Report on Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2025

Introduction and Overview

UN Women and UN DESA are scheduled to release the “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2025” report on 15 September 2025. This annual report provides a comprehensive analysis of gender equality across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), presenting the latest data to track progress and identify persistent gaps. The 2025 edition is particularly significant as it marks the 10-year anniversary of the SDGs, leaving only five years to achieve the 2030 Agenda.

Current Status of SDG 5: Gender Equality

An assessment of SDG 5 reveals that progress toward achieving gender equality is critically insufficient. Despite advancements in areas such as women’s rights legislation and education, no single indicator for SDG 5 has fully met its target. The current status of its indicators is as follows:

• Target Met or Almost Met: 0 indicators
• Close to Target: 1 indicator
• Moderate Distance to Target: 10 indicators
• Far from Target: 2 indicators
• Very Far from Target: 1 indicator
• Insufficient Data: 4 indicators

Cross-Cutting Challenges to the SDG Agenda

Progress across the entire SDG framework is threatened by several interconnected global challenges that disproportionately affect women and girls. These challenges risk reversing hard-won gains in gender equality and, consequently, hindering the achievement of all 17 Goals.

1. Climate Change: Exacerbates vulnerabilities, impacting SDGs related to poverty (SDG 1), health (SDG 3), and sustainable cities (SDG 11).
2. Conflict: Disrupts peace and security (SDG 16) and derails development efforts across the board.
3. Global Backlash against Women’s Rights: Directly undermines SDG 5 and weakens the social fabric required to achieve goals related to reduced inequalities (SDG 10) and strong institutions (SDG 16).

Economic and Social Implications for Sustainable Development

The failure to achieve gender equality (SDG 5) carries a substantial cost, impeding progress on other key SDGs. Conversely, accelerating efforts toward gender equality can unlock significant global benefits.

Projected Gains from Accelerated SDG Implementation:

• SDG 1 (No Poverty): An accelerated push in social protection and education could reduce global female extreme poverty from a projected 9.2 percent in 2025 to 2.7 percent by 2050.
• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): Investments in the green economy, labour markets, and innovation linked to gender equality could add an estimated $35.6 trillion to global GDP by 2050.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Gender equality is fundamental to the successful realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With only five years remaining, the report underscores the urgent need for bold investments and collective, decisive action. Achieving gender equality is presented not merely as a standalone objective (SDG 5) but as the essential pathway to creating a sustainable and prosperous future for all, directly influencing the success of all 17 Goals.

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

Explanation

The article explicitly addresses and connects to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a primary focus on gender equality.

• All 17 SDGs: The article states that the “Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2025” report covers “all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” indicating that gender equality is a cross-cutting issue relevant to every goal.
• SDG 5 (Gender Equality): This is the central theme. The article dedicates a paragraph to analyzing the lack of progress on SDG 5, stating, “For SDG 5 on gender equality, no indicator or sub-indicator has reached ‘target met or almost met.'”
• Other Related SDGs: The article mentions that an “accelerated SDG push” is needed in specific areas, which directly links to other goals:
  • SDG 1 (No Poverty): Mentioned through the goal to “reduce global female extreme poverty from 9.2 per cent in 2025 to 2.7 per cent in 2050.”
  • SDG 4 (Quality Education): Referenced by the statement about “measurable increases in women’s education.”
  • SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): Connected to the discussion on the “green economy, labour markets,” and the potential to “unlock an additional $35.6 trillion in global GDP in 2050.”
  • SDG 13 (Climate Action): Mentioned as a threat, noting that “Hard-won gains could be derailed by climate change.”
  • SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions): Linked through references to “UN Security Council Resolution 1325,” “effective governance,” and the creation of “new laws upholding women’s rights.”

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

Explanation

While the article does not list specific SDG target numbers (e.g., Target 5.1), it describes the objectives and progress related to them, allowing for their identification.

• Targets under SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The article implies the existence of multiple, specific targets for SDG 5 by detailing their progress status. It notes that for SDG 5, “Only one is ‘close to target,’ 10 are at a ‘moderate distance to target,’ two are ‘far from target,’ one is ‘very far from target’ and four lack sufficient data.” This breakdown confirms that various targets related to gender equality are being tracked, even if they are not explicitly named.
• Target related to SDG 1 (No Poverty): A specific target is implied in the goal to “reduce global female extreme poverty from 9.2 per cent in 2025 to 2.7 per cent in 2050.” This aligns with SDG Target 1.1 (By 2030, eradicate extreme poverty for all people everywhere).
• Targets related to other SDGs: The article implies targets related to increasing women’s education (SDG 4), improving women’s participation in labour markets (SDG 8), and strengthening governance and legal frameworks for women’s rights (SDG 16).

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

Explanation

The article mentions both the concept of indicators and specific data points that serve as indicators for measuring progress.

• Indicators for SDG 5 (Gender Equality): The article directly refers to the measurement framework for SDG 5, stating, “For SDG 5 on gender equality, no indicator or sub-indicator has reached ‘target met or almost met.'” This confirms that a set of specific, though unnamed, indicators and sub-indicators are used to track progress on the various targets under this goal.
• Indicator for SDG 1 (No Poverty): A clear, quantifiable indicator is provided: the percentage of the global female population living in extreme poverty. The article provides current and projected figures (“from 9.2 per cent in 2025 to 2.7 per cent in 2050”), which are used to measure progress toward the poverty reduction target.
• Implied Indicators for other SDGs:
  • The phrase “measurable increases in women’s education” implies the use of indicators such as female enrollment rates in primary, secondary, and tertiary education (SDG 4).
  • The projection of “an additional $35.6 trillion in global GDP” serves as an economic indicator for women’s participation in the economy (SDG 8).
  • The mention of “new laws upholding women’s rights” implies an indicator related to the number of countries with legal frameworks that promote, enforce, and monitor gender equality (related to SDG 5 and SDG 16).

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: un.org