Accelerating action to close the gender equality gap

As a (white) middle-aged “male”, living and working in a “developed” country in the global North, it would be easy to commemorate International Women’s Day (IWD) with a few passing armchair superlatives about the women in our personal and professional lives.

And whilst true and well deserved, it would be a disservice if we do not at the same time, actively strive to bridge the gender equality gap in our homes, our schools, our businesses and workplaces, our academic, cultural, judicial, medical and political institutions, and our societies.

The world is facing many crises, ranging from geopolitical conflicts, typically caused by men, to soaring poverty levels and the escalating impacts of climate change.

As the United Nations (UN) points out, these challenges can only be addressed by solutions that empower women. By investing in women, “we can spark change and speed the transition towards a healthier, safer, and more equal world for all.”

On International Women’s Day 2025 (IWD 2025), United Nations Women calls on the world to “Accelerate Action for gender equality”.

Why? At the current rate of progress, it will take until 2158 – roughly five generations from now – to reach full gender parity, according to data from the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Significant barriers to gender equality remain, yet with the right action and support, positive progress can be made for women everywhere.

Indeed, WEF points out that despite living longer than men, women live 25 percent more of their lives in poor health.

Thus to effectively close the equality gap, women’s health must be recognized as a human right and an untapped market opportunity since economic prosperity and human rights are interconnected, and women’s health is a foundational element of both.

WEF highlights that research has shown “time and time again that women in leadership positions positively impact the strengthening of health facilities and reducing health inequities, and also result in improved outcomes for innovation, financial performance and women’s empowerment overall.”

From the Middle East to Haiti, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, it is women and children who pay the highest price for conflicts, not of their making and are left to pick up the pieces of shattered lives once hostilities have subsided.

According to the UN, the number of women and girls living in conflict-affected areas doubled since 2017, with over 614 million women and girls living in conflict-affected areas. In conflict areas, women are 7.7 times more likely to live in extreme poverty. If current trends continue, more than 342 million women and girls could be living in extreme poverty by 2030.

The areas needing investment are “clear and understood” the UN says. There must be an investment in peace, investments needed include laws and policies that advance the rights of women and girls; transformation of social norms that pose barriers to gender equality; guaranteeing women’s access to land, property, health care, education, and decent work; and financing women’s groups networks at all levels.

In a year when growing dissent and tightening geopolitical tensions seem almost a certainty, IWD 2025 Accelerate Action is a worldwide call to acknowledge strategies, resources, and activity that positively impact women’s advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation.

Given where the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that we with our resource-constrained world may be headed as a result of climate change, in which competition for scarce resources intensifies, livelihoods are threatened, societies become more polarized, a better balance between testosterone and estrogen in decision-making across our societies would seem not only a moral issue but one our long-term survival may ultimately depend on.