Exploring how gender equality serves as a powerful catalyst for achieving all 17 Sustainable Development Goals through research, data, and innovative methodologies.
Imagine a world where half the population remains systematically underrepresented in leadership, overburdened with unpaid labor, and denied basic autonomy over their bodies and lives. This isn't a hypothetical scenario—it's our current reality, despite decades of advocacy and progress. The achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the global blueprint for a better world by 2030, is inextricably linked to gender equality. When women and girls are held back, so is human progress.
This article explores how gender equality serves as a powerful catalyst for achieving not just SDG 5 (the dedicated gender goal) but all 17 SDGs, examining the groundbreaking research methods uncovering these connections and the transformative potential of putting gender at the center of development efforts.
Gender equality (SDG 5) is both a standalone goal and a cross-cutting foundation essential to achieving all other Sustainable Development Goals. When gender inequality persists, it creates ripple effects that undermine progress in areas ranging from poverty eradication to climate action.
| SDG Area | Key Gender Disparity | Impact on Development |
|---|---|---|
| No Poverty (Goal 1) | Female extreme poverty has hovered at around 10% since 2020; 351 million women and girls could still live in extreme poverty by 2030 3 . | Perpetuates intergenerational poverty as women have fewer resources to invest in children's health and education. |
| Health & Well-being (Goal 3) | Women spend 10.9 years in poor health compared to 8.0 years for men; maternal mortality remains high 3 . | Reduces women's economic productivity and creates additional care burdens for families. |
| Quality Education (Goal 4) | Girls lag behind boys in secondary completion in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and Southern Asia 3 . | Limits future employment opportunities and earning potential for women. |
| Decent Work (Goal 8) | Only 30% of managerial positions globally are held by women; women's labor force participation has stagnated below 50% for 25 years 3 . | Constrains economic growth and innovation by excluding women from leadership. |
| Climate Action (Goal 13) | Women hold only 24% of jobs in primary fisheries and aquaculture, rising to 62% in processing 3 . | Limits women's participation in green economy and climate solution development. |
These disparities share common root causes: discriminatory social norms, unequal legal rights, disproportionate care burdens, and limited decision-making power. Consider that women and girls devote 2.5 times as many hours per day to unpaid domestic and care work compared to men—in Northern Africa and Western Asia, this gap widens to over four times as many hours 3 . This unpaid labor economy, while essential for societal functioning, restricts women's ability to pursue education, employment, and leadership positions.
Advancing gender equality requires diverse research approaches that can capture the multidimensional nature of gender disparities. The GrOW research program on women's economic empowerment demonstrates how multiple methods—from randomized controlled trials to participatory visual methodologies—strengthen our understanding of what works 2 .
Test how gendered scenarios influence perceptions and approvals 1 .
Key Insight: Reveals unstated norms and attitudes that govern behavior.
Measure impact of specific policy interventions on gender outcomes 2 .
Key Insight: Provides causal evidence for what works in empowering women.
Track gender disparities across education, employment, and health indicators 2 .
Key Insight: Identifies patterns and trends in gender inequality over time.
Enable communities to document challenges through photography 2 .
Key Insight: Centers marginalized voices and reveals overlooked barriers.
The integration of these approaches is particularly powerful. As one research team discovered, combining RCTs with qualitative research can "unpack the 'black box'" and strengthen interpretation of causal mechanisms 2 . This mixed-methods approach is especially valuable for policy-relevant research to improve gender equality.
Understanding the intricate ways gender norms influence development outcomes requires innovative research methodologies. One particularly revealing approach comes from a vignette experiment conducted in Central Uganda that examined how financial provision in relationships influences sexual decision-making power—a crucial factor in sexual and reproductive health outcomes 1 .
Transactional sex—informal sexual exchange relationships distinct from sex work—increases adolescent girls' and young women's risk of HIV and pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa. These relationships are grounded in the shared expectation that men should provide financial support to their partners. Researchers hypothesized that gender norms influenced by expectations of provision might help explain how transactional sex increases sexual and reproductive health risks 1 .
The study used mixed methods to develop a vignette experiment including:
| Experimental Condition | Perceived Community Approval |
|---|---|
| Higher male provision | Higher approval for men's sexual decision-making power (p < .001) |
| Lower male provision | Higher approval for women seeking second partners (p < .05) |
| Higher male provision | Higher respondent approval of male authority and sexual decision-making |
Vignette experiments offer particular advantages for studying sensitive topics:
This methodological innovation provides a template for understanding how entrenched gender norms operate across different development domains, from health to economic participation.
The path toward gender equality in sustainable development is marked by both encouraging progress and alarming reversals.
As of January 2025, women held 27.2% of seats in national parliaments, up 4.9 percentage points from 2015 3 .
99 positive legal reforms were implemented between 2019 and 2024 to remove discriminatory laws and establish gender equality legislative frameworks .
Child marriage and female genital mutilation have declined in recent years, though not rapidly enough to meet 2030 targets .
Over 1 in 8 women aged 15–49 has been subjected to physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the previous 12 months globally 3 .
Only 56.3% of women aged 15–49 who are married or in a union have full decision-making power over their sexual and reproductive health and rights 3 .
The reinstatement of the "Global Gag Rule" by the new US administration, banning public funding for international NGOs working on abortion access, exemplifies how gender equality remains "fragile and constantly called into question" 4 .
Perhaps most concerning is the chronic underfunding of gender equality initiatives. Feminist organizations receive only $0.6 billion annually—less than 1% of the official development assistance dedicated to gender equality 4 . This despite their crucial role as innovators and implementers of effective interventions.
Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals requires transforming gender power relations, not merely adding women to existing development frameworks. The research evidence clearly demonstrates that gender equality is not a standalone issue but a fundamental driver of progress across all development domains.
"The lack of gender equality in science is not just a problem that affects women. It also impedes a country's development" 7 .
The same principle applies across all sectors. When we limit the talent pool, perspectives, and potential of half the population, we compromise our collective capacity to solve complex problems—from climate change to public health crises.
Gender equality is both a fundamental human right and the smartest investment we can make in our shared future.