UN: Gender equality in leadership positions remains out of reach

A new UN report says women’s participation in leadership positions produces better outcomes in development, peace, education and poverty reduction, but equal access to decision-making positions remains out of reach amid declining funding and weakened mandates for institutions tasked with promoting gender equality.

18 September, 2026 09:37

NEWSDESK

A new UN report has found that societies and economies achieve better outcomes when women hold leadership positions, noting that progress in several areas of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, including peace, education, poverty reduction and climate action, is linked to women having real decision-making power.

The “Gender Snapshot 2026” report, prepared by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, warned of setbacks in efforts to achieve gender equality, noting that institutions established to advance equality are facing weakened mandates and funding.

According to the report, published on its website, one in three institutional mechanisms for gender equality has seen its mandate weakened over the past two years, while funding for gender equality has fallen to its lowest level since 2021.

The report highlighted persistent major gaps in political, economic and judicial representation. Men lead six out of seven countries, while men account for about 90% of defense ministers and more than 80% of finance ministers. Women hold only 6% of chief executive officer positions globally.

Women also head fewer than 20% of the highest judicial bodies, while as many as eight in 10 women candidates for public office face violence in public life.

UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said in the report that the continued concentration of power in institutions that exclude women limits societies’ ability to reach their full potential, stressing that “equality without power is not equality at all.”

UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua said in a comment on the report that, at current rates of progress, gender equality “is still 171 years away,” calling for investment in equality, institutions and statistical systems that ensure accountability.

The report called on UN Women and the Department of Economic and Social Affairs to halt the backsliding on gender equality and work toward a more equitable sharing of power.

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ANHA