Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality

Feature Series page

A woman holds a sign as demonstrators gather Sept. 4, 2019, at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town during a protest against gender-based violence. (CNS/Reuters/Sumaya Hisham)

The United Nations calls its 17 Sustainable Development Goals "the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all." With a target of achieving them by 2030, the goals are all interconnected and address the global challenges we face.

Goal 5 is "Gender Equality." As the UN puts it: "Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world."

This series includes stories of sisters on the frontline of fighting for gender equality.

Women's lives depend on UN commission's work

Apr 05, 2022

By Durstyne Farnan

The 66th Commission on the Status of Women was especially timely this year, as it continues to work to accelerate the hoped-for gender equality and empowerment of women.

Lake Victoria fishmongers try to escape 'sex for fish' trap and HIV outcome

Jan 20, 2022

By Doreen Ajiambo

Fish, the main currency in cities on Lake Victoria, is in severe shortage. Many women fish sellers must trade sex for fish from fishermen. The practice has fueled HIV/AIDS infections in the region, prompting the Catholic Church to intervene.

'Disability is not inability,' Assumption Sisters teach girls in central Kenya

Dec 09, 2021

By Wycliff Oundo

The Assumption Sisters of Nairobi have helped thousands of women in Kenya who live with disabilities. The sisters manage a center that offers shelter to girls living with disabilities and teaches them skills to meet their potential.

I'm proud to be an American sister, unafraid of coloring outside the lines

Oct 26, 2021

By Margaret Cessna

American sisters are women who turned on a dime after Vatican II and took on the world. They drew new lines. They changed the face of religious life. Not for being mean but for being smart, kind, generous, energetic, determined. Though we're aging and fewer in number, our work goes on with hope and vigor.

Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality

Feature Series page

Women's lives depend on UN commission's work

Lake Victoria fishmongers try to escape 'sex for fish' trap and HIV outcome

'Disability is not inability,' Assumption Sisters teach girls in central Kenya

I'm proud to be an American sister, unafraid of coloring outside the lines

Young women work together to present at UN forum

Girls can speak for themselves, and Good Shepherd Sisters are amplifying their voices

Unleashing creativity: enhancing the lives of women in India

Times call for Shiphrah and Puah activism

Teaching about domestic violence in Tanzania

Apostolic Carmel nuns complete 150 years as pioneers of women's education in India

COVID-19 has made world worse for women, say participants in UN commission

Sisters work to heal families wounded by domestic violence, especially during COVID-19 lockdowns

Sisters' lending project helps women in poverty gain financial independence

The scourge of gender-based violence in South Africa

Four congregations work in common cause for girls with disabilities

Catholic sisters lead the way in the anti-trafficking movement

Beijing + 25: The 1995 platform for women remains a promise-in-waiting

Coronavirus concerns prompt UN to suspend annual gathering on women

Truth and transgender lives

Advocates work to stop human trafficking's causes like poverty, exploitation of human rights

On Guatemalan gang turf, Oblate sister reaches out to women in prostitution

Listening to God's transgender people

How do we halt the selling of women?

Sisters at UN meeting on women emphasize human rights, local action

Including women: to bray or not to bray

Nuns on the Bus 2018: Caring for the least of these in the Carolinas

Ministry on the gender margins

Women's March draws large crowds in worldwide demonstrations for equality

In the case of sisters in Bangladesh, example can be powerful