Closing the Digital Gender Divide: An Urgent Path to Equality, Prosperity, and Resilience

As the world races toward the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, new data shows we are at a critical crossroads: failure to accelerate progress on gender equality and, especially, closing the digital divide between men and women, will come at a steep human and economic cost. But the alternative is promising: strategic investments and policy reforms can unlock enormous benefits for women, girls, economies, and societies at large. 

According to the latest Gender Snapshot 2025, closing the digital gender gap could result in a US$1.5 trillion increase in global GDP by 2030.It could also lift 30 million women out of poverty by 2050. Some 343.5 million women and girls globally stand to benefit directly from such efforts. 

The Gender Snapshot 2025 draws on over 100 data sources and tracks progress across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with gender equity at the center. If current trends persist, by 2030 351 million women and girls will still be living in extreme poverty. Global food insecurity is disproportionately hitting women: in 2024, 64 million more adult women were facing moderate or severe food insecurity than men. Conflict remains a major threat: 676 million women and girls now live within reach of deadly conflict—the highest number recorded since the 1990s.  

Maternal mortality has declined nearly 40% between 2000 and 2023, according to a United Nations report, and girls are more likely than ever to complete school. In countries that have adopted comprehensive measures against violence (laws, services, prevention, data, institutional mechanisms, etc.), rates of intimate partner violence are 2.5 times lower compared to those with weak protections. Women’s leadership in climate talks has also doubled recently.  

Even with current gains, many SDG indicators, especially under SDG 5 on gender equality, are at risk of being missed. The Snapshot suggests that no indicator under SDG 5 is currently on track globally. The human cost remains very high: poverty, violence, food insecurity, and conflict exposure are disproportionately experienced by women and girls. The longer the action is delayed, the greater the cumulative costs—not only for human well-being but also in lost economic potential. 

The reports call for urgent, targeted action to advance gender equality. Priorities include ensuring women and girls have affordable internet and digital skills, reforming discriminatory laws, expanding protections against violence, and strengthening social protection. They also stress recognizing unpaid care work, improving maternal health and education, boosting women’s leadership in politics and climate action, and tailoring policies to diverse contexts. Importantly, youth voices—especially adolescent girls—must be included.  

The Gender Snapshot 2025, together with analyses of the digital gender divide, frames a clear message: investments in gender equality are investments in sustainable growth, resilience, and justice. Closing the digital divide is not an optional extra—it is a lever that can unlock trillions in GDP, lift millions from poverty, and propel us toward the goals we promised for 2030. 

With only five years left, moral imperatives converge with economic ones. We have evidence, knowledge, and tools. What remains is political will and sustained commitment. The time to act decisively is now. 

To learn more, read the full report here.