TWN Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Sep25/04)
22 September 2026
Third World Network

UN: Rollback on gender equality reversing decades of gains, warns report
Published in SUNS #10516 dated 21 September 2026

Penang, 18 Sep (Kanaga Raja) -- Although women's leadership consistently strengthens outcomes across all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the very institutions meant to advance gender equality are being systematically hollowed out, with one in three mechanisms losing power and funding falling to its lowest level since 2021.

This is one of the main conclusions highlighted by UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in their Gender Snapshot 2026 report released on 17 September.

The findings of the report revealed a political retreat from gender equality that is cross-cutting, measurable, and compounding.

One in three institutional mechanisms for gender equality has had its institutional power eroded over the past two years, said UN Women and UN DESA.

Around one in four have seen their operating budgets cut over the same period, and nearly one in 10 have lost control of their budget altogether. Funding for gender equality has fallen to its lowest level since 2021, with funding for women's rights organizations most impacted, they added.

Meanwhile, amid funding cuts, 42 per cent of UN entities report a weakening of their gender equality efforts.

"The concentration of political power remains stark: Six in seven countries are led by men. Women continue to face systemic barriers at every stage."

The cost of running for office can exceed 100 times a country's average per-capita income, excluding many women before the race even begins, said UN Women and UN DESA.

When women do reach cabinet, they are still disproportionately steered away from the portfolios that command the highest security and economic power.

For instance, close to nine in 10 defense ministers and more than eight in 10 finance ministers are men.

As women continue to face barriers to equal participation and influence, decades of political and legal gains on gender equality are increasingly being contested and, in some cases, dismantled. Not one single indicator on the Sustainable Development Goal for gender equality (SDG 5) is on track to be met by 2030, said UN Women and UN DESA.

"The evidence is clear: When women lead, societies are stronger, economies are more resilient and outcomes are better for everyone. Yet, as long as power remains concentrated in institutions that systematically exclude women, societies will continue to fall short of their full potential. Equality cannot be achieved without equal access to power - because equality without power is not equality at all," said the UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.

"The data leave no room for ambiguity: At current rates, gender equality remains 171 years away. What the Gender Snapshot 2026 shows is that this is not inevitable - it is the result of choices, made visible through data. Investing in gender equality, institutions, and the statistical systems that hold them to account is not a cost. It is the fastest route back to the 2030 Agenda's promise of equal power for all," said UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua.

According to the joint report, women's leadership and decision-making power are crucial to achieve gender equality and to meet the promises of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Yet, equal representation at the top of public and private institutions is far from reality. Women's rights to participation in political and public affairs, particularly among women from diverse backgrounds, are not realized, and women remain excluded from decisions crucial to their lives, families and communities, it said.

It said that women's leadership strengthens democracy and delivers better outcomes. Women in power are more likely to prioritize gender-responsive policies and to defend hard-won rights and hold institutions accountable to the people they serve.

The report said local women leaders, particularly when connected to women-led organizations and movements, are more inclined to remain accountable to women's priorities and deliver tangible change in their communities.

Overall, women's equal representation and participation signals a strong, well-functioning democracy, it added.

Yet, worryingly, progress on women's leadership is now slowing and even reversing in many countries. This is part of a wider retreat from human rights and inclusive participation in public spaces, said the report.

Across regions, institutions that focus on gender equality are being dismantled, funding for gender equality is on a steep decline, and civic space is shrinking, it noted.

The report also said that violence against women in political and public life is escalating, and new barriers, such as technology-facilitated violence, are intensifying. Political and legal gains that underpinned decades of gender equality advances are being contested.

LOST MOMENTUM

Presenting the latest evidence on women's participation and leadership in positions of power and decision- making, UN Women and UN DESA said women's equal participation in political leadership and decision- making is a human right.

"It is also a powerful symbol of women's role in society, one that can shift discriminatory social norms."

Yet, women's share of political leadership positions remains far from parity, and progress has lost momentum.

For example, the report said that while the number of countries with a woman Head of State or Government slowly increased from 20 in 2020 to 28 as of 1 January 2026, six in seven countries are still led by men.

Women's representation in national cabinets declined to 22.4 per cent in 2026, after peaking at 23.3 per cent in 2024.

The decline is a warning sign that gains cannot be taken for granted and that progress towards equal political power remains fragile, the report suggested.

