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

Organization of African First Ladies for Development

OAFLAD 2002 Addis Ababa Ethiopia D

Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture

1949 Madrid Spain D g

Organization of Women in International Trade

OWIT 1989 Washington DC USA C t

Organization of Women Writers of Africa

OWWA 1991 New York NY USA G

OSCE - Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

OSCE/ODIHR 1990 Warsaw Poland E g

Outright International

1990 New York NY USA G

Overbrook Foundation

1948 New York NY USA G f

Overseas Development Institute

ODI 1960 London UK G j

OWEN - Mobile Academy for Gender Democracy and Promotion of Peace

OWEN 1992 Berlin Germany F

Owen M Kupferschmid Holocaust and Human Rights Project

1985 Newton MA USA N

Oxfam Australia

1953 Carlton VIC Australia G f

Oxfam GB

1942 Oxford UK G

Oxfam International

1995 Nairobi Kenya F y

Pacific Center for Global Justice

2009 Yamhill OR USA N

Pacific Community

SPC 1947 Nouméa New Caledonia D g

Pacific Foundation for the Advancement of Women

PACFAW 2000 Suva Fiji D f

Pacific Graduate Women's Network

PGWNet Auckland New Zealand G

Pacific Island Farmers Organisation Network

PIFON 2009 Nadi Fiji F

Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police

PICP 1970 Wellington New Zealand F

Pacific Network on Globalization

PANG Suva Fiji F

Pacific Peoples' Partnership

PPP 1975 Victoria BC Canada G v

Pacific Women in Maritime Association

PacWIMA 2005 Port Moresby Papua New Guinea D

Pacific Women's Network Against Violence Against Women

1992 Suva Fiji F

Pacific Women's Watch - New Zealand

PWW-NZ 2000 Auckland New Zealand G

Palestine Liberation Organization

PLO 1964 New York NY USA G g

Pan Africa ILGA

PAI Johannesburg South Africa E

Pan African Christian Women Alliance

PACWA 1989 Nairobi Kenya E

Pan African Movement

PAM 1994 Kampala Uganda G

Pan African Organisation for Research and Protection of Violence on Women and Children

PAORP-VWC 2008 Tamale Ghana G

Pan African Women's Organization

PAWO 1962 Pretoria South Africa D

Pan American Federation of Arts, Mass Media and Entertainment Unions

PANARTES 1991 Brussels Belgium E

Pan American Health Organization

PAHO 1947 Washington DC USA E g

Pan American Medical Women's Alliance

PAMWA 1947 Lima Peru D v

Pan American Surf Association

PASA 1992 Lima Peru D

Pan Pacific and South East Asia Women's Association

PPSEAWA 1928 Bangkok Thailand C

Pan-African Association for Port Cooperation

PAPC Mombasa Kenya D

Pan-African Human Rights Defenders Network

AfricanDefenders 2009 Kampala Uganda F

Pan-African Network in Defense of Migrants' Rights

PANiDMR 2010 J

Pan-Asian Urogynecologic Association

PAUGA 2005 D

Pan-European Network for Care of Survivors after Childhood and Adolescent Cancer

PanCare 2008 Bussum Netherlands D

Pan-European Regional Council

PERC 2007 Brussels Belgium E

Panafrican Climate Justice Alliance

PACJA 2008 Nairobi Kenya D

Panafrican Women Association

PAWA Oslo Norway J

PARABERE

2015 J c

Parents International

IPA Amsterdam Netherlands D

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

PACE Strasbourg France F g

Parliamentary Forum on Small Arms and Light Weapons

PFSALW 1999 Stockholm Sweden F y

Partnership for African Social and Governance Research

PASGR 2011 Nairobi Kenya F

Partnership for Change

PfC 2012 Oslo Norway G

Partnership for Child Development

PCD 1992 London UK G

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