The world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030. At the global level, none of the 18 indicators “met or almost met” the targets and only one is “close to target”. At the current rate of progress, it is estimated that it will take up to 286 years to close gaps in leg al protection and remove discriminatory laws, 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership in the workplace, and 47 years to achieve equal representation in national parliaments. Cascading global crises have highlighted and exacerbated existing gender inequalities, such as unequal access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. Political leadership and a comprehensive set of policy reforms are needed to dismantle systemic barriers to the achievement of SDG4.

Target 5.1: Based on data collected in 2022 in 119 countries, 55% of the countries lacked laws that prohibit direct and indirect discrimination against women; half of the countries continued to lack quotas for women in the national parliament; 60% of the countries failed to have laws defining rape based on the principle of consent; 45% of countries did not mandate equal remuneration for work of equal value; over a third of countries failed to provide maternity leave in accordance with ILO standards; almost a quarter of countries did not grant women equal rights with men to enter into marriage and initiate divorce; and close to three-quarters of countries failed to stipulate 18 years as the minimum age of marriage for women and men, with no exceptions.

Target 5.3: One in five young women worldwide (19%) were married in childhood in 2022. Globally, the prevalence of child marriage has declined from 21% in 2016. However, the profound effects of COVID-19 are threatening this progress, with up to 10 million additional girls at risk of child marriage over the course of a decade from the onset of the pandemic.

Target 5.5: As of 1 January 2023, women held 26.5% of seats in lower and single chambers of national parliaments, up from 22.3% in 2015. At the local level, women held 35.4% of seats in deliberative bodies, up from 33.9% in 2020. At this pace, parity in such bodies cannot be achieved by 2030. Also, gender parity in political institutions continues to be rare: only six countries had 50% or more women in their lower/single chambers of national parliaments and 3 in local legislatures. Globally, women held only 28.2% of management positions in 2021 (up just 1% since 2015), although they accounted for almost 40% of total employment.

Target 5.6: Based on data from 68 countries for 2007-2022, only 56% of married or in-union women aged 15 to 49 make their own decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights, ranging from an average of 37% in sub-Saharan Africa to over 80% in some countries in Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean. Among the 115 countries with data in 2022, countries have in place, on average, 76% of the laws and regulations needed to guarantee full and equal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Target 5.a: Available data from 46 countries for 2009-2020 show that many women and men involved in agricultural production lack ownership and/or secure tenure rights over agricultural land. In one third of the countries, less than 50% of women and men have ownership or secure rights over agricultural land. The share of men having ownership is at least twice that of women in almost half of the countries. Of the 68 countries that reported on women’s rights to land ownership and/or control in legal frameworks, by 2022, about 31% protect women’s land rights considerably (a score of at least 5 out of 6), while 47% poorly protect women’s land rights (a score of 3 out of 6 or below).

Target 5.b: Globally, 73% of the population aged 10 and over owned a mobile phone in 2022, up from 67% in 2019. Women were about 12% less likely to own mobile phones than men— the gap virtually unchanged from 2019.

Target 5.c: Based on data reported by 105 countries and areas for 2018-2021, 26% of countries globally have comprehensive systems in place to track and make public allocations for gender equality, 59% have some features of a system in place, and 15% do not have minimum elements of these systems.