Ankara: The first quarter of the 21st century has brought tangible gains for women's rights worldwide, marked by sweeping legal reforms and a growing recognition that gender equality is a public responsibility - even as deep inequalities persist and new risks threaten progress.
According to Anadolu Agency, since 1995, governments have implemented 1,531 legal reforms aimed at advancing gender equality, addressing issues ranging from violence against women and workplace discrimination to family law and political participation, a 2025 UN Women report shows. Today, women around the world are more likely to be elected to parliament, hold high-ranking government and leadership positions, obtain quality education, and build successful careers than before.
UN Women's Director of the Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Support Division, Sarah Hendriks, highlighted the progress on women's rights globally since 2000 but cautioned against the idea that progress has been inevitable or self-sustaining. She emphasized that every right gained reflects political choice and sustained pressure, indicating that action from governments and resources for women's movements are crucial for continued progress.
One of the clearest transformations has been the legal response to violence against women. By 2024, 84% of countries with available data had enacted laws addressing domestic or intimate partner violence. Sixty-six percent had adopted national action plans, and 78% reported allocating budgetary resources for related services. The presence of domestic violence legislation has led to significantly lower rates of intimate partner violence in such countries.
Despite these legal advances, violence remains pervasive, with one woman or girl killed every 10 minutes by an intimate partner or family member globally. Hendriks highlighted the critical role of a strong and autonomous women's rights movement in driving progress to end violence against women.
Education has seen significant progress as well, with the number of illiterate young women aged 15 to 24 declining from about 97 million in 1995 to nearly 50 million in 2023. The steepest gains were recorded in South Asia. Political representation has also expanded, with women now holding around 27.2% of parliamentary seats worldwide, up from 11.3% in 1995.
In the workplace, the number of countries with laws prohibiting gender-based discrimination in employment has increased significantly since 1995. However, women still hold only about 30% of managerial positions globally, and at the current pace, parity is still a century away.
Despite these gains, women continue to face mounting pressures, with only 64% of the legal rights that men have. In more than half of all countries, there is at least one restriction preventing women from doing the same jobs as men. The rate of extreme poverty among women has remained virtually unchanged since 2020, and a significant number of women and girls live close to active conflict zones.
Hendriks warned against the assumption that gender equality will advance automatically, stressing that progress must be actively protected and renewed. The next decade will be defined by whether governments choose to reinforce or undermine the foundations that enabled past gains. Financing for gender equality and women's rights organizations is shrinking, and gender data systems that underpin accountability are weakening.
Hendriks emphasized that the priority for the next decade must be political will, sustained financing, and robust data to ensure that gender equality is delivered in the current generation rather than deferred for another.