Women are also losing ground in parliamentary leadership. Shares in lower and single chambers of national parliaments have edged up to only 27.4 per cent in 2026 as progress has slowed, with merely a 0.2 percentage point gain in one year.

From 2020 to 2026, women's share in parliaments declined in 54 countries (including by more than 3 percentage points in 23 countries).

Based on progress over the last decade, gender parity in parliaments will not be reached until 2064. At the slower pace of the last five years, it slips to 2089, said UN Women and UN DESA.

As of January 2026, 54 women served as parliamentary speakers globally, representing 19.9 per cent of the total,  nearly a 4 percentage-point decline from the previous year and the first drop in 21 years.

Moreover, the report said institutional biases persisted in the assignment of women to standing parliamentary committees.

It said women chaired over two-thirds (68.5 per cent) of parliamentary committees on gender equality and nearly half of youth committees (46.6 per cent), but fewer than one in five committees on defense (18.4 per cent) and finances (17.2 per cent).

"Women's representation in local government remains higher than in national parliaments, at 35.6 per cent in 2025. But progress has nearly stalled, rising by just 0.1 percentage point annually."

From 2020 to 2025, women's share of local government seats declined in 27 countries (including by more than 3 percentage points in 11 countries). At this rate, achieving parity will require three more decades, said the report.

Violence against women in politics remains pervasive and continues to deter women from running for office and remaining in public life, as confirmed by UN Women data across 13 countries.

The report said during electoral campaigns, 8 in 10 women candidates for parliament and 6 in 10 candidates for local government experience psychological, sexual, economic and/or physical violence.

Perpetrators are often men in positions of power such as leaders of political parties, heads of public institutions, intimate partners or opposition supporters.

Additionally, members of parliament experience very high levels of intimidation and violence perpetrated by the general public, especially online, and women are more likely to be targeted (76 per cent compared to 68 per cent of men).

"The rules of engagement in political affairs do not account for unequal access to resources between male and female candidates."

The cost of running for office, which in some cases can exceed 100 times the national average per capita income, excludes women and those from poorer backgrounds alike, the report underlined.

Worryingly, decades of positive trends towards viewing women as equally qualified political leaders seem to be reversing among younger generations of men, it pointed out.

Additionally, it said courts uphold rights, resolve disputes and safeguard the rule of law and democracy - so who sits on the bench matters.

It said while women comprise the majority of judges  (51.2 per cent) and registrars (57.5 per cent), they remain under-represented in positions that define jurisprudence, set institutional priorities and exercise the highest levels of judicial decision-making.

"Women comprise only 29.0 per cent of prosecutors, a role central to how justice is administered, including in cases of gender-based violence and discrimination where women prosecutors influence both what charges are brought and how justice is pursued."

Fewer than one in five chief justices is a woman (19.6 per cent), and in 2025, women accounted for only 29.6 per cent of arbitrators appointed or confirmed by the International Chamber of Commerce.

Meanwhile, the report said in public administration, gender equality is essential for representative, effective and trusted institutions - it improves service delivery, citizen engagement and confidence in government.

Yet, data from 2020 to 2025 reveal that women were under-represented in public service positions relative to their share of the national population in 62.1 per cent of countries and areas with data (82 out of 132).

The report said under-representation is concentrated at the top of public institutions, where gender disparities in senior management persist in 71.1 per cent of countries compared to just 13.8 per cent at lower administrative levels.

National gender equality mechanisms have helped advance the implementation of women's rights across areas including violence against women, economic empowerment and property rights, it added.

Research spanning 70 countries over four decades finds a statistically significant positive correlation between the presence of a national gender equality mechanism and higher levels of democracy.

However, UN Women and UN DESA said at a time when strong institutions are needed most, they are being weakened instead and in some contexts entirely dismantled.

In a 2026 survey of national gender equality mechanisms, 1 in 3 (32 per cent) reported an erosion in institutional power over the past two years.

"The result is an institutional architecture that exists on paper but has diminishing power in practice."

Amidst growing backlash, governments must strengthen, not sideline, national gender equality mechanisms by providing the resources, authority and rights-based mandates required to deliver results, it suggested.

POWER GAPS

The report said women's leadership in businesses can broaden perspectives in corporate decision-making and draw greater attention to gender equality, inclusion and responsible practices.

