UN Women warns we are 171 years from achieving gender equality, as progress slows on women’s political participation

The UN Women gender snapshot report 2026 finds none of the nine SDG5 gender equality targets are on track to be met by 2030. At the current rate of progress, it will take 171 years to achieve full gender equality on a global basis.

The Sustainable Development Goals were established as a shared global plan in 2015, by all United Nations member states, to end poverty, protect the planet, and bring peace and prosperity by 2030. Progress on gender equality (SDG5) has stalled for a number of reasons, including glacial progress on women’s political participation, shrinking civic space, worsening rates of armed conflict, economic and climate instability, and violence against women and girls.

Key findings

• Between 2019 and 2024, 99 legal reforms helped remove discriminatory laws and strengthen legal frameworks for gender equality. Yet 51% of 131 countries still have significant legal gaps, and no country has achieved full legal equality. Globally, women and girls have just 64% of the legal rights of men. 

• Nearly 1 in 3 women globally have experienced partner or sexual violence in their lifetime. In the past 12 months alone, 316 million women experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner.

• Nearly 1 in 5 girls worldwide is married before age 18, and an estimated 230 million women and girls are survivors of female genital mutilation.

• Women and girls spend 2.5 times more hours than men on unpaid domestic and care work, a gender care gap that remains deeply entrenched.

• Women held 27% of seats in national parliaments in 2026, up from 22% in 2015. Women’s representation in local governments has stagnated at 36% since 2023.

• Only 87 countries have a ministerial portfolio fully dedicated to gender equality, and a third of existing gender-equality institutions reported that they have lost power in the last two years.

• 56% of women aged 15-49 who are married or in a relationship have full decision-making power over their sexual and reproductive health and rights.

• Nearly two-thirds of countries provide little or no legal protection for women’s land rights, while fewer than 30% ensure joint land registration or women’s participation in land governance.

• Only 1 in 4 countries have the systems needed to make gender equality a transparent and trackable public spending priority.

After years of upward movement, progress on women’s political leadership is losing momentum

Women’s participation in political leadership and decision-making is a human right, and a powerful symbol of women’s role in society. The number of countries with a woman Head of State or Government slowly increased from 20 in 2020 to 28 as of 1 January 2026. Yet, six in seven countries are still led by men.

Women are also losing ground in parliamentary leadership. Shares in lower and single chambers of national parliaments have edged up to only 27% in 2026 as progress has slowed. Based on progress over the past decade, gender parity in parliaments will not be reached until 2064.

Women government ministers are far less likely to be all allocated economy and finance portfolios, and far more likely to be allocated gender equality, family and children’s affairs: a pattern that reflects institutional bias in appointment decisions, not women’s policy interests.

Temporary special measures, including quotas, accelerate progress towards parity, as called for in General Recommendation 40 by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. As of 1 January 2026, 93 countries have legislated electoral quotas for women for single or lower houses of parliament, and 83 countries for local government.

The data shows that well-designed, ambitious quotas work. Women’s representation is 16 percentage points greater in parliaments and 17 points higher in local governments in countries with such quotas compare to countries without them.

Six actions to close the gender leadership gap

1. Implement real gender quotas, not symbolic ones. When quotas are ambitious and actually implemented, the results speak for themselves. In countries with strong quotas – targeting more than 40 per cent representation of women in politics – women’s representation is 16 percentage points greater in parliaments and 17 points higher in local governments, compared to countries without quotas. 
2. Lower the cost of running for office. Reform political campaign financing, so class and gender don’t decide who competes.
3. Strengthen national gender equality institutions and machineries through strong mandates, adequate staffing, and dedicated, steady resources.
4. Close the legal rights gap with real enforcement, not just laws on paper.
5. Fund women’s organizations directly. They are the closest to the ground – and the most under-resourced.
6. Shift gender norms and stereotypes by transforming narratives around women in the public sphere. Build coalitions and provide opportunities, resources, and services to promote women’s leadership.

The data have already proved that when women lead, entire societies gain momentum: economically, politically, and socially. Closing the leadership gap means giving more women the opportunity to lead, shape decisions, and drive progress for all.