Count Her In

Written by BJANKA

Today, on International Women’s Day, we stand together under the slogan ” Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress”. This cause is linked to the 68th consultation of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women which emphasizes the importance of women’s participation in achieving gender equality. While we have made some progress towards gender equality, we still have a long way to go, especially in the corporate world where women still face huge barriers.
Gender equality stands as a critical lever in the fight against poverty. The urgency to address the gender poverty gap increases when one considers the fact that over 10 percent of women worldwide live on less than $2.15 per day, as the data starkly illustrates. Not only is women’s poverty a result of their lower rate of workforce participation (61 percent versus 90.6%) but it is also a product of systemic inequality. Women’s economic potential is restricted by discriminatory employment practices, scarce resources, and societal stereotypes, while they are also overworked in unpaid caregiving roles.
The world is not on track to achieve gender equality, that goal is getting farther and farther away, according to “UN Women, Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2023,” published halfway through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. If present patterns continue, almost one in four women and girls will experience moderate to severe food insecurity by 2030, and over 340 million will still be living in extreme poverty. These numbers show a growing vulnerability made worse by human-caused climate change, which, in the worst-case scenario, could lead to up to 236 million more women and girls experiencing food insecurity.
Particularly at risk are older women who confront heightened economic insecurity. The report reveals that in 2023, women aged 55 to 59 faced higher rates of extreme poverty compared to men, with 8 percent of women versus 6.9 percent of men. Accumulated disadvantages due to gendered disparities in the workforce often leave many older women with insufficient financial resources upon reaching retirement. These disparities are a result of career interruptions, the prevalence of part-time employment, lower lifetime earnings, and the disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work. Furthermore, the inequality in pension access aggravates their economic vulnerability—universal pension coverage for women is a reality in only 56 out of 116 countries with available data. And where pensions are available, older women may not have full control over these funds, which further challenges their economic independence and security. The situation underscores the urgency of enhancing efforts and investments in gender parity to meet the 2030 targets for sustainable development.
A technical brief made in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the South-Western Institute of International Studies supported by the Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures is a window into the global gender gap that continues to exist in unpaid care and domestic work despite steady development progress in women’s education and health. Women’s economic opportunities are still limited by the burden of unpaid care, even as they have improved their educational attainments, health status, and labor force participation rates. According to the policy note projections, if current trends persist over that period women will be performing 9.5% more unpaid care work than men by 2050 i.e. an extra 2.3 hours per day. This data necessitates broad-based measures in policies aimed at addressing, identifying, reducing, and redistributing unpaid care work that will decrease gender inequality and make women economically empowered by investments in support systems such as UN Women’s call for investing in supportive care policies, services, jobs, and infrastructure stated earlier on as discussed by UN Women in 2023.
Encouraging a shift towards sustainable economies that actively include women not only pushes for gender equality but also becomes a leading light to global progress. Works like the DESFERS project in the Sahel and the Skill Impact Bond in India show how putting women into positions of power within the renewable energy sector can have transformative impacts. Not only will such projects give them the skills and opportunities they need to flourish in green jobs, but they also change underlying gender disparities and obstacles to social mobility. The remarkable success of these programs, evidenced by significant job placement and retention rates, highlights the untapped potential of women in driving forward a more sustainable, equitable world. Such efforts should serve as an exemplar to demonstrate that empowering and including women in inclusive economy transition goes beyond individual gains to build a better planet and more resilient societies. It’s not just good for women, it’s essential for the world because investing in women’s empowerment and equality is neither merely the right thing nor yet ethical imperative but also fundamental under sustainable development paradigm.
Women must no longer be seen only as beneficiaries or informants. We should see them as pioneers, inventors, and shapers of a fairer society. Now is the time to act and introduce gender-responsive budgeting as an essential first step on the road to true empowerment and equality. This adventure is about more than simply allocating resources. It’s approximately reshaping the world so that every woman can comprehend her full potential, unhindered by way of discrimination and inequality primarily based on gender alone.
Achieving gender equality requires more than symbolic gestures. Let us use this theme of International Women’s Day as a springboard for thoughtful reflection and action by individuals, civil society, and policymakers. Let us challenge ourselves and our communities to deeply consider the issue and, more importantly, contribute to a solution. “Count Her In” is not just a slogan, but a mission that every one of us must commit to in order to make gender equality and women’s empowerment a reality, not just an aspiration.