Since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995, the global community has made significant strides toward gender equality. However, challenges remain, particularly for young women and girls who continue to face barriers in accessing education, healthcare, protection from violence, and opportunities for leadership.
On 15 July 2025, the IBVM-Loreto Generalate, The Grail, Society of the Sacred Heart, Justice Coalition of Religious, and The Mary Ward Centre hosted an official virtual side event focused on Sustainable Development Goal 5 (gender equality) during the UN High Level Political Forum. The webinar amplified the voices of four young women and girls from around the world and enabled them to share their experiences of inequality and injustice and to propose solutions to achieve full gender equality.
Maya Gallardo, a young mother from Mexico, spoke of the realities of trying to balance work life with child care. She shared the strategies she uses, which include bringing her daughter to her workplace three times per week and adapting her evening work routine to enable more time with her daughter in the mornings. Most important to Maya was the community of coworkers who have become like family to her and her daughter, who support her as a young parent and enable the flexibility she needs to balance child care and career.
Victory Okeugo, a youth representative from Canada, gave an overview of a report launched by the Mary Ward Centre entitled “Breaking Barriers: The Urgent Need to Accelerate Gender Equality for Young Women and Girls”. The report finds that young women and girls in Canada experience high levels of discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace, are overrepresented in ‘caring professions’ and unpaid care work, and face barriers in academic and sport settings. Victory stressed the importance and benefits of expanded access to education, decent work, and mentorship opportunities for young women and girls, starting at a young age.
Lili, a youth representative from Germany, shared her experience of gender equality as she moves from secondary school into university. She attended an all-girls’ secondary school that provided many opportunities for learning, development, and leadership. However, she stressed that women in her family continue to experience injustice through the gender pay gap. She does not want a future for herself where equal education still means unequal pay. Lili also critiqued Germany’s Voluntary National Review for its limited attention to this issue and others, including lack of access to housing, the burden of lone parenting and care work, and physical danger women experience in society.
Nosipho, a girl representative from South Africa, had a powerful message for girls around the world. She called for greater inclusion and access to digital technology for girls and the many benefits it provides. For example, digital technology allows access to online learning and knowledge and the acquisition of new skills. Digital technology can enable advancements in health care, as well as create online communities for girls to connect and build relationships. She also exhorted the audience to take action: “Start a girls club, mentor a girl, be an ally. Believe in yourself and your work.”
Finally, Valerie Labelle from the federal department of Employment and Social Development in Canada encouraged girls and young women to continue to share their views, their experiences, and their solutions to achieve the SDGs. She shared opportunities from the Government of Canada for youth to be part of the SDG reporting process.
There is still much work to do to achieve gender equality, especially for young women and girls. In the words of our youth moderator: “If we want a just and sustainable world by 2030, we must put girls and young women at the centre of the solution — not just as beneficiaries, but as co-creators. From Mozambique to Mexico, from South Africa to Canada, let us rise — and let us act!”
Autor: Sarah Rudolph ibvm, UNNGO Representative to the UN