The business case is equally compelling: gender-equal leadership improves decision-making, helps firms attract talent and outperform financially, and drives more inclusive products and services.

However, while women account for around 40 per cent of employees of firms worldwide, their representation in corporate leadership lags significantly.

For instance, the report said data from March 2024, covering nearly 88,000 active directors on more than 9,600 boards of publicly traded companies, across 62 countries and areas, show that women hold only 5.8 per cent of chief executive officer (CEO) positions globally, and they occupy just a quarter of corporate board seats (25.1 per cent).

The total realized pay of women board members is, on average, 67.6 per cent lower than what men earn.

These findings underscore the persistence of a "stacked glass ceiling", where women remain excluded from the most powerful executive roles even after entry into leadership, said UN Women and UN DESA.

"Lower qualifications do not explain the barriers. Women board members are more likely than men to hold advanced degrees (40.5 per cent vs. 33.5 per cent). Yet, they are less likely to have previously served as CEOs (29.1 per cent compared to 41.5 per cent)."

Corporate decision-making power often concentrates in a few leadership positions, so women's presence on boards does not necessarily translate into steering company priorities, strategy and governance, said the report.

Women board members have less decision-making power than their representation in 71.8 per cent of publicly traded companies globally, it added.

"The gender power gap becomes even more pronounced as company size increases. While 70.0 per cent of relatively smaller companies exhibit a negative gender power gap, this rises to 82.8 per cent among bigger companies, suggesting that women face the greatest barriers in the largest, most powerful firms."

The report stressed that advancing gender-responsive corporate governance reforms is essential for women to shape decisions that influence societies and economies and for businesses to realize the returns of gender-equal leadership.

SHRINKING RESOURCES

Women's collective activism and leadership have been among the most powerful forces for advancing gender equality and social change. Women mobilize communities, advocate for rights, shape public policy and hold institutions accountable, said UN Women and UN DESA.

"Their leadership is often informal and unpaid, yet foundational to social cohesion, accountability and crisis resilience."

When women's community leadership coalesces into organized feminist movements, its impact multiplies and can become a powerful driver of progress on women's rights, the report emphasized.

Global evidence from 126 countries over 1975-2015, brought together in the Feminist Mobilization Index (FMI), shows how feminist movements have expanded across countries.

The report said they have increasingly emerged as an important force for advancing women's human rights and gender equality, including through policies addressing violence against women, women's economic and property rights, workplace protections and social policy.

Recent trends reflect the consolidation and increasing independence of women's feminist movements in some contexts.

For instance, the 2025 update of the FMI for Latin America and the Caribbean reveals that over the past decade, movements in the region grew markedly, matching the scale of gains seen only during the United Nations Decade for Women (1976-1985).

While that earlier wave marked the emergence of movements in new countries, recent gains reflect their growing strength and autonomy.

The fact that advances continue amid mounting anti-gender backlash and democratic backsliding speaks to the resilient endurance of feminist activism, the report underscored.

Worryingly, it said that global evidence shows shrinking civic space and funding cuts are major concerns for women's organizations.

"Women's rights organizations, which have historically received less than 1 per cent of official development assistance (ODA) for gender equality are coming to an existential breaking point. Funding for them declined 28 per cent from 2023 to 2024, with further reductions anticipated."

The worst-affected women's organizations are in humanitarian settings, where they are often the first responders and last remaining presence when crises deepen, said the report.

De-funding them is not only a gender equality failure; it directly contradicts localization commitments made by international donors, leaving the most vulnerable women and girls without the support they need, when they need it most, it added.

The findings of the joint report come at a consequential moment for the multilateral system. World leaders are gathering for the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA81) as the United Nations moves towards selecting its tenth Secretary-General - a position that no woman has held in the UN's 80-year history, said UN Women and UN DESA.

As governments debate the future of multilateralism, the report argues that no vision for the future of the world is credible without women and girls having an equal share of power in shaping it.

UN Women and UN DESA called for a reversal of the political retreat on gender equality - and for power to be shared more equally.

That means ensuring women have an equal voice in political and economic decisions, properly funding gender equality institutions, protecting women's rights organizations and civic space, and ensuring women have equal power to shape the decisions that affect economies, peace and security, technology, and public life, they said. +