Women and girls being failed by ‘lacklustre commitment’ to gender equality, says UN

Of the 120 countries where data is available, 67 don’t have laws that prohibit discrimination against women. Photograph: Mark Garten/UN Photo

An additional $360bn (£290bn) a year is needed to achieve gender equality by 2030, according to UN Women, which blames a “lacklustre commitment” for the limited progress globally.

In a snapshot report, published on Thursday, the agency said the world was failing women and girls and was “way off track” to meet the 2030 deadline for gender targets set in the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), which were agreed by UN member states in 2015.