Global Civil Society & the UN Sustainable Development Goals

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

Gender Equality


While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Millennium Development Goals (including equal access to primary education between girls and boys), women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world.

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Unfortunately, at the current time, 1 in 5 women and girls between the ages of 15-49 have reported experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner within a 12-month period and 49 countries currently have no laws protecting women from domestic violence. Progress is occurring regarding harmful practices such as child marriage and FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), which has declined by 30% in the past decade, but there is still much work to be done to complete eliminate such practices.

Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large. Implementing new legal frameworks regarding female equality in the workplace and the eradication of harmful practices targeted at women is crucial to ending the gender-based discrimination prevalent in many countries around the world.

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

International Justice Analysis Forum

IJA Forum Freiburg-Breisgau Germany G

International Justice Mission

IJM 1997 Arlington VA USA G

International Justice Network

IJN 2006 N

International Juvenile Justice Observatory

IJJO 2002 Brussels Belgium G

International Knowledge Centre for Engineering Sciences and Technology under the Auspices of UNESCO

IKCEST Beijing China J

International Knowledge Network of Women in Politics

iKNOW Politics 2007 F

International Labour Organization

ILO 1919 Geneva Switzerland B g

International Lithosphere Program

ILP 1980 Columbia MO USA F

International Lupin Association

ILA 1980 Temuco Chile C

International Lutheran Women's Missionary League

ILWML 1942 St Louis MO USA G

International Maritime Organization

IMO 1948 London UK B g

International Maritime Rescue Federation

IMRF 1924 Enfield UK C y

International Mediterranean Women's Forum

IMWF 1992 Turin Italy E

International Methane Emission Observatory

IMEO 2021 J g

International Movement for a Just World

JUST Petaling Jaya Malaysia G v

International Movement for Therapeutic Free Choice

1968 Paris France N

International Music Council

IMC 1949 Paris France A y

International Muslim Organization for Woman and Family

IMOWF 2002 J

International Network Against Cyber Hate

INACH 2002 Amsterdam Netherlands F y

International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

ESCR-Net 2003 New York NY USA F y

International Network for Girls

INfG 1995 New York NY USA F

International Network for Humane Education

InterNICHE 1988 Leicester UK F

International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations

INCLO Geneva Switzerland F

International Network of Human Rights | Europe

RIDHE 2019 Brussels Belgium F

International Network of Liberal Women

INLW 1990 Wassenaar Netherlands F

International Network of Women Against Tobacco

INWAT 1990 F

International Network of Women Against Tobacco - Europe

INWAT Europe 1997 Edinburgh UK E

International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists

INWES 2002 Ottawa ON Canada F

International Network on Feminist Approaches to Bioethics

FAB 1992 Dearborn MI USA F v

International Network to End Violence Against Women and Girls

INEVAWG 2014 F

International News Safety Institute

INSI 2003 London UK E j

International NGO/CSO Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty

IPC Rome Italy E y

International Nuremberg Principles Academy

Nuremberg Academy 2014 Nuremberg Germany G

International Order of Job's Daughters, Supreme Guardian Council

1920 Papillion NE USA G

International Order of the Rainbow for Girls

IORG 1922 McAlester OK USA G

International Organisation for Least Developed Countries

IOLDCs 1996 Geneva Switzerland C

International Organisation of Vine and Wine

OIV 1924 Paris France C gy

International Organization for Educational Development

IOED 2014 Delhi India G v

International Organization for Human Rights Protection

IOHRP 1999 Delhi India N

International Organization for Promoting Public Diplomacy, Science, Education and Youth Cooperation

Eurasian Commonwealth 1994 Moscow Russia D

International Organization for Science and Technology Education

IOSTE 1979 Sao Paulo Brazil C v

International Organization for Self-Determination and Equality

IOSDE J

International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination

EAFORD 1976 Geneva Switzerland C

International Organization for the Right to Education and Freedom of Education

1985 Geneva Switzerland C

International Organization of Physical Therapists in Pelvic and Women's Health

IOPTPWH 1999 E

International Organization of Women and Mathematics Education

IOWME 1980 Stockholm Sweden C

International Orienteering Federation

IOF 1961 Karlstad Sweden C

International Padel Federation

FIP 1991 Madrid Spain C

International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief

IPPFoRB 2014 Oslo Norway F

International Parkour Federation

IPF 2014 C

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