Political leadership, investment and comprehensive policy reforms are needed to address systemic barriers to achieving gender inequality Goal. Gender equality is a cross-cutting objective and should be a key focus of national policies, budgets and institutions. Nearly 2.4 billion women of working age do not have access to equal economic opportunities. Globally, nearly 2.4 billion women do not have the same economic rights as men. 178 countries have legal barriers that prevent women’s full economic participation. Globally, nearly 2.4 billion women do not have the same economic rights as men. In 2019, one in five women aged 20-24 was married before the age of 18. UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Violence against Children
With only seven years remaining, only 15.4 percent of Goal indicators with data are “on track”, 61.5 percent are on track and 23.1 percent are far or very far from the 2030 target. Progress in many areas has been too slow. 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 to ensure equal representation of women in positions of power and leadership in the workplace, and 47 years to achieve equal representation in national parliaments.