the greater temporary and part-time employment of women contributes to their economic insecurity and to the widening of this gap (Source: Annual Survey of Salary Structure 2021 – INE).
On the other hand, at the European Union level, female directors earn 23% less than their male colleagues (Source: EUROSTAT 2021).
Tools to reduce gender gaps
It is urgent that countries reaffirm their commitments to accelerate gender equality and women’s rights. To this end, the report recommends high-impact actions in the so-called 6 transitions to revitalize the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals: food systems; access and affordability of energy; digital connection; education; work and social protection; climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Each of these transitions is interconnected with gender equality, and addressing them requires complementary actions such as eliminating violence against women, guaranteeing their equal participation in decision-making, and strengthening peace and security.
EU priorities at the UN General Assembly
