As the world prepares to… International Day for the Eradication of Poverty on October 17, UN women released a report highlighting the growing gender gap in social protection.
The report shows that an alarming two billion women and girls do not have access to any form of social protection.
Despite some progress since 2015, Gender gaps in social protection have widened in most developing regions, indicating that recent gains have disproportionately benefited men. This jeopardizes progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5)
Increasing burden of gender-related poverty
The report paints a stark picture of gendered poverty, showing that women and girls are overrepresented among the poor at every stage of life, with the greatest disparities observed during childbearing years.
Women aged 25 to 34 are 25 percent more likely than men in the same age group to live in extreme poverty. Conflict and climate change continue to exacerbate these inequalities, with women in vulnerable environments 7.7 times more likely to live in extreme poverty compared to women in stable regions.
Moreover, high inflation rates since 2022 have driven up food and energy prices, hitting women especially hard. Yet of the nearly 1,000 social protection measures taken by governments in 171 countries in the following months, only 18 percent targeted women’s economic security, the report found.
This highlights how gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities are often neglected in the aftermath of shocks.
Dismal state of maternity protection
Globally, more than 63 percent of women still give birth without access to maternity benefits, while this figure rises to 94 percent in sub-Saharan Africa.
This lack of financial support during maternity leave not only places women at an economic disadvantage, but also endangers their health and well-being, as well as that of their children, perpetuating poverty for generations.
Examples of progress
Nevertheless, there are promising examples of progress. In Mongolia, maternity leave benefits have been extended to informal workers, such as herders and the self-employed. Paternity leave has also been strengthened to support gender equality in caring responsibilities.
In Senegal, the National Health Insurance System has expanded its services to better meet the needs of rural women. with support from UN Women.
“The potential of social protection for gender equality, resilience and transformation is enormous. To leverage this, we must center the dignity, agency and empowerment of women and girls at every stage of the process – from policy and program design to implementation and financing,” emphasizes Sarah Hendriks, Director of Policy, Program and Intergovernmental Affairs at UN women.
