SDG 5 – Gender Equality
“While the world has achieved progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Millennium Development Goals (including equal access to primary education between girls and boys), women and girls continue to suffer discrimination and violence in every part of the world.” (UN Sustainable Development Goals, SDG 5)
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. Unfortunately, at the current time, 1 in 5 women and girls between the ages of 15-49 have reported experiencing physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner within a 12-month period and 49 countries currently have no laws protecting women from domestic violence. Progress is occurring regarding harmful practices such as child marriage and FGM (Female Genital Mutilation), which has declined by 30% in the past decade, but there is still much work to be done to completely eliminate such practices.
Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large. Implementing new legal frameworks regarding female equality in the workplace and the eradication of harmful practices targeted at women is crucial to ending the gender-based discrimination prevalent in many countries around the world.
At the Elsevier Foundation, we continuously work towards achieving gender equality. To know more about our different initiatives, check out the articles below:

2023 Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge – Top 5
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Empowering ‘girl bosses’ with data, analytics — and community
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Focus on food security: seven talented women scientists from the Global South awarded the 2023 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards
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7 women scientists from Global South recognized for food security research
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Women-led teams receive unique catalyst grants for climate action
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Just 20% of climate change studies ‘written by women’
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“Open access is like a window of knowledge”
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Open access publishing is indispensable, says award-winning hydrology researcher
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Elsevier Foundation invests in early career researchers
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Making progress towards a more inclusive research ecosystem
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Meet the winners of the 2022 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award
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Six talented women climate scientists from developing countries awarded the 2022 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award
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Rice for face masks and coconuts for building material? Eco-solutions for sustainable development
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2021 Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge – Top 5
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Partnering for sustainability: a new approach for a new world
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Enter the new Chemistry for Climate Action Challenge
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Celebrating 10 years of Gender Summits
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Celebrating 10 years of Gender Summits
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Celebrating women in science
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Ghanaian chemist is finding toxic substances in unusual places
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