- The fifth of the UN SDGs refers to gender equality.
To mark International Women’s Day, we are going to analyze the concept of gender equality.
This principle is even included in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Goal 5: “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”
Definition of gender equality
According to the Pan-Hispanic Dictionary of Legal Spanish, gender equality refers to “equal opportunities and rights between women and men in the private and public spheres that provide and guarantee them the possibility of living the life they desire.”
This same institution explains that “it can be defined in general terms as equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities between women and men; young people, and girls and boys.”
Gender equality that “takes into account the interests, needs, and priorities, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men,” based on the premise that gender “is understood as the sociocultural constructs that differentiate and shape the roles, perceptions, and statuses of women and men in a society.”
Gender equality in the SDGs
Returning to the SDGs, and as we have already mentioned, one of the 17 global goals adopted by the UN in 2015 refers precisely to gender equality.
As stated by the United Nations, gender equality goes beyond being a fundamental human right, placing it as “one of the essential foundations for building a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world.”
Despite the progress made in recent decades, the truth is that inequalities still prevail for half of the world’s population, reflected in data such as women earning 23% less than men in the global labor market or spending three times as many hours on unpaid domestic and care work.
Another aspect highlighted by the UN in SDG 5 is that “sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal distribution of unpaid domestic and care work, and discrimination in public office continue to pose enormous obstacles.”
Likewise, some data are provided to contextualize the evolution of the achievement of gender equality.
For example, it is estimated that at the current rate it will take 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to close the gaps in legal protection and eliminate discriminatory laws, 140 years for women to be equally represented in positions of power and leadership in the workplace, and 47 years for there to be equal representation in national parliaments.
For all these reasons, the fifth of the goals set by the supranational organization founded in 1945 is to be “a key element in national policies, budgets, and institutions.” The United Nations therefore calls for “political leadership, investment, and comprehensive policy reforms to dismantle the systemic barriers that prevent the achievement of Goal 5.”
Telefónica and gender equality
As part of the equality policy of the Telefónica group, the operator “advocates the need to raise awareness of policies for the real integration of women, as well as the eradication of any obstacles that may exist and contravene the principle of equal opportunities and non-discrimination on the basis of sex and gender.”
The company also emphasizes that “professional growth must be assessed based on the skills, abilities, and knowledge of workers, regardless of their sex and gender.”
Telefónica also explains, when talking about diversity and inclusion, that “understanding the wage gap is not only about ensuring that our employees are paid the same for the same work, but also about ensuring that they have the same opportunities regardless of their gender.”
Similarly, the operator collaborates with programs “to increase the presence of young women in technical careers, addressing the shortage of women in STEM careers and in the field of entrepreneurship.”
