In September of 2015 United Nations established 17 global goals that are intended to be achieved by the year 2030.

In this blog post I will be talking about goal 5. By 2030 the goal is to achieve gender equality, and to empower women and girls worldwide.

Target 5.1 states – “end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere”

As of 2021, COVID-19 has affected the progress of goal #5. Throughout the pandemic women have played a huge role and have held positions as leaders, providers, caregivers and front line workers but are still being underrepresented. To advance gender equality we have to continue efforts in reshaping systems, laws, policies and institutions. However, there are still many discriminatory laws and legal gaps preventing women from gaining their full rights. (United Nations)

After many years of decline, child marriage is now expected to increase. It had decreased, “by 15 percent, from nearly one in four in 2010 to one in five in 2020” (United Nations). Unfortunately, because of the pandemic about 10 million girls are now at risk for child marriage.

More women now have access to mobile devices, having this tool helps empower social and economic development in women. And finally, to better target resources for gender-responsive recovery, systems like gender-budgeting tools will have to strengthened (United Nations).

Sources: “Goal 5 | Department of Economic and Social Affairs.” United Nations, United Nations, https://sdgs.un.org/goals/goal5 and http://E/2021/58 – e – E/2021/58 -Desktop, https://undocs.org/en/E/2021/58 .