Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Gender Equality


Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. There has been progress over the last decades, but the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. But gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress.
On average, women in the labor market still earn 23 percent less than men globally and women spend about three times as many hours in unpaid domestic and care work as men.

Sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work, and discrimination in public office, all remain huge barriers. All these areas of inequality have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: there has been a surge in reports of sexual violence, women have taken on more care work due to school closures, and 70% of health and social workers globally are women.

At the current rate, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to close gaps in legal 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.

Political leadership, investments and comprehensive policy reforms are needed to dismantle systemic barriers to achieving Goal 5 Gender equality is a cross-cutting objective and must be a key focus of national policies, budgets and institutions.

Name Acronym Founded City HQ Country/Territory HQ Type I Type II

Twelve Gates Foundation

2018 Sunnyside NY USA G f

UBUNTU Liberation Movement

2005 J

UCODEP

1972 Arezzo Italy G

UHAI EASHRI - East African Sexual Health and Rights Initiative

UHAI 2009 J

UK Race and Europe Network

UKREN 1996 London UK G

UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo

UNMIK 1999 Pristina Kosovo E g

UN Nutrition

2020 Rome Italy E y

UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women

UN Trust Fund 1996 New York NY USA F fg

UN Women

2010 New York NY USA F g

UN Women for Peace Association

UNWFPA 2008 New York NY USA G

UNANIMA International

2002 New York NY USA F y

UNECA Staff Union

Addis Ababa Ethiopia E v

UNESCO - International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa

IICBA 1997 Addis Ababa Ethiopia E gj

UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

1961 Bangkok Thailand E g

UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau for Communication and Information

1948 Delhi India E g

UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology

CMST 1988 Sydney NSW Australia J

UNESCO Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science

Dundee UK G

UNESCO Centre for Women and Peace in the Balkan Countries

Thessaloniki Greece E g

UNESCO Environment and Development in Coastal Regions and Small Islands

UNESCO CSI Programme 1996 Jakarta Indonesia K g

UNESCO Fellowships Programme

1946 Paris France K g

UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education

IITE 1997 Moscow Russia E gj

UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning

UIL 1952 Hamburg Germany E gj

UNESCO Institute for Statistics

UIS 1999 Montréal QC Canada E gj

UNESCO International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training

UNESCO-UNEVOC 2000 Bonn Germany E g

UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean

1978 Caracas Venezuela E gj

UNESCO International Research and Training Centre for Rural Education

INRULED 1994 Baoding China G

UNESCO International Research Network on Educational Resources

1992 Braunschweig Germany G

UNESCO Observatory on Multi-Disciplinary Research in the Arts and Social Sciences in the Asia Pacific Regions

Melbourne VIC Australia N

UNESCO Office for the Pacific States

1984 Apia Samoa E g

UNESCO Office in Venice - UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe

BRESCE 1971 Venice Italy E g

UNESCO Office, Cairo - Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States

ROSTAS 1947 Cairo Egypt E g

UNESCO Office, Jakarta - Regional Bureau for Sciences in Asia and the Pacific

1951 Jakarta Indonesia E g

UNESCO Office, Montevideo - Regional Bureau for Sciences in Latin America and the Caribbean

1949 Montevideo Uruguay E g

UNESCO Regional Bureau for Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean

1950 Havana Cuba E g

UNESCO Regional Bureau for Education in Latin America and the Caribbean

1967 Santiago Chile E g

UNESCO Regional Network for Microbiology and Microbial Biotechnology in Southeast Asia

1974 Pathum Thani Thailand F g

UNESCO Regional Office for Education in the Arab States

UNEDBAS 1961 Beirut Lebanon E g

UNESCO Staff Union

STU 1947 Paris France E v

UNESCO-EOLSS Joint Committee

1997 Paris France G

UNESCO-Hebrew University of Jerusalem International School for Molecular Biology and Microbiology and Science for Peace

UNESCO-HUJ ISMBM 1995 Jerusalem Israel G

UNESCO-ICOM Museum Information Centre

1948 Paris France K g

UNGSII Foundation

Vienna Austria J f

UNHCR Global Staff Council

Geneva Switzerland E

Union centroaméricaine

1997 J gp

Union européenne de cyclotourisme

UECT 2002 Ivry-sur-Seine France D

Union européenne des vétérinaires praticiens

UEVP 1970 Brussels Belgium D

UNION FLEURS

1959 Brussels Belgium D t

Unión Iberoamericana de Colegios y Agrupaciones de Abogados

UIBA 1976 La Plata Argentina D

Union internationale des associations et organismes scientifiques et techniques

UATI 1950 Paris France A y

Union Latinoamericana de Mujeres

Red ULAM 2008 D

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