SDG 5 – Gender equality

How KfW promotes gender equality

Gender equality is a human right. It is a prerequisite for sustainable development and contributes to significantly improving the quality of life for all people. A fair and inclusive society, a sustainable and successful economy and a forward-looking approach to the environment can only be attained if women and girls are included. The advancement of gender equality and strengthening of women’s rights is thus not only a priority of international and German development policy, but also one of the core values embedded in Agenda 2030. While SDG 5 focuses exclusively on gender equality and promoting women’s rights, another 45 sub-goals and 54 indicators include gender equality as a key factor for the overall sustainability agenda.

A great deal has already been accomplished in this area: women are gaining more rights and leading more independent lives, the number of women in parliaments and leadership positions has increased and girls are less likely to be forced into marriage at a young age. Yet women and girls are still at a disadvantage around the world. Women often have less access to healthcare, education and economic resources. Discriminatory laws and violence against women are still widespread in many societies. Women spend three times as much time as men looking after children or other people in need of care and doing housework. But men can also face disadvantages – in some regions of the world young women are now better educated than their male peers

Through its development cooperation, Germany is pursuing a three-pronged approach to promoting gender equality and strengthening women’s rights and thus also to implementing the goals of Agenda 2030.

In 2019 many projects of KfW Development Bank contributed to achieving SDG 5 - with a total financial volume of EUR 2.9 billion. KfW therefore supports its partners in achieving gender equality and strengthening women’s rights in the partner countries through the respective projects and programmes.

SDG 5 on the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development website (German only)