Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5 or Global Goal 5) concerns gender equality and is fifth of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by United Nations in 2015. Through the pledge to “Leave No One Behind”, countries have committed to fast-track progress for those furthest behind first. SDG 5 aims to grant women and girls equal rights and opportunities to live free of violence and discrimination, including in the workplace.
The UN States “Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. 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 benefits societies and humanity at large.“
The above few lines briefly tell us why gender equality is important for a sustainable world. “Inclusiveness” is one of the core values of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In simple terms, “Inclusiveness” means “leaving no one behind”. The SDG pledges in a vision and a mission of a “just, equitable, tolerant, open and socially inclusive world in which the needs of the most vulnerable are met” and “a world in which every country enjoys sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth and decent work for all” (paragraph 8 and 9).
“Women” have been identified as a social group who are vulnerable and have been marginalized for decades due to cultural reasons and lack of economic, social, and political opportunities. Thus, “inclusiveness” of women as a social group requires empowerment and that can be achieved through the principle of non-discrimination. The SDGs in general thus have kept gender equality as a prime goal for recognizing the importance of women’s health issues, women’s empowerment, and realization of women’s rights. SDGs focus on five Ps – People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. Achieving gender equality addresses all these five Ps of SDGs. Among the vital goals of SDGs, gender equality come under Goal 5 with the core theme for promotion of women in sustainability. Linking gender equality and sustainable development is very important for three basic reasons. First, it is amoral and ethical obligation which necessitates achieving gender equality because “no one can be left behind”. It is a great concern for realizing the human rights, dignity, and capabilities of diverse groups of women to make a just and sustainable world. Second, it is important to acknowledge and address the disproportionate impact of economic, social, and environmental shocks and stresses on women and girls, which hinders exercising their human rights. by not exercising equal rights, women cannot fulfil their vital roles in sustaining their families and communities at large. Third, and most significantly, it is important to build up women’s agency and capabilities to create better associations between gender equality and sustainable development outcomes.
SDG 5 has nine targets and 14 indicators. Six of the targets are outcome targets:
- ending all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
- ending violence and exploitation of women and girls
- eliminating harmful practices such as child early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
- increasing value of unpaid care and promoting shared domestic responsibilities
- ensuring full participation of women in leadership and decision-making
- ensuring access to universal reproductive rights and health.
The three means of implementation targets are:
- fostering equal rights to economic resources, property ownership, and financial services for women
- promoting empowerment of women through technology
- adopting and strengthening policies for gender equality and supporting legislation to enforce it.
The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 also posed a challenge in achieving gender equality. The impact of COVID-19 on women has been significant. Some examples include compounded economic impacts, increased unpaid care work (such as during school closures), an increase in domestic violence and other factors.
Background
The Sustainable Development Goals are a collection of 17 global goals set by the United Nations. The broad goals are thematically linked, yet each has its own specific targets to achieve. The SDGs cover a broad range of social and economic development issues, including poverty, hunger, health, education, climate change, gender equality, water supply, sanitation, energy, urbanization, environment and social justice.
| Targets | Indicator(s) |
|---|---|
| 5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere | 5.1.1 Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce and monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex |
| 5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation | 5.2.1 Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age 5.2.2 Proportion of women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to sexual violence by persons other than an intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by age and place of occurrence |
| 5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation | 5.3.1 Proportion of women aged 20–24 years who were married or in a union before age 15 and before age 18 5.3.2 Proportion of girls and women aged 15–49 years who have undergone female genital mutilation/cutting, by age |
| 5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate | 5.4.1 Proportion of time spent on unpaid domestic and care work, by sex, age and location |
| 5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision- making in political, economic and public life | 5.5.1 Proportion of seats held by women in (a) national parliaments and (b) local governments 5.5.2 Proportion of women in managerial positions |
| 5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences | 5.6.1 Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care 5.6.2 Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education |
| 5.a Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws | 5.a.1 (a) Proportion of total agricultural population with ownership or secure rights over agricultural land, by sex; and (b) share of women among owners or rights-bearers of agricultural land, by type of tenure 5.a.2 Proportion of countries where the legal framework (including customary law) guarantees women’s equal rights to land ownership and/or control |
| 5.b Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women | 5.b.1 Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex |
| 5.c Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels | 5.c.1 Proportion of countries with systems to track and make public allocations for gender equality and women’s empowerment |
Custodian agencies
Custodian agencies are responsible for monitoring and reporting of indicators:
- Indicator 5.1.1: United Nations Women (UN Women), World Bank (WB), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
- Indicator 5.2.1 and 5.2.2: United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), UN Women, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), World Health Organisation (WHO), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- Indicator 5.3.1 and 5.3.2: United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
- Indicator 5.4.2.: UNSD, United Nations Women (UN Women)
- Indicator 5.5.1: IPU, United Nations Women (UN Women)
- Indicator 5.5.2: International Labor Organization (ILO)
- Indicator 5.6.1: and 5.6.2 is: United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
- Indicator 5.a.1 and 5.a.2: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- Indicator 5.a.2: Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
- Indicator 5.1: International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
- Indicator 5.c.2: UN Women, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Links with other SDGs
Even though SDG 5 is a stand-alone goal, other SDGs can only be achieved if SDG 5 is achieved, i.e. the needs of women receive the same attention as the needs of men. The link between SDG 5 and the other SDGs has been extensively analysed by UN Women’s report on gender equality in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.
Organizations
Several global organizations have vowed to achieve progress towards SDG 5 in various ways.
For example:
– WHO is working for a world in which no one misses out on health services because of their gender or for any other reason.
– UN Women works for the empowerment of women.
– Equality Now advocates for the protection and promotion of the human rights of women and girls.
– Vital Voices works with women leaders in the areas of economic empowerment, women’s political participation, and human rights.
– UNDP works to promote women’s participation and leadership in all forms of decision-making.
– UNICEF builds partnerships across the global community to accelerate gender equality.
New aspects such as women’s unpaid work, right to owning property, sexual and reproductive rights and gendered-based violence were brought to the for front as well. it is certain that the commitment to advancing gender equality though SDG 5 has brought about improvements in some areas. However, several goals still remain unfulfilled die to lack of legal frameworks that promote equality between women and men and other structural issues like unfair social norms and attitudes that hinders development of women.
Although India has achieved gender parity at the primary education, violence against women is pervasive in India. Indian government has launched initiative that aims at equal opportunity, well-being and education for women and girls like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samridhi Yojana and Janani Suraksha Yojana.
It is believed that socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have adversely affected all countries which will have large impact on reaching the SDG targets particularly SDG 5 since women and girls have experienced disproportionate impact of the pandemic lockdown due to higher burden of domestic work and childcare, increase in child marriages and rising domestic violence against women and children during the global lockdown.
FOR MORE DETAIL DISCUSSION ON SDG 5 – GENDER EQUALITY, LISTEN TO THE PODCAST EPISODE ON ‘RESEARCH WITH NJ’.
Naman Jain 