Spotlight on SDG 1: Gender differences in poverty and household composition through the life cycle

This short paper, produced by UN Women and the World Bank, draws on work commissioned by UN Women to inform its flagship reports, “Turning promises into action: Gender equality in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and the upcoming edition of “Progress of the world’s women”. The full study, which was conducted by the World Bank, has been published as “Gender differences in poverty and household composition through the life-cycle: A global perspective”.

The findings of the study, summarized in this paper, show that a life-cycle approach can help to reveal meaningful differences in the way women, men, girls, and boys experience poverty. A life-cycle approach examines the different stages individuals go through as they transition to adulthood and form their own households. It tracks the changes that take place from childhood to childbearing years and beyond. This is the first study to look at these dimensions systematically at the global level.

This publication is part of the “Spotlight on the SDGs” series.