One in three institutional mechanisms established to advance gender equality has experienced an erosion of institutional power over the past two years, while around one in four has seen its operating budget reduced, according to the Gender Snapshot 2026, released by UN Women and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).
The report warns that progress on gender equality is losing momentum as institutions, funding and political commitments designed to advance women’s rights and empowerment come under increasing pressure.
The Gender Snapshot 2026, which tracks gender equality across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), finds that women’s access to leadership and decision-making power remains far from equal. The report states that where women hold real decision-making power, outcomes improve across areas including peace, education, poverty reduction and climate action.
Gender Equality Institutions Facing Growing Pressure
According to the report, 32 per cent of national gender equality mechanisms surveyed in 2026 reported an erosion of institutional power over the previous two years. Around one in four reported cuts to their operating budgets, while nearly one in ten had lost control over their budgets altogether.
Funding for gender equality has also fallen to its lowest level since 2021, with women’s rights organisations among those most affected. Meanwhile, 42 per cent of UN entities reported a weakening of their gender equality efforts amid funding reductions.
The report concludes that the weakening of these institutions can reduce accountability for gender-equality commitments and undermine implementation of laws and policies addressing women’s rights and needs.
Women Remain Under-represented in Positions of Power
The concentration of political power remains significant. The report finds that six in seven countries are led by men, while women continue to face financial, institutional and social barriers to political participation.
The cost of running for political office can exceed 100 times a country’s average per-capita income, while in some countries, as many as eight in 10 women candidates experience violence in public life.
Women who reach cabinet positions also remain disproportionately absent from portfolios associated with major security and economic decision-making. Close to nine in 10 defence ministers and more than eight in 10 finance ministers are men.
The leadership gap extends beyond government. Women hold only 6 per cent of corporate chief executive officer positions globally, while women lead fewer than 20 per cent of the world’s highest courts.
Gender Equality Remains Off Track for 2030
The report finds that not a single indicator under Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) is currently on track to be achieved by 2030.
At the current pace of progress, the report estimates that achieving gender equality globally would take 171 years. It also finds that gender parity in national parliaments would take another 63 years at the current rate of change.
UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said the evidence shows that societies achieve stronger outcomes when women have meaningful leadership and decision-making power.
“Equality cannot be achieved without equal access to power,” Bahous said.
Li Junhua, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said the report demonstrates that the current trajectory is not inevitable, describing it as the result of policy and investment choices reflected in the data.
A Call to Restore and Share Power
UN Women and UN DESA are calling for renewed action to address the retreat from gender equality and ensure women have a more equal share of decision-making power.
The organisations are calling for governments and other stakeholders to strengthen gender equality institutions, ensure adequate and sustainable funding, protect women’s rights organisations and civic space, and expand women’s participation and influence in political and economic decision-making.
The call comes as world leaders gather for the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) and Member States begin the process of selecting the United Nations’ tenth Secretary-General. The UN notes that no woman has held the position in the organisation’s history.
The report underscores that achieving gender equality requires more than increasing the number of women represented in leadership. It requires ensuring that women have meaningful authority, resources and influence over the decisions that shape economies, peace and security, technology, public institutions and society.
Moving from Commitments to Action
The findings place a renewed focus on the need for governments, businesses, civil society, development partners and international institutions to translate gender-equality commitments into sustained action.
Investing in women’s leadership, protecting institutions that advance gender equality and ensuring women have equal access to decision-making power will be essential to keeping the promise of the 2030 Agenda alive.
The Gender Snapshot 2026 draws on more than 100 data sources and tracks progress and gaps for women and girls across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
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