GENDER EQUALITY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Gender equality is included as the fifth of the 17 goals for sustainable development proposed by the United Nations. One of the key objectives is to provide women with equal opportunities for full and effective participation and leadership at all stages of decision-making in political, economic, and social spheres. This goal can be achieved by increasing the representation of women in parliament and local government meetings, as well as promoting their involvement in management positions. In this context, let's consider some statistics that shed light on the current situation:

• As of 2021, women comprise almost 51% of Mongolia's population.
• In terms of gender disparity, our country ranks 69th out of 156 countries, with a score of 71.6 percent.
• As of the first half of 2021, Mongolia ranks 127th out of 193 countries in terms of the percentage of women in parliament (17.3%). This falls below the international and regional averages.
• In the 2020 parliamentary elections, a total of 606 candidates competed, with only 151 (25%) being female candidates. However, only 13 female candidates were elected as members of Parliament.
• Throughout the eight parliamentary elections since 1992, a total of 608 members were elected, of which only 64 were women. The proportion of female members increased from 5.3% in 1992 to 17% in both 2016 and 2020.
• There is a significant disparity in the number of female candidates between local constituencies and the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.
• In the last four parliamentary elections, out of a total of 1,814 candidates, 430 (23.7%) were women. However, women comprised only 18% of the candidates in local constituencies, while the percentage rose to 30% in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar.
• As of June 2021, Mongolia has joined a total of 294 multilateral agreements and has signed and ratified international agreements and deals aimed at ensuring women's rights and gender equality.