The Generation Equality Forum in Paris on 30 June-2 July 2021 marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action on Women. The 1995 event was a milestone for advancing women’s rights,1 but it is disheartening that still not one country can claim to have achieved gender equality.

By 2045 most global leaders will be too young to remember the Beijing declaration, but the global community will have failed if gender inequality is still widespread. In this future we expect deaths from childbirth—particularly among women in the poorest households and countries—to be rare events. HIV and other sexually transmissible infections among young women and girls should have fallen drastically. We expect women and girls of reproductive age to have full control over their own reproductive decisions and nearly all to have their need for modern contraception met. Early deaths and severe disability attributable to non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and poor mental health should have declined. In most countries, women and girls will be living safe, violence-free lives. We expect good progress in the development of green technologies, and that outbreaks of infectious diseases such as covid-19 will be quickly contained because the world will be better prepared…

Amin, A., Remme, M., Allotey, P., & Askew, I. (2021). Gender equality by 2045: reimagining a healthier future for women and girls. BMJ.