Additional $420bn a year needed to achieve gender equality, UN says
There is a US$420bn annual shortfall in the funding needed to achieve gender equality under the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, according to UN Women.
To address the gap, UN Women set out four recommendations to accelerate progress for women and girls and towards the Sustainable Development Goals at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), which took place in Seville, Spain, between 30 June and 3 July.
Gender equality is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by UN member states in 2015, and financing gender equality is “widely recognised as essential for sustainable development and for strong inclusive economies”, UN Women said.
“The current gap underscores the deep and chronic underfunding of women’s rights and services and signals the urgent need for governments and financial institutions to reallocate resources accordingly.”
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The recommendations it put forward at FfD4 are:
- Expanding and scaling up the use of gender-responsive budgeting;
- Implementing urgent debt relief, fairer global financing rules, and progressive gender-responsive tax reform;
- Rebalancing public spending to reflect long-term human development goals, including gender equality, peacebuilding and inclusive social development; and
- Investing in public care systems such as childcare and eldercare.
UN Women noted that despite the growing uptake of gender-responsive budgeting, just one in four countries has systems in place to track how public funds are allocated to gender equality. “Without this information, it is nearly impossible to plan, budget, and deliver national development goals,” it said.
“We cannot close gender gaps with budgets that are lacking a gender lens”, said Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, deputy executive director of UN Women. “Governments must back their commitments with real investment and track how money is spent and what it achieves. Gender equality must move from the margins of budget lines to the heart of public policy. It takes money. It takes reform. And it takes leadership that sees women not as a cost, but as the future.”
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UN Women said it welcomed the adoption of the Compromiso de Sevilla at FfD4, which reaffirms member states’ shared commitment to inclusive and sustainable development.
“Despite a difficult global context, the agreement signals a step forward in recognising the essential role of gender equality in financing strategies,” it said.
It urged governments and financial institutions to “move from promises to tangible, sustained investment that delivers for the women and girls most in need”.
About Amanda Sweeney
Amanda Sweeney is an intern at Global Government Forum for the summer of 2025, part of a study-abroad program facilitated by Villanova University. She is a second-year student at Villanova University in Pennsylvania, United States of America. Amanda is heavily involved at Villanova University, being part of one of the largest programs on campus, “Blue Key,” a student-ran tour guide organisation. In addition, she is secretary of Villanova’s Pre-Law Society and co-runs Villanova’s Model United Nations organisation.
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