A new United Nations assessment has raised serious concern about the pace of global progress toward gender equality, warning that the world is steadily drifting away from its 2030 commitments.
The latest “Gender Snapshot 2025” report, released jointly by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, paints a worrying picture: more than 351 million women and girls could still be living in extreme poverty by the end of the decade if current patterns continue.
The numbers themselves are alarming, but what is even more troubling is the overall slowdown in political will, financial prioritisation, and legal reform.
Experts behind the report have pointed out that several countries are either failing to implement existing protections for women or rolling back previously established safeguards.
Whether it is economic opportunity, legal autonomy, or safety, the gap between men and women remains unacceptably wide. The report also highlights a growing digital divide , millions of women across developing nations still lack reliable internet access, limiting their education, employment, and entrepreneurial options.
The analysis notes that closing this digital gap could inject trillions into the global economy, yet the issue receives only a fraction of the attention it deserves.
UN Women officials have urged governments to act with urgency, stressing that the world is at a turning point. They emphasize investment in care systems, gender-responsive climate policies, stronger legal frameworks, and targeted social protection.
Without this, the report warns, decades of hard-won progress may unravel, and future generations of women could inherit a world no more equal than the one their mothers fought to transform.
