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Sustainable Development Goals

The United Nations have issued 17 ambitious goals to try and build a better, fairer, and more sustainable future for the world.

Sustainable Development Goal 5 aims to ensure all children have access to good quality education.

The UN recognises gender equality as a fundamental human right. Despite this, women and girls around the world still find themselves at a disadvantage. Girls are more likely to be exclused from education, paid less for work, and married at a younger age.

Impact of Covid-19

According to the UN, the impact of Covid-19 around the world is felt more by women than men:

• Women earn less, have less savings and have less secure jobs than men.
• Women's care-giving role has grown as a result of schools being closed.
• Women make up 70 per cent of the health workforce and are more likely to be front-line health workers, with greater exposure to the virus.

Some countries have targeted specific help to women:

• Thailand and Peru have extended income protection to informal workers.
• Costa Rica has reduced the interest rate of credit to projects that help women, young people and other groups.

Gender equality facts

• Around the world, 750 million women and girls were married before the age of 18
• There are 39 countries where daughters and sons do not have equal inheritance rights
• 49 countries have no laws to protect women from sexual or physical violence by an intimate partner

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