One in three gender equality institutions has lost power

A information is contained in the report “Panorama de Genre 2026”, released today by the UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), which shows that where women hold real power, the results improve in all dimensions of Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, from peace to education and poverty to climate action.

However, the report indicates that the institutions themselves built over decades to promote gender equality are being systematically weakened, paralyzing or reversing progress “precisely at the time when the world cannot afford to retreat.”.

The conclusions reveal a political setback in gender equality “which is cross-cutting, measurable and cumulative”, and one in three institutional mechanisms for gender equality has seen its institutional power corroded in the last two years.

About one in four have seen their operating budgets cut in the same period, and nearly one in 10 have lost total control of their budget.

Financing for gender equality has fallen to the lowest level since 2021, with funding for women's rights organisations being the most affected, says the document.

“ The concentration of political power continues to be glaring: six out of seven countries are led by men. Women continue to face systemic barriers at all stages,” the UN indicated in a press release.

“ In some countries, up to eight out of 10 women candidates for public office face violence in public life. And when women arrive in the cabinet, they are still disproportionately away from the portfolios that hold the greatest power in security and economy ", adds the note.

As an example of this inequality, the UN points out that almost nine out of 10 defense ministers and more than eight out of 10 finance ministers are men.

Taking all of this into account, no indicator of the Sustainable Development Goal for Gender Equality (ODS 5) is on the way to being achieved by 2030, today they underlined the United Nations.

“ The evidence is clear: when women lead, societies are stronger, economies are more resilient and the results are better for everyone,” said UN Executive Director Women, Sima Bahous.

However, Bahous stressed that as long as the power to concentrate on institutions that systematically exclude women, societies will continue to fall short of their full potential.

“ Equality cannot be achieved without equal access to power — because equality without power is not equality,” he said.

UN Undersecretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Li Junhua, said that current data leave no room for ambiguity: “at the current pace, gender equality is still 171 years away.”.

The pattern extends beyond the governments.

Women occupy only 6% of the positions of CEO (executive director) in companies globally and lead less than 20% of the superior courts, leaving decisions that shape business, law, employment and the global economy predominantly in the hands of men.

Within days of dozens of Heads of State or Government meeting at the UN headquarters in New York for the High Level Week of the Organization, UN Women and UNDESA call for a reversal of political backwardness in gender equality and for power to be shared more equally.

“ This means ensuring that women have an equal voice in political and economic decisions, adequately funding gender equality institutions, protecting women’s rights organisations and the civic space, and ensuring that women have equal power to shape decisions affecting economies, peace and security, technology and public life,” says the UN statement.