Maya Misikir
You can probably tell by the state of things that the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.
This was one of the 17 ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the U.N. in 2015. Besides the big, north-star goal of equality between the genders, SDG5 included sub-goals such as “end all violence against women and girls” and “value unpaid care.” Now, a decade later, the International Conference on Financing for Development (FF4D) is set to take place in Seville as the last call to “rescue the 2030 Agenda,” as U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres put it.
“Rescue” is the right word. Not only is the world (the goals apply, in principle, to all countries) drastically behind on meeting global development targets, some metrics are off by centuries. For instance, at this current pace, it will be 300 years before we see an end to child marriage.
As far away as that milestone stands, the financial means to hit the targets under the 2030 Agenda are also missing. According to the U.N., developing countries have the largest funding gap with more than $4 trillion in additional annual investment still required to meet the SDGs.
The conference in Seville is important because, if successful, it will both find ways of addressing the financing gaps and, critically, introduce reforms to the so-called “international financial architecture”.
This architecture refers to a range of institutions from development banks like the World Bank to global funds, country groupings like the G7, standards- and norms-setting bodies (think the OECD or the Financial Stability Board), creditor groups and finally, the U.N. itself. Many of their norms and practices were established in a post-World War II world in which one billion people still lived under European colonial rule. Half a century later, decision-making procedures still reflect this old power structure. For example, of the 191 members in the International Monetary Fund, 54 are African countries, yet they hold only 6.5 percent of total voting rights.
Since the last FF4D conference ten years ago in Addis Ababa, the calls for change have only grown louder. Described by Guterres as “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair”, the suitability of the international financial architecture is inextricably tied to the success or failure of these lofty goals.
A key area for reform has to be debt. Debts that amassed over time as weakened and plundered economies tried to operate in a post-colonial world with unfavorable terms.
Today, debt service across 145 developing countries exceeds their total spending on education, health, and social protection, according to a 2024 database compiled by the nonprofit organization, Development Finance International. “A debt crisis of epic proportions in the Global South is emerging,” Professor of International Finance, Ilene Grabel writes in an April 2025 research paper for U.N. Women.
The pressure to service debt comes from the lending institutions as well as the credit rating institutions – gatekeepers to capital markets – leading to deep cuts in social spending and civil unrest. Last year, austerity measures such as tax rises on essential products such as nappies, sanitary towels and bread, proposed in a controversial finance bill by the Government of Kenya, resulted in widespread protests that ended with several people dead and part of the parliament building set on fire.
Despite the wide ranging consequences, the burden of the global debt crisis, however, is not evenly shared. When governments reduce public spending on health, education, or childcare, it’s women who step in as the “involuntary shock absorbers”.
In a survey carried out by ActionAid across six African countries, which implemented austerity measures, women were found to be taking on 28 hours more of care work each week. This means they have less time for paid work, spend more of their lives in poverty, and are forced to rely on their partners, “heightening their vulnerability and risk of violence,” as Evelyne Opondo, Africa Regional Director at the International Center for Research on Women, explains.
Government cuts on public spending also hit frontline jobs first, roles such as teachers and public health workers, predominantly occupied by women. As public health and education services deteriorate, women will lose access to decent work, to fair wages, and to rest. “Debt (and other crises) are always and everywhere a feminist issue because their effects bear disproportionately on women,” argues Grabel.
If the SDGs have any prospect of being realized, writes Grabel, debt restructuring (which involves a debtor renegotiating the terms with their creditor) and outright debt cancellation, have to happen. The former is now harder to do as lenders have diversified over the past 20 years, with private creditors buying a larger share of global debts.
The odds are stacked against the global goals, as many outcomes from the last conference 10 years ago still remain unfulfilled. And financing is increasingly diverted to fund conflict and conflict readiness, and to fill the hole left by the termination of most USAID programs.
Ultimately though, as Grabel outlines, as is also echoed by Guterres: the challenge is “neither technical nor intellectual, but of political will.”
