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STORY: UN / GENDER EQUALITY
TRT: 03:57
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 16 SEPTEMBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior UN Headquarters
16 SEPTEMBER 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, press room dais
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development:
“The sobering reality is that our shortfall in gender equality mirrors our overall lack of progress on the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). And this report shows that none of the SDG 5 indicators on gender equality has been met. Today, one in five girls still married before age eighteen. Women carry an unfair burden of unpaid domestic and care work, spending 2.5 times more hours a day on it than men. Only one in four parliamentary seats globally are held by women. And we know, unless these targets are met, full realization of the 2030 agenda will remain elusive.”
4. Wide shot, press room dais
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Program Results, UN Women:
“Countries that have enacted domestic legislation have lower rates of intimate partner violence than those without legislation, 9.5 percent compared to 16.1 percent. However, as we present this report, the reality that progress is far too slow, is also very evident, and we remain off track.”
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Program Results, UN Women:
“Without acceleration, girl born today will be 39 years old before women hold as many seats in parliament as men; 68 years old before a child marriage ends; and an extraordinary 137 years before extreme poverty for women and girls is eradicated.”
7. Med shot, journalists
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Program Results, UN Women:
“Implementing a package of policies that increase social protection could reduce extreme poverty for a 150 million women by 2050. Closing the gender gaps in farm productivity and food system wages could raise women farmers income and increase global GDP by nearly 1 trillion. Investing in the care sector and in infrastructure could create 300 million new decent low carbon jobs. Having more women in decision making is the way to move the needle to SDG 5 in one of the biggest electoral years in history. This year. 107 countries have never had a woman head of state. This is an opportunity for change.”
9. Med shot, press room dais
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Papa Seck, Chief, Research and Data Section, UN Women:
“Armed Conflict is another persistent problem. 612000 girls living near armed conflicts last year. And that's a 41 percent increase since 2015. The UN has verified 3688 incidents of conflict related sexual violence. That's up 50 percent from 2022 and in 95 percent of these cases are actually against women and girls. So, strengthen protection mechanisms and ensuring that women's leadership in peace building efforts are crucial elements for lasting solutions.”
11. Wide shot, press room dais
A report released by the United Nations today (16 Sep) warns of the world’s failure to meet gender equality targets under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Titled “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2024,” the report, presented by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) and UN Women, highlighted key challenges in advancing gender equality globally.
Navid Hanif, Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, emphasized the gravity of the findings. “The sobering reality is that our shortfall in gender equality mirrors our overall lack of progress on the SDGs,” Hanif stated. “None of the Sustainable Development Goal 5 indicators on gender equality has been met today. One in five girls are still married before age eighteen, and women continue to carry an unfair burden of unpaid domestic and care work, spending 2.5 times more hours a day on it than men.”
The report underscores that only one in four parliamentary seats worldwide are held by women, signaling an ongoing gender gap in political representation. Hanif warned that without significant progress, “the realization of the 2030 agenda will remain elusive.”
Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director for UN Women, stressed the slow pace of improvement in critical areas. “Countries with domestic legislation have lower rates of intimate partner violence compared to those without it—9.5 percent versus 16.1 percent. However, progress remains far too slow, and we remain off track,” she said.
Gumbonzvanda added that gender parity in parliamentary representation may not be achieved until a girl born today is 39 years old, and ending child marriage could take until she is 68. “An extraordinary 137 years will pass before extreme poverty for women and girls is eradicated,” she noted, reflecting the enormity of the challenge ahead.
Gumbonzvanda pointed to potential policy solutions. “Implementing a package of policies that increase social protection could reduce extreme poverty for 150 million women by 2050. Closing the gender gaps in farm productivity and food system wages could raise women farmers’ income and increase global GDP by nearly $1 trillion,” she explained. “This year, 107 countries have never had a woman head of state. This is an opportunity for change.”
Papa Seck, Chief of the Research and Data Section at UN Women, highlighted the impact of armed conflicts on gender equality. “612,000 girls lived near armed conflicts last year, a 41 percent increase since 2015. The UN has verified 3,688 incidents of conflict-related sexual violence, up 50 percent from 2022,” Seck revealed. In 95 percent of these cases, the victims were women and girls. “Strengthening protection mechanisms and ensuring women’s leadership in peacebuilding efforts are crucial for lasting solutions,” Seck concluded.
The report urges global leaders to take concrete steps to accelerate progress towards gender equality, particularly as 2024 shapes up to be a pivotal electoral year, with more than 100 countries poised for national elections.
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