Protect Progress

Gender equality is under threat worldwide — the UK Government must act now to Protect Progress.

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Watch: Protect Progress

Together, we have made the world a safer and fairer place. More girls are in school than ever before. Fewer women are dying in childbirth. Women are leading countries, negotiating peace agreements, and driving climate solutions.

But right now, that progress is in jeopardy.

From rising gender-based violence, to rollbacks on reproductive rights and restrictions on political participation, too many are being silenced, side-lined, and stripped of hard-won rights.

Together with 20 organisations, we are calling on the UK Government to Protect Progress on gender equality, before it’s too late.

Will you join us? Take action today - sign our open letter to the Foreign Secretary asking her to Protect Progress for women and girls.

Sign the open letter

What’s at stake?

For a generation, the world has moved towards greater gender equality. But that progress is now at risk:

  • More than 850 million women and girls are living in countries rated as “very poor” for gender equality
  • Approximately 40% of countries stagnated or declined on gender equality between 2019–2022, affecting over 1 billion women and girls
  • Nearly 1 in 4 countries reported a rollback or backlash against women’s rights in 2024
  • The World Economic Forum has said that if nothing changes, it will take over a century to reach full gender equality, meaning today’s generation won’t see full equality

Anti-rights movements are gaining ground, while climate and debt crises deepen inequality. Women’s rights organisations - often first responders in crisis - are being forced to scale back as funding disappears.

A recent UN Women survey of women-led and women’s rights organisations found that:

  • 90 %

    of organisations have been hit by funding cuts

  • 51 %

    of organisations have been forced to suspend programmes

  • 47 %

    of organisations expect to shut down within six months if current funding levels persist

Let’s take action!

This is the moment to act. Failure to do so risks taking our hard-fought wins back by decades.

We are calling on the UK Government to Protect Progress by:

  • Protecting funding for gender equality and women’s rights
  • Preventing backsliding on hard-won rights and language
  • Pushing for systemic change to achieve true gender justice

Will you join us? Sign our open letter to the Foreign Secretary today asking her to Protect Progress for women and girls.

Take action

Hero image: Karia, from Mali, is a leader in the Benkadi Association for girls' rights © Eliasaph/CARE