Authors: Accamma CG, Ankita Mukherjee, Sayam Jain, Tanmaya PK, Kshipra Suresh kumar
Abstract: The problem of gender inequality is an ongoing issue in the world, and it is analysed in this context concerning the framework of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), which aims at attaining gender equality and empowering all women and girls (United Nations, 2015). Although the world has made these commitments, patriarchal systems, economic inequalities, and interlinking forces of oppression are still running in the way. This paper examines the reinforcement of gender discrimination by class, caste, and geographical inequalities to draw a conclusion on the aspect and presents thematic analysis and reports of UN Women (UN Women, 2025) and Government of India (Government of India, 2024) in exploring the subject, with the help of policy discourse analysis based on the topic of intersectionality theory established by Kimberle Crenshaw (Crenshaw, 1989). Even though almost 100 countries revised discriminatory legislation in 2019-2024 (UN Women, 2024), due to the deeply-established socio-cultural standards, there are still gaps in their implementation. In India, the labour force participation of women is still 37 percent, rural women are more vulnerable to violence than their urban counterparts, and the Gender Inequality Index is equal to 0.44 (UNDP, 2024). The World Bank calculates that women have lost up to US$160 trillion in global human capital wealth due to gender inequality (World Bank, 2018), and further action (especially in the areas of reproductive rights and digital access) would contribute US$28 trillion to global GDP (McKinsey Global Institute, 2015). According to the latest projections included in the UN Gender Snapshot 2025, one can even say that, unless people stop the existing tendencies, 351 million females and girls can still be in extreme poverty by 2030 (UN Women, 2025). Combining intersectional, ecofeminist, and postcolonial critiques, the present paper fills the gap between theory and practice and suggests intervention, grounded in community-based and structural policies, to eliminate the barriers in the system and promote empowerment that is inclusive and progressive.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19760046
