Girls and Women Still Aren’t Equal Anywhere, Says UN Foundation at Launch of #EqualEverywhere Campaign

Equality is the birthright of every girl and woman on the planet, but it’s not her reality. That’s the message from the United Nations Foundation today as it launches #EqualEverywhere, a campaign to showcase women and men around the world leading the fight for gender equality, and to highlight persistent inequities girls and women still face.

From a British racecar driver raising awareness about disability rights to a teen activist fighting for equality in Colombia to a peacekeeper striving for safe communities in Cyprus, #EqualEverywhere elevates stories of diverse, brave women making strides in their own industries.

Twenty five years since the UN’s landmark Fourth Conference on Women in Beijing pushed for more progress on gender equality, and 100 years since women in the U.S. won the right to vote, there is no place and no part of life where girls and women are equal to boys and men.

For example, one in three women experience violence in her lifetime; women spend three times as long on unpaid care and domestic work; and women earn 77 cents to every dollar made by a man for the same work.

“Studies show it could take 99.5 years for girls and women to be equal in every way and everywhere. That’s at least 100 years too long to wait,” said Elizabeth Cousens, President and CEO of the UN Foundation. “We know what equality takes– we just need to do it, and making good on our SDG promise is a good place to start.”

Not only is gender equality one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that countries unanimously agreed on in 2015, it also underpins the whole framework. Without gender equality, we can’t make true progress on poverty, health, education, economic growth, and many other SDG issues.

Running until the end of March, #EqualEverywhere uses first-person testimonies, eye-catching visuals, and interactive digital tools to build solidarity between communities of advocates around the world, to offer them the chance to have their own stories featured in the campaign, and to invite them to take the pledge with the UN Foundation and partners: we won’t stop until girls and women are equal everywhere. The #EqualEverywhere campaign is being rolled out worldwide in partnership with Alliance Bernstein, Essity, H&M Foundation, and Stanley Black & Decker. More information can be found at www.equaleverywhere.org.

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