2023-Public-Sector-Perspectives

Dustin Ling Global Public Sector Banking, Citi Kerri Escobedo Global Public Sector Banking, Citi Gender Equality in Emerging Markets: Barriers, Benefits and Best Practices A t the current rate of progress, the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5, which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls by 2030, will not be met. Global challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath, the war in Ukraine, climate change and rising prices due to inflation are intensifying gender inequalities. These macroeconomic headwinds are reversing the success that’s been achieved in reducing poverty. A recent report launched by the UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, highlights how the ongoing war in Ukraine has worsened food insecurity (especially among women and children), reduced supplies of wheat, fertilizer and fuel, and sent inflation soaring. According to the report, “In 2021, about 38% of female-headed households in war-affected areas experienced moderate or severe food insecurity, compared to 20% of male-headed households.” 1 As a result of these escalating global challenges, extreme poverty, which the World Bank defines as living on less than $1.90 per person per day, is expected to rise for women and girls globally. By the end of 2022, around 383 million women and girls will live in extreme poverty compared to 368 million men and boys. 2 This shows that women are more vulnerable to the impact of economic crises such as the pandemic and war, as they are expected to take on the bulk of unpaid caregiving responsibilities and domestic work. As the world focuses on recovery, investing in women should be a top priority. 1 h ttps://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2022/09/press-release-achieving-full- gender-equality-is-still-centuries-away-warns-the-united-nations-in-a-new-report 2 https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/2022-09/Progress-on-the-sustainable-development- goals-the-gender-snapshot-2022-en_0.pdf Citi Perspectives for the Public Sector 27