Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

UNDP works on pro-women's policy advice, capacity development, and supports projects for gender equality in collaboration with UNIFEM.

Indicators

Target 3a: Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015

• 3,1 Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education

• 3,2 Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector

• 3,3 Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament

Are we on target?
As part of its success in raising the total primary enrolment rate, Southern Asia has made the most progress in gender parity since 2000. Sub-Saharan Africa, Western Asia and Northern Africa have also made strides in reducing gender disparity. At the same time, Oceania has taken a step back with a slight deterioration in gender parity in primary school enrolment. Oceania, sub-Saharan Africa and Western Asia have the largest gender gaps in primary enrolment.

In Western and Central Africa, where high repetition and low retention rates are common, girls in particular fail to enrol in and stay in school. drought, food shortages, armed conflict, poverty, lack of birth registration, child labour, and HIV and AIDS contribute to low school enrolment and high dropout rates for both boys and girls in those subregions, but prove to be especially devastating for girls.

MDG 3 Solutions

Global Fund for Women: International network of women and men committed to a world of equality and social justice. Since 1987 they have awarded over $71 million to 3,800 women's organizations in 167 countries.

KIVA Micro Loans: Empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs in the developing world. They work in 194 countries, have provided loans to over 318,00 people, of which 82,33% were women. see video

Plant Trees: "They began to see that they were capable of many things, and they were equal to the men" Read On

SCALE: Open source economic solution allowing people, especially women who are the main householders, to exchange (recycle) clothes, toys for kids, gadgets, coupons and more using “community credit” to get things they need; thereby decreasing the amount of “public money” one must earn to meet their family or individual needs. Find our more about the SCALE model by clicking here.

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