UN Report Urges Immediate Regional Action to Close Critical Gender Gaps

The first edition of ‘’Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, A gender snapshot of the Arab region 2024’’, launched today by UN Women Regional Office for Arab States and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), reveals both progress and persistent challenges in advancing the empowerment of women and girls in the region.

The report highlights notable gains: women now hold 18 per cent of parliamentary seats, a significant increase from a decade ago. Maternal mortality declined by 45 per cent, from 246 to 139 deaths per 100,000 live births between 2000 and 2020. Additionally, 5.5 million more girls completing each level of education from primary to lower secondary compared to 2015. The gender gap in primary education completion rates has narrowed to 3 percentage points, and girls in secondary school have outperformed boys, with a 68 per cent completion rate compared to 66 per cent for boys. In the labour market, 23 per cent of employed women in the region hold jobs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields.

Despite these gains, the report finds that none of the indicators and sub-indicators of Sustainable Development Goal 5—the goal for gender equality—are currently on track, except indictor 5.b.1 Ownership of a mobile telephone. At current pace, it will take a staggering 115 years to close the gap in labour force participation between females and males. Only one in five women in the region is employed or seeking employment, compared to the global average of 49 per cent. Alarmingly, 29.4 million girls in the Arab States were married before age 18. Women continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid domestic and care work, spending 4.7 times more hours per day on it than men.

As regional policymakers and stakeholders convene in Beirut for the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development (AFSD), the report calls for a renewed regional consensus to accelerate efforts toward closing the gender gap and advancing the rights and empowerment of all women and girls.

"Today’s report reveals an undeniable truth: progress is achievable, but it is not happening fast enough,” said Dr. Moez Doraid, UN Women Regional Director a.i. for the Arab States. “We must continue to push forward to fulfill the commitments made by world leaders in the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing 30 years ago and the 2030 Agenda. Let us unite to dismantle the barriers women and girls continue to face and create a future where women’s empowerment is not just a goal, - but a reality.”

The report underscores the astonishing high cost of inaction. For example, eliminating child marriage in the Arab States could increase annual economic growth by an estimated 3 per cent – potentially adding a USD 3 trillion to the region’s economy by 2050.

“This report is a wake-up call—not only highlighting the strides made but also the glaring gaps that remain,” said Mehrinaz El-Awady, Leader of the Gender Justice, Population and Inclusive Development Cluster at ESCWA.

“Achieving gender equality in the Arab region requires urgency, commitment, and bold action. We owe it to every woman and girl to turn promises into progress, and progress into lasting change,” she added.

The costs of inequality are too great to ignore, and the benefits of achieving it immense. The full and equal participation of women and girls in every aspect of society is essential to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The report outlines key recommendations to eliminate gender inequality across all the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including accelerating legal reform, ending discrimination against women and girls, and increasing investment in empowering women - issues emphasized during the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action celebrated in March 2025.