A new report from United Nations Women has unveiled a significant gender gap in social protection worldwide, leaving billions of women and girls vulnerable to poverty. The report, released ahead of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, revealed that a staggering two billion women and girls lack access to any form of social protection, such as cash benefits, unemployment insurance, pensions or healthcare.
The World Survey on the Role of Women in Development report was released October 15, 2024, focusing on the theme, “Harnessing social protection for gender equality, resilience and transformation”. An edition of the paper is submitted every five years to the Economic and Financial Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.
Despite progress made since 2015, the gender gap in social protection coverage has widened in many developing regions, the new report found. This indicates that recent gains have disproportionately benefitted men, leaving women and girls behind.
Over 63 per cent of women globally still give birth without access to maternity benefits, with the rate rising to a staggering 94 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa. This lack of financial support during maternity leave can have severe consequences for women's economic stability and their children’s well-being.
Gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities are exacerbated by factors like conflict, climate change and economic shocks. Women are overrepresented among the poor at all stages of life, with the largest gaps occurring during their childbearing years. The report also highlighted the disproportionate impact of recent inflation on women, as rising food and energy prices have hit them particularly hard.
Women aged 25-34 are 25 per cent more likely than men of the same age to live in households facing extreme poverty. This disparity is worsened by conflict and climate change, with women in fragile settings being 7.7 times more likely to experience extreme poverty than those in stable environments.
In the aftermath of crises, gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities are often overlooked. For instance, the sharp rise in inflation since 2022, which has driven up food and energy prices, has disproportionately impacted women. Yet, the report revealed that of nearly 1,000 social protection measures introduced by governments across 171 countries, only 18 per cent focused on women’s economic security.
The report also highlighted progress achieved through contributions from academia, civil society and the UN system, particularly the International Labour Organization. For instance, Mongolia has extended maternity leave benefits to informal workers, including herders and the self-employed, while also enhancing paternity leave to promote gender equality in caregiving.
In countries like Mexico and Tunisia, domestic workers are now being included in social security systems. Additionally, in Senegal, the National Health Insurance scheme has been expanded and tailored to meet the needs of rural women, with support from UN Women.
The paper emphasised the importance of gender-responsive social protection systems that address the unique challenges faced by women and girls.
The agency called on governments to prioritise the needs of women and girls in their social protection measures and crisis responses. By providing sustainable pathways out of poverty, governments can help to reduce gender inequality and promote women's empowerment.
While many countries have the capacity to create fiscal space domestically, low-income nations are unlikely to generate the additional $77.9 billion, or 15.9 per cent of their gross domestic product or GDP, needed to implement a basic social protection floor on their own, the report pointed out.