5. Gender equality

SDG 5. Gender equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Targets*

5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation
5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
5.4 Recognise and value unpaid care and domestic work
5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership
5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights

Key insights

• The proportion of women in managerial positions is less than 1 in 5 in Malaysia and Indonesia and less than 1 in 3 in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Thailand; at the same time it is one of the highest in the world in the Philippines with every second managerial position held by a woman.¹
• Overall GDP losses due to gender gaps in labor participation are between 15% and 20% of GDP for the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.²

Business actions**

1. Implement policies and practices that are free from and prevent gender-based discrimination across the workplace, marketplace, and community
2. Support women’s employment and strive for gender balance at all levels across the business and supply chain
3. Develop products and services and implement marketing practices that empower women
4. Promote gender equality through investment, community initiatives and advocacy

Example

• A British-Dutch consumer goods company created a network of female microentrepreneurs in India that it trains as sales agents in their communities. The firm thereby increased its market penetration in more than 160,000 villages that are difficult to reach through traditional marketing channels while simultaneously equipping rural women with entrepreneurial skills and income opportunities.³
• A major telecommunications company in Singapore has been ranked first in Asia Pacific and fifth among corporations globally in terms of gender equality because of its commitments to female board representation and fair compensation policies.⁴

Thought Leadership

Inclusion as the competitive advantage: The case for women in supply chain

Find out how supply chain leaders can unleash women's untapped potential to offer a competitive advantage.

2020 Global Gender Impact Report: A collection of Butterfly Effect stories

Find out how Deloitte professionals are positively impacting the lives of women and girls around the world.

Opportunity or Challenge? Empowering women and girls in India for the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Find out how empowering women could unlock untapped potential, create economic growth, and boost prosperity.

The design of everyday men

Find out about women’s role in the workforce and how reframing the gender discussion could promote a more gender-equal society.

Women in the boardroom

Find out about the global efforts made to increase board diversity and the results of the progress that has been made.

* All targets for SDG 1 to 17 have been derived from the United Nations Statistics Division (2018), from: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/indicators/indicators-list/
** All business actions for SDG 1 to 17 have been derived from the United Nations Global Compact (2017), from: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/5461
1 Asian Development Bank (2018), from: https://www.adb.org/publications/key-indicators-asia-and-pacific-2018
2 Tan (2016), from: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/05/women-key-to-east-asia-economic-success/
3 Mahajan (2016), from: https://hbr.org/2016/12/how-unilever-reaches-rural-consumers-in-emerging-markets
4 Starhub (2018), from: http://www.starhub.com/about-us/newsroom/2018/october/starhub-ranked-top-in-asia-pacific-for-gender-equality.html