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Gender Snapshot 2026 Equality Ends Where Power Begins
Dernière mise à jour : 21 sept.
“Women’s leadership and decision-making power are crucial to achieving gender equality and fulfilling the commitments of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).” (Gender Snapshot, 2026).
Six out of seven countries are led by men. This is the finding of the Gender Snapshot 2026, produced by UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA). Published on 17 September 2026, the annual report highlights the decline in the institutional power of bodies responsible for promoting gender equality. Nearly a quarter (23%) have seen their budgets cut, and funding for gender equality has fallen to its lowest level since 2021. This particularly affects organisations defending women’s rights.
Within the United Nations, 42% of entities report that budget cuts have weakened their efforts to promote equality. As UN Women emphasises, “this trajectory is not inevitable: it is the result of choices, as the data highlight”. These are political and budgetary choices.
They also remain excluded from peace processes. Nearly eight out of ten do not include any women amongst the negotiators or mediators. The publication of this report also coincides with the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and precedes the appointment of the Organisation’s tenth Secretary-General. In its eight decades of existence, the UN has never been led by a woman.
The Executive Director of UN Women states that “When women lead, societies are stronger, economies are more resilient and outcomes are better for everyone”. The imbalance extends to the economic and judicial spheres. Women hold only 5.8% of chief executive positions in publicly traded companies worldwide and head fewer than one in five high courts (19.6%).
These inequalities also extend beyond the political, economic and financial spheres. Nearly one in three women has experienced intimate partner or sexual violence during her lifetime. Women spend 2.5 times more time than men on unpaid domestic and care work.
None of the targets for SDG 5 (Sustainable Development Goal 5, one of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) are on track to be met by 2030. At the current rate, it would take another 171 years to achieve this goal.
The Gender Snapshot 2026 report serves as a reminder that the mere presence of women is not enough. It is essential that they have decision-making power.
Auteur.e : Constance Bodin
Date de publication : 21 septembre 2026
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