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

Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being

NDPHS 2003 Stockholm Sweden F gy

Norwegian Church Aid

1947 Oslo Norway G

Norwegian Council for Africa

NCA 1967 Oslo Norway G

Norwegian Human Rights Fund

NHRF 1988 Oslo Norway G fy

Norwegian People's Aid

NPA 1939 Oslo Norway G

Norwegian Refugee Council

NRC 1946 Oslo Norway G

NoSB

1999 Oslo Norway F

Nuclear Physics European Collaboration Committee

NuPECC 1988 Garching Germany F v

Nuru International

Washington DC USA G

Oak Institute for the Study of International Human Rights

1998 Waterville ME USA N j

Oaks of Righteousness Movement International

ORMI Lomé Togo N

Observatoire Européen de la Non-Discrimination et des Droits Fondamentaux

OENDDF 2014 Nantes France J

Observatorio Latinoamericano de Conflictos Ambientales, Chile

OLCA Santiago Chile G

Observatory on Values and Education in Humanity

OveHum InterNational G

Oceania Fencing Confederation

OFC 1970 Unley SA Australia D

Oceania Gymnastics Union

OGU 2018 Melbourne VIC Australia D

Oceania Rugby

2000 Surry Hills NSW Australia D

Office of Global Affairs, Ewha

OGA 1985 Seoul Korea Rep N

Office of the Americas

OOA 1983 Santa Monica CA USA G

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

OHCHR 1945 Geneva Switzerland E g

Oikocredit International

Oikocredit 1975 Amersfoort Netherlands F ey

Oikos - Cooperação e Desenvolvimento

Oikos 1988 Linda-a-Pastora Portugal G

Oikosnet Europe - Ecumenical Association of Academies and Laity Centres in Europe

EAALCE 1956 Sigtuna Sweden D

Older Women's Network - Europe

OWN Europe 1993 London UK F

Olof Palme International Foundation

Barcelona Spain G f

One By One

Seattle WA USA G

One Day's Wages

ODW 2009 Seattle WA USA N

One Percent for Development Fund

1% for Development Fund 1976 Geneva Switzerland F f

One World Foundation

1990 Cuttack India G f

OneWorld International Foundation

OWIF 1999 London UK F f

OneWorld South Asia

OWSA 1999 Delhi India K

OpenStreetMap Foundation

2006 Cambridge UK F f

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women

CEDAW-OP 1999 T g

Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

2008 T g

Optometristas Sirviendo a la Humanidad

OSH 2009 Guayaquil Ecuador F

ORBICOM - International Network of UNESCO Chairs in Communication

1994 Montréal QC Canada F

Order of International Co-Freemasonry

1882 Paris France R

Order of the Amaranth

1873 F

Orgalim - Europe's Technology Industries

1947 Brussels Belgium D t

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie

OIF 1997 Paris France E g

Organisation Internationale pour l'Avancement Politique des Africaines

OIAPA 2013 Québec QC Canada J

Organisation Internationale pour le Développement Intégral de la Femme

OIDIF Lomé Togo G

Organisation Mondiale des Experts

OMEX Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire J

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

OECS 1981 Castries St Lucia D g

Organisation PanAfricaine de Lutte pour la Santé

OPALS 1988 Paris France F

Organización Latino-Americana y del Caribe de Turismo

OLACT 2010 Mexico City Mexico D

Organization for Community Networks

OFCN 1997 N

Organization for International Investment

1991 Washington DC USA G

Organization for Poverty Alleviation and Development

OPAD Stockholm Sweden G

Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World

OWSD 1989 Trieste Italy C

Pages