It Will Take 134 Years to Achieve Gender Equality at Current Rate, Warns UN Official

COLOMBO (News 1st); The UN Resident Coordinator in Sri Lanka, Marc-André Franche,has called for urgent and concrete action to achieve gender equality, marking 30 years since the landmark Beijing Platform of Action. 

Franche highlighted the significant progress made by women and girls over the past three decades, noting that they have shattered barriers, defied stereotypes, and demanded their rightful place as equal participants in society. However, he emphasized that progress remains uneven, and complete gender equality is still an elusive goal. 

"In many places around the world, including advanced economies, we are seeing resistance, pushbacks, and in some cases, regression," Franche stated. "Violence, discrimination, and economic inequality continue to plague societies, including here in Sri Lanka. Newer threats, such as biased algorithms and programming inequalities in online spaces, are opening new arenas for harassment and abuse."

With only five years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, Franche warned that progress towards gender equality is clearly off track. At the current rate, it would take 134 years to achieve full gender equality. 

He pointed out that women in Sri Lanka still face significant injustices, as highlighted during the 90th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Geneva.

"One in five women have experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner, yet prosecution and conviction rates remain extremely low," Franche noted. "Women’s rights organizations, especially in conflict-affected areas, face increasing bureaucratic and funding restrictions, limiting their ability to support vulnerable women. Despite some progress, women are still underrepresented in leadership, politics, business, and decision-making spaces."

Franche stressed the importance of investing in women and girls, stating that everyone stands to benefit from such investments. 

He called for urgent actions to close the gender pay gap, create equal opportunities for decent work, strengthen and implement laws to end all forms of violence against women and girls, remove barriers preventing women and girls from entering STEM fields, and ensure full and equal participation of women in decision-making.