The 2030 Agenda and its SDGs are still the leading path for sustainable development at the global level. The 17 goals, 169 targets and 211 indicators portray what a desirable sustainable future would look like in 2030. If current trends continue, the SDGs will not be achieved in the proposed timeframe. Beyond that point, the question remains of what is expected to happen after 2030? More than halfway through the agenda, this is a call for reforming the 2030 Agenda and its means of implementation. One of the entry points we propose is reviewing and refining the state of gender integration in the SDGs for improving the achievement of gender-sensitive SDG indicators.

Gender concerns everybody. Therefore, even if there are still alarming gaps in gender equality for women and girls worldwide, the 2030 Agenda’s goals, targets and indicators should not be centered solely on women. It is important to recognize and acknowledge that gender identities are broad, plural and diverse to fulfill the promise of “leaving no one behind”. Even more, the impact of gender discrimination and the challenges to overcome its impacts are as complex as gender identities and vary by context.  

For example, SDG indicators do not consider how male-dominated systems negatively impact the lives of men. Current global trends show a widening ideological gap between men and women, particularly in younger generations, as a backlash to progressive policies seen as serving women over men. A more inclusive approach to gender can help reveal how these policies benefit not only women, but also men and people of other genders.

Aside from some social indicators that are disaggregated by sex, the integration of gender in the SDGs has been limited and confined to SDG 5 (Gender equality). The gender perspective of the SDGs focuses only on women’s vulnerability, hindering women’s agency and leaving out other gender identities. Furthermore, the SDGs do not address the elimination of discrimination and systemic inequalities faced by people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and other diverse genders and sexualities (LGBTQI+).  

There is a consensus on the idea that the SDGs are not independent goals and should rather be understood as an indivisible whole. However, there are vertical (between levels of governance, such as local-national) and horizontal (within the same levels of governance, such as between ministries) silos. Considering gender equality in isolation hinders progress in achieving multiple SDGs, such as women’s labor force participation in the case of care work, which is mostly unpaid, invisible, and limits participation in social, economic and work life.  

It is crucial to consider the systemic implications of SDG interactions when mapping gender to SDGs, as this will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the 2030 Agenda as a whole. The challenges of overcoming gender issues are as complex as gender identities themselves. They are also context-specific, which is why SDG Localization approaches are an important tool. 

Contrary to the “Leave no one behind” pledge of the 2030 Agenda, the wide spectrum of gender and sexual diversity is not present in the official SDG documents, goals, targets and indicators. The lack of acknowledgement of queer people hinders progress in related or synergistic SDGs such as SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 3 (Good Health and Wellbeing), SDG 4 (Quality Education), and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). 

Without targets or indicators for measuring queer equality, the 2030 Agenda is blind towards progress or changes in a fundamental aspect of gender equality. Also, the integration of a wider approach to gender and sexuality into the SDGs would bring in relevant topics for gender equality and boost the overall effectiveness of SDG implementation. For example, this could provide a deeper perspective on how the cycles of exclusion and poverty operate, as well as a more nuanced understanding of poverty and its intersections with gender and sexuality. 

However, bringing queer perspectives into the 2030 Agenda has been politically contested, and currently there is a global backlash wave against adopting policies for reducing gender inequity. For that reason, advocacy for the inclusion of diverse genders at the High-Level Political Forums (HLPFs) and other international SDG discussion forums is crucial for transforming the 2030 Agenda.  SDG Localization can be a solution for starting to build on this from a bottom-up perspective. 

The discussions concerning the future of the SDGs are an opportunity that must not be missed. As we review the gaps in SDG formulation and implementation vis-à-vis the end of the established period for achieving the 2030 Agenda, we must not lose sight of these possibilities: 

• Extending the SDGs and revising the targets. Keeping the goals as they currently are – or even adding new goals – is an option for maintaining continuity in SDG implementation and not affecting the willingness of those who have already invested effort in it. However, new targets, indicators, steering and stakeholder engagement processes must be considered in all of the SDGs for effectively including a more comprehensive gender perspective that is intersectional and inclusive. 

• Addressing gender equity from a perspective that takes distance from attributing vulnerability to women and people that suffer gender discrimination. It is important to address the structural causes of gender discrimination, beyond simply attending to its symptoms. 

• Including men as agents of gender equality. Men can serve a crucial role in the transformation of harmful gender roles and practices and in the dismantling of patriarchal systems. 

• Learning from gender organizations and scholars to bring in the contributions of feminist, new masculinities, and queer organizations and advocacy platforms. This process is key for incorporating other concepts that were not present during the formulation of the SDGs related to justice, intersectionality, and dismantling of patriarchal social structures. 

• Using policy coherence, and SDG synergies and trade-offs frameworks. These frameworks help us understand how SDG agendas are internally connected, and they can assist in envisaging more holistic implementation pathways and target-indicator frameworks for addressing gender equality issues. 

• Using a wide, inclusive gender perspective will shape how the whole set of indicators should be shaped, measured, and analyzed. 

Adding and refining gender-sensitive indicators throughout the whole Agenda is beneficial for identifying specific gaps in the goals, targets and indicators related to gender issues, but also for: 

• Collecting evidence of pressing issues and topics that are the most concerning in terms of gender discrimination and all forms of gender-based violence. 

• Fixing current targets and indicators or proposing new ones for the SDG 5 and other SDGs that respond to the identified gaps. 

• Prioritizing the possible new or refined indicators based on data availability at the national level, as well as the identified pressing issues or topics. 

Finally, countermapping is a way for including citizen-generated information and nuanced insights into SDG Localization processes, local agendas and Voluntary Local and National Reviews. Another path relates to data that leads to action and enhanced monitoring. From this perspective, data analysis should offer concrete actions and respond to transversal changes in indicators, such as the advancement towards goals or the backsliding we are currently experiencing regarding the rights of women and queer people. Regarding monitoring, there are important gender data gaps in all dimensions of gender equality. As a result, it is necessary to strengthen statistical capacities and advocate for a broader, continuous and consistent measurement framework.