Highlights and images for 15 July 2025

• Only 26% of 121 countries and areas have comprehensive systems to track resource allocations for gender equality – unchanged since 2021. 
• In nearly 80% of countries with data, fewer than half of women have ownership or secure rights to agricultural land. 
• Only 29% of countries have established 18 years as the minimum marriage age without exceptions, and just 48% have rape laws based on lack of consent. 
• Despite 2024 being an election “super year” that saw a turnover of 12,000 parliamentary seats across 59 countries, the share of women in parliament saw little change. 
• No country achieves a perfect score across all four areas measured: legal frameworks and public life, violence against women, employment and economic benefit, and marriage and family. 

These were among a long list of stark statistics contained in the 2025 SDG Progress Report that were repeatedly cited and contextualized on the second day of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). Kicking off the morning’s deep dive into Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) on gender equality, Chair Bob Rae, President, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) invited speakers to critically reflect on why such gaps persist and what more needs to be done to accelerate action.

Want to dig deeper into today's talks? Read the full Earth Negotiations Bulletin daily report.

Moderator Jan Beagle, Director General, International Development Law Organization (IDLO) expressed disappointment at slow progress three decades since the adoption of the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. 

A rare positive trend highlighted in the global report and cited by many speakers was rising gender parity among youth, with male-to-female ratios of 57:43 and 63:37 among members of parliament aged below 30 and 40, respectively.

In the afternoon, the Forum reviewed SDG progress across a broad bloc of African countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Middle-Income Countries (MICs).  

The discussions highlighted the unique challenges faced by African countries, LDCs, and LLDCs, including high debt burdens, vulnerability to external shocks, food insecurity, high inequality, and persistent gender gaps in education, healthcare, and economic participation. Conversely, MICs were characterized as struggling to sustain economic growth in the face of reduced funding opportunities, or the “middle-income trap.”" It was noted that in 2024, MICs represented more than half the world’s countries, 75% of the world’s population, and 57% of global GDP. 

Many speakers alluded to corruption and the importance of greater financial accountability in bridging SDG financing gaps. “Africa loses USD 148 billion annually - or 25% of its GDP - due to corruption,” stressed Robert Akoto Amoafo, African regional chapter of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), calling for capacity building and financial and anti-discrimination reforms. Responding to calls for concrete solutions to these challenges, several speakers highlighted the role of new digital technologies in overcoming structural barriers and reducing vulnerabilities.