Eliminating the gender digital divide would boost global GDP by $1.5 trillion by 2030 and lift 30 million women out of poverty by 2050, while benefiting 343.5 million women and girls worldwide, according to the Gender Snapshot 2025 report released by UN Women and UN DESA. The report shows the world stands at a crossroads where gender equality remains within reach through targeted investments. However, with only five years left to achieve the 2030 development goals, current trends suggest missing every indicator under the gender equality target.
Some progress has emerged where governments prioritized women’s rights. Girls now complete school more often than before, maternal deaths fell nearly 40% between 2000 and 2023, and intimate partner violence rates are 2.5 times lower in countries with comprehensive protection measures. Women’s participation in climate negotiations has doubled, while 99 countries enacted new laws against discrimination over the past five years.
Yet an unprecedented backlash threatens these gains as civic space shrinks and gender equality funding dries up.
“Where gender equality has been prioritized, it has propelled societies and economies forward,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.
Current trends could leave 351 million women and girls in extreme poverty by 2030, while 676 million now live within reach of deadly conflict – the highest number since the 1990s.
The report draws from over 100 data sources to track women’s progress across all 17 development goals. Accelerated action in care, education, green economy, labor markets, and social protection could reduce the number of women in extreme poverty by 110 million by 2050, unlocking an estimated $342 trillion in cumulative economic returns.
World leaders gathering for the UN General Assembly face clear choices as they commemorate 30 years since the Beijing Declaration on September 22.
