Our Scans · (LF.5) Gender Equality · Weekly Summary

In September 2015, 193 world leaders agreed to 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. If these Goals are completed, it would mean an end to extreme poverty, inequality and climate change by 2030.
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower women and girls.

• [New] Today, the global gender gap is 68.8% closed, and at the current pace it could take over 120 years to reach full parity. Generali
• [New] According to the UN Women Gender Snapshot, closing the gender digital divide could boost global GDP by $1.5 trillion and lift 30 million women out of poverty - that is the scale of the opportunity we are talking about. UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
• [New] Progress on gender diversity is under threat, with US companies scaling back DEI programmes, the gender pay gap widening for two consecutive years, and female board appointments dropping to decade lows. FTI Strategic Communications
• [New] GENEVA - Generative artificial intelligence is reshaping the world of work, with the potential to boost productivity, support job creation and improve job quality, but its impacts are far from gender-neutral. International Labour Organization
• [New] The current progress toward gender equality will take about 134 years to achieve complete gender parity, exceeding the 2030 global equality targets. MOCHA TECHNOLOGIES INC
• [New] The national strategy on gender equality for the 2021-2030 period set a goal of the proportion of female directors / owners of enterprises and cooperatives to reach at least 27% by 2025 and 30% by 2030. Vietnam Economic Times
• [New] UN Women is urging corporate leaders to reframe gender equality not as a social obligation, but as a significant business imperative and a major economic opportunity. Nongluck Ajanapanya
• [New] Developing countries could increase their gross domestic products by an average of 23% if they closed gender gaps in the labour force. CFR Education from the Council on Foreign Relations
• Sessions focused on women's access to land tenure, credit, and cooperatives, recognising that closing the gender gap in agriculture could increase African food production by up to 20%. Africa Agricultural Network | The Face of African Agric
• Across the world, gender is central to authoritarian populists' efforts to generate public support, justify power expansion, and enact discriminatory actions that threaten everyone's rights and freedoms. Kettering Foundation
• Social priorities like working conditions, gender equality, natural resource management, and human rights were relatively low on the list for global CEOs, with economic opportunity reigning as the top priority for both global and U.S. CEOs. Yahoo Finance
• Goldman Sachs will no longer consider race, gender, and sexual orientation when evaluating potential board members. ballotpedia
• Scouting America will modify its policy to make clear that membership will be based solely on biological sex at birth and not gender identity. The Guardian
• The number of people at risk of Gender-based violence has tripled in two years. Sudan Research, Analysis, and Advocacy
• The United Nations estimates that if current trends hold, gender equality in the highest positions of government will not be reached for another 130 years. CFR Education from the Council on Foreign Relations
• The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in December unveiled a proposed rule that would bar hospitals that participate in Medicaid and Medicare from providing any gender-affirming care to youth - a change that could sharply restrict access in most hospitals. North Carolina Health News

Last updated: 23 March 2026