From the fight against poverty and access to education to political representation and economic opportunity, the world is “abandoning women and girls”, the UN says in a report on inequalities between men and women released today.

The UN Women report reviews the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by UN member states in 2015 that aim to build a better future for all by 2030.

And the realization is bitter. “When we look at the data, it shows that the world is failing to make progress and achieve equality between men and women. This is becoming an increasingly distant goal,” Sarah Hendricks, the UN agency’s deputy executive director, told AFP. for women.

One of the sustainable development goals, which focuses on gender equality, aims to end discrimination, eliminate violence against women, forced marriage and genital mutilation, share household chores, guarantee access to sexual health or even in ensuring real participation in political and economic life.

However, “halfway to 2030, the world is leaving women and girls behind” and most of the targets for that purpose are not on track, the report underlines.

Every year, 245 million women over the age of 15 are physically abused by their partners in this way, one woman in 5 is married before the age of 18, women work 2.8 hours more than men in jobs every day home without being paid and represent only 26.7% of the members of Parliament.

To turn things around, an additional $360 billion in investment would be needed each year in nearly 50 developing countries representing 70 percent of the world’s population, the agency estimates.

An amount that would “encourage the entirety” of the sustainable development goals, highlights Sarah Hendricks.

“We know what needs to be done and the world needs to pay for it. If we make gender equality a specific development goal, the situation can change,” she says, calling for “women and girls to be put at the center.”

In July, the UN assessed that the Sustainable Development Goals were “at risk” and called for a “rescue plan” just weeks before a summit dedicated to the issue on 18 and 19 September.

According to the UN, at the current rate, 575 million people will still live in extreme poverty in 2030, far from the long-awaited eradication. But 342 million (60%) of them will be women, that is, almost one woman in twelve worldwide.