Goal 5: Gender Equality
Objective: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
The Targets
Why it matters: Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes is key to nurturing the sustainable economies and benefitting societies and humanity at large. Currently, huge disparities between the genders are observed worldwide with women, on average, earning 77 cents for every dollar that men earn doing the same work and 70% of women experiencing physical and/or sexual violence at some point in their lifetime.
Target 5.1: End discrimination against women and girls
End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
Target 5.2: End all violence against and exploitation of women and girls
Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
Target 5.3: Eliminate forced marriages and genital mutilation
Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
Target 5.4: Value unpaid care and promote shared domestic responsibilities
Recognise and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate.
Target 5.5: Ensure full participation in leadership and decision-making
Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life.
Target 5.6: Universal access to reproductive health and rights
Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.
Target 5A: Equal rights to economic resources, property ownership and financial services
Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws.
Target 5B: Promote empowerment of women through technology
Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women.
Target 5C: Adopt and strengthen policies and enforceable legislation for gender equality
Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.