SDG 5

The world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030 and is further off track due to the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Women and girls are currently disproportionately affected and struggle with loss of jobs and livelihoods, aborted education, an increased burden of unpaid care work, and domestic violence. In 2020, more than 100 million women aged 25-54 with small children were out of the labor force, including more than 2 million women who left the labor force due to the increasing pressure of unpaid care work. Women's health services faced major disruptions, and women's sexual and reproductive health was compromised. In addition, despite effective and inclusive leadership by women in responding to COVID-19, women are excluded from decision-making positions. Moreover, many countries do not have comprehensive systems to track budgets for gender equality, limiting the allocation of public resources for the implementation of laws and policies in this area. Efforts must be strengthened to ensure that laws, policies, budgets, and institutions promote gender equality.

Goal 5 Targets are here both in English and Japanese: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/oda/sdgs/statistics/goal5.html

(https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/)

UN Women 

UN Women is the United Nations agency dedicated to gender equality and women's empowerment. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was created to accelerate progress in meeting the needs of women around the world. UN Women helps UN Member States set global standards to achieve gender equality and works with governments and civil society to design the laws, policies, programs, and services needed to ensure that the standards are effectively implemented and deliver real benefits to women and girls around the world. Working globally to realize the vision of the Sustainable Development Goals for women and girls, the organization focuses on four strategic priorities and supports the equal participation of women in all aspects of life.

(https://www.uncwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women)

HeforShe campaign 

HeForShe is a promotion, created by UN women on 20 September 2014, for men and transgender people to work closely with women in order to create a stronger bond for gender equality. The men are not outsiders and work together with women interactively to provide better circumstances for business, families, and their communities.

Several partners working on the initiative periodically reported their efforts and results as a chart and percentage, and suggested their solutions to their state at that time. In addition,, they provide action kits for any type of communities such as organizations as well as individuals.

Please check out Emma Watson’s launch speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0Dg226G2Z8

Here is a TED Talk to learn more:

https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_nyamayaro_an_invitation_to_men_who_want_a_better_world_for_women?language=en

(HeForShe: https://www.heforshe.org/en/resources)

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Girls and boys see gender inequality in their homes and communities every day. They learn it from textbooks, the media, or the adults who care for them. In addition, women have been more affected by the economic impact of COVID-19 because they have worked unjustly in precarious labor markets. The pandemic has also led to a surge in violence against women and girls. We hope this background guide will help you with your research and lead you to better solutions. 

• Sustainable Development Goals 5:

(https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/)

• UNWomen:

(https://www.uncwomen.org/en/about-us/about-un-women)

• HeForShe:( https://www.heforshe.org/en/resources)

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF): (https://www.unicef.org/gender-equality)