We are entering a decade that holds great promise for progressing gender equality. Five years ago, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development secured commitment from 193 member states, including commitment to SDG 5: creating a world where every woman and girl enjoys full equality.
At the leadership level, Mexico, Canada, and Sweden are stepping up and explicitly labeling their development assistance and foreign policy as feminist. Over the past two decades, there have been significant improvements for women and girls — particularly in the areas of health and education, which are essential for gender equality.
Movements such as #MeToo and #NiUnaMas have helped awaken the world to the scale of structural sexism and power abuse. For global NGOs and the United Nations alike, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse — once a box-ticking exercise in our programming — is increasingly a cornerstone of our work. The safeguarding and abuse of power crisis that hit our sector has exposed a deep disconnect between what we seek to achieve through our programs and the leadership systems, structures, and power within our own organizations.