The SDGs provide a long-term, non-partisan framework for a more sustainable vision of urban development that provides equal opportunities for all inhabitants, promotes healthy living environments with access to green space, and is resilient in the face of everyday disasters and climatic hazards.
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. There has been progress over the last decades, but the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.
The social and economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation even bleaker. Progress in many areas, including time spent on unpaid care and domestic work, decision-making regarding sexual and reproductive health, and gender-responsive budgeting, is falling behind.
Women’s health services, already poorly funded, have faced major disruptions. Violence against women remains endemic. And despite women’s leadership in responding to COVID-19, they still trail men in securing the decision-making positions they deserve.
Commitment and bold action are needed to accelerate progress, including through the promotion of laws, policies, budgets and institutions that advance gender equality. Greater investment in gender statistics is vital, since less than half of the data required to monitor Goal 5 are currently available.
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right. It is one of the essential foundations for building a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Some progress has been made over the past few decades: more girls are in school, and fewer girls are being forced into early marriage; more women are holding office in parliaments and leadership positions; and laws are being reformed to promote gender equality.
Despite these achievements, many challenges remain: discriminatory laws and social norms remain pervasive, women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership, and 1 in 5 women and girls aged 15-49 report experiencing sexual or physical violence at the hands of an intimate partner in 12 months.
Women play a disproportionate role in response to the virus, including as frontline health workers and home-based caregivers. Women's unpaid care work has increased significantly as a result of school closures and the increased needs of the elderly. Women are also more affected by the economic effects of COVID-19 as they work, disproportionately, in insecure labor markets. Nearly 60% of women work in the informal economy, further exposing them to poverty.
The pandemic has also led to a sharp increase in violence against women and girls. With confinement measures in place, many women find themselves trapped at home with their abusers, with difficulty accessing services that suffer from cuts and restrictions. New data show that since the pandemic outbreak, violence against women and girls (especially domestic violence) has intensified.
València, through its Smart City Office, is working to improve the quality of life in urban environments, following the SDG roadmap for a more balanced and equitable urban development.
