Does Investing in Gender Equality Help Advance SDGs? – SDG Knowledge Hub

Today, the world is grappling with some of the biggest crises in recent history. Conflict, the climate crisis, extreme weather conditions, and deepening socioeconomic disparities are escalating worldwide. Currently, more than 282 million people across 29 countries are facing food crisis, there is a famine in parts of the Sudan, and 600 million women live within 50 kilometers of a conflict.

Can prioritizing gender equality truly help us address this complex set of challenges? The answer is simple. If we leave out or underestimate about half of the people in the world, we can’t possibly solve any global issues. Closing the gender gap between men and women is imperative to overcoming any global crisis.

Over the past ten years, CARE has been investing in high-quality research that gives us an insight into the significant impact of focusing on equality, instead of looking into issues like food insecurity, health, or education in isolation. The findings have been so compelling that CARE has kept gender equality at the center of its programming. From 2015-2024, CARE and its partners have contributed towards the SDGs by positively impacting 210 million people across 86 countries, addressing various global challenges.

A review of CARE’s eight strongest studies shows us that investing in equality isn’t just good for women, or only good for improving equality. Investing in equality helps us deliver many other results – from better diets to higher incomes. It helps achieve the SDGs.

What worked and top recommendations

• Create space for women and men to talk to each other: The studies shows that focus on couples’ conversations and household dialogues pave ways for men and women to talk to each other about their goals for the future, the barriers they face, and how they can work together to get the best results for everyone.
• Get communities talking about solutions: Community activities like Social Analysis and Action help whole communities think about the barriers they are facing, and how gender inequality is preventing them from meeting other goals that matter to them. They build action plans to work together to solve those issues.
• Work with men and boys: Working with women is important, but it’s not enough. These projects all focused on ensuring that men and boys are part of the solution and are actively working towards equality. That means creating activities for men and boys, spending time understanding their perspective, and making sure they know what women and girls are facing.
• Change systems and structures: Individuals can’t achieve these goals alone. Working with community leaders, legal structures, and social norms is critical to ensure that progress can last, and that it reaches many more people than the project alone can support. That might mean training teachers, bringing in religious leaders as champions, or working with health workers and local government officials to promote equality.
• Use savings groups: Savings groups…