International Women’s Day: Investing in women’s empowerment and gender equality

ASYA VARBANOVA

In 2024, over halfway to the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals, as we commemorate International Women’s Day, it is crucial to reflect on our collective journey towards gender equality and envision the path ahead.

Globally, while we should rightly celebrate progress in key areas such as women’s political representation, maternal mortality, and legislative reform for ending violence against women, the overall picture is one of regression. Our analysis shows that none of the targets for SDG 5 on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls are at “met” or “almost met.” 99 percent of the world’s women live in countries with substantial gender gaps and limited women’s empowerment. The average woman scores less than 75 percent of what the average man does against a basket of human development indicators. Globally women hold just 26.7 percent seats in parliament, 35.5 percent in local government and 28.2 percent of management positions in the workplace. Gender gaps in poverty remain high, particularly among women aged 25 to 34. Today, 1 in every 10 women lives in extreme poverty, and if current trends continue, over 340 million women and girls will still live in extreme poverty by 2030. In addition, increasing conflicts, disasters, climate change and polarizing societies threaten to exacerbate existing gender inequalities.

We are currently at an important crossroad where standing up for women’s rights is more important than ever. As the world marks International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8 under the theme “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress,” the imperative to prioritize investment in women’s empowerment has never been more urgent.

U.N. Women estimates that an additional $360 billion annually is needed to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment across the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. This may sound a lot, but it is in fact less than one fifth of the $2.2 trillion spent globally on military expenditure in 2022. It is even less than two thirds of what the world spends on coffee every year. It is hard to think of a more obvious investment to advance progress not only to women and girls but for everyone.

Recognizing the rights of women is not just a matter of equality, but also a wise economic decision. Closing gender gaps in employment for example could boost GDP per capita by 20 percent across all regions. While expanding care services reduces unpaid care work, largely carried out by women, it could spark almost 300 million decent jobs by 2035.

In Türkiye, while progress has been made in the past years, there are still persistent inequalities between women and men in participation in decision-making and politics, in employment, in access to financial opportunities and resources, in time spent for household and family care, and in being safe from violence. These inequalities deepen for specific groups of women such as those with disabilities, or those living in rural areas.

U.N. Women works with government, civil society, private sector, media and international partners to address systematic barriers to women’s empowerment and to introduce and scale up good practices. These efforts are particularly crucial now amidst the ongoing post-earthquake recovery, where women continue to bear disproportionate impacts, facing heightened risks of violence, increased care burdens, difficulty accessing services and loss of livelihood opportunities.

One of the most effective ways to advance objectives on women’s empowerment and address the challenge of underinvestment is to implement gender responsive budgeting (GRB). GRB ensures that public policies are planned, financed and monitored in a way that is responsive to the specific needs of women and men, girls and boys and that deliberately addresses equality gaps. U.N. Women has been working in partnership with the Ministry of Family and Social Services to put in place regulations and capacities on gender responsive budgeting so that resources are directed where they are most needed and central and local authorities move closer to achieving women’s empowerment objectives.

I would like to highlight the role of civil society organizations that work to advance women’s rights. These organizations remain at the frontlines in the service of women and girls, they are change makers in their communities, they tirelessly advocate for women’s rights and have been instrumental in policy and legal changes. We saw this in full force after the devastating earthquakes last year. Women’s CSO have been and continue to provide essential support and to elevate the voices of women and girls in different policy making spaces. U.N. Women calls for increased investment in women’s organizations to ensure that their vital work is successful.

Investing in women’s empowerment and gender equality today is critical for creating transformative solutions that enable women to realize their rights and harness their full potential, including the times of crises. This not only accelerates progress towards gender equality but also builds a brighter and more equal future for all.

*Asya Varbanova, UN Women Türkiye Country Director