Closing the gender digital divide could boost global GDP by USD 1.5 trillion and lift 30 million women from poverty

“Where gender equality has been prioritized, it has propelled societies and economies forward,” said Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director. “Targeted investments in gender equality have the power to transform societies and economies. Just closing the gender digital divide alone could benefit 343.5 million women and girls worldwide, lift 30 million out of poverty by 2050, and generate an estimated USD1.5 trillion boost to global GDP by 2030.”

At the same time, an unprecedented backlash on women’s rights, shrinking civic space, and growing defunding of gender equality initiatives is threatening hard-won gains. If current trends continue, the world will reach 2030 with 351 million women and girls still living in extreme poverty. Conflict is getting deadlier for women and girls. Today, 676 million women and girls live within reach of deadly conflict – the highest recorded since the 1990s. Sixty-four million more female adults were moderately or severely food insecure than male adults in 2024. The data shows that the world is retreating on gender equality, but it also tells us that with investment and political will, this trend can be reversed.

“Only five years remain to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with targets aimed at making gender equality a reality for all. The Gender Snapshot 2025 shows that the costs of failure are immense but so are the gains from gender equality. Accelerated action and interventions focused on care, education, the green economy, labour markets and social protection could reduce the number of women and girls in extreme poverty by 110 million by 2050, unlocking an estimated USD 342 trillion in cumulative economic returns,” said Li Junhua, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs.

The Gender Snapshot report is the world’s leading source of data on gender equality and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Drawing from more than 100 data sources, it tracks progress for women and girls across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 2025 edition shows that with five years left to achieve the SDGs, the world is currently on the trajectory to miss every single indicator under SDG5, the gender equality goal.

“As world leaders gather in New York for UNGA80, and to commemorate 30 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on 22 September, the Beijing+30 Action Agenda provides a clear path forward towards rights, equality and empowerment for all women and girls. It outlines six priority areas for accelerated implementation: freedom from poverty, zero violence, equal power and leadership, climate justice, peace and security, and full participation in the digital revolution. Cutting across the six is amplifying the voices of young women and girls. I encourage all leaders to make commitments and investments towards this and to choose a world where women’s rights are delivered at scale, and the returns are shared by all,” concluded Bahous.