The global economy could see a boost of more than $340 trillion by 2050 if countries counteract the worst manifestations of the structural poverty affecting the female population, experts estimate.
Actuaciones inmediatas de los gobiernos permitirían, en este caso, reducir la pobreza extrema del 9,2 % actual a un 2,7 % en 2050, sustentó onu Mujeres, la entidad líder de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (onu) para el tema en análisis.
It is vital to accelerate investments in areas such as caregiving, education, the green economy, the labor market, and social protection, agreed UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua.
Such measures, she argued, could reduce the number of women and girls living in extreme poverty by 110 million by 2050, which would translate into approximately $342 trillion in cumulative economic returns.
However, budgets are declining in many areas, and none of the 2030 Agenda's goals related to gender parity are on track to be met, with barely five years remaining until the deadline, the multilateral organization confirmed.
According to the Gender Outlook 2025 report, some 351 million women and children could remain in extreme poverty by 2030, based on an analysis of more than 100 data sources measuring progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Thirty years ago, at the Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China, the governments of 189 States declared that equality was inherent to human rights, a condition for achieving social justice, and a basic requirement for socioeconomic progress and peace.
On September 22, the UN General Assembly held a high-level meeting to commemorate the 30th anniversary of that meeting, whose commitments were reflected in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
There has been undeniable progress over the past three decades, but "the world today prefers to spend six times more preparing for conflict than on supporting and protecting half of its population, who, by the way, also build the economy," lamented Mexican actress Cecilia Suárez, as ambassador for the Spotlight Initiative, which aims to eliminate all forms of violence against women.
Military expenditures will reach $2.718 trillion in 2024, a 9.4% increase in real terms compared to 2023, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute revealed
There is no end in sight to the ongoing arms race, and the commitments announced by various powers "will lead to further global increases in the coming years," the source warned.
In contrast, developing countries face an annual deficit of approximately $420 billion to achieve the gender equality envisioned in the SDGs, according to UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The study also confirmed that 708 million women are excluded from the labor market due to unpaid obligations. Even those who do work are often pushed into lower-paying positions, the report noted.
Many of them also lack access to land ownership and various financial sources; in other words, they are denied the tools they need to prosper, the report illustrated.
At the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development—held this year in Seville, Spain—UN Women urged governments and institutions to move from promises to tangible, sustained investments.
"Most global funding continues to elude the poorest countries, where the majority of low-income women live and where investment is most urgent. In concrete terms, money is not reaching the women and girls who need it most," the agency stressed.
In this regard, she recommended urgent external debt relief, as well as the implementation of fairer international financing standards and the implementation of progressive tax reform with a gender perspective.
He also suggested rebalancing public spending to meet long-term human development goals, including equality and peacebuilding.
Judging by the facts, a secure, prosperous, and equitable future for all will remain a pipe dream as long as women continue to lag behind, as they represent almost 50% of the Earth's population.
Taken from Granma
