On 28 October 2024, Japan elected its first female Prime Minister. That same month, Afghanistan banned women from speaking in public. Two dates. Two opposite directions. The state of women's rights in 2025 cannot be summed up as "things are getting better" or "things are getting worse." It's both. At the same time. And that's precisely why it matters.
This International Women's Day, rather than offering you a sanitised progress report — "everything's fine, we're moving forward" — or a catalogue of horrors that leaves you paralysed, Diana wants to offer an honest map. The advances are real. So are the setbacks. And the tension between them says something important about the political moment we're living through.
Two directions, one world
Since 1945, each decade has brought measurable progress on women's rights globally. Voting rights, access to education, the criminalisation of domestic violence, parity in parliaments — indicators have broadly improved. UN Women has measured, since 2010, a composite index incorporating reproductive health, political empowerment, and economic access. That index rose 23 points over fifteen years in middle-income countries.
But since 2020, something has shifted. Progress is slowing. In some countries, it's reversing. And this is no coincidence with the rise of nationalism, post-pandemic economic crises, and the resurgence of conservative religious currents across every continent.
2025 also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Conference — that landmark 1995 summit where 189 countries adopted the most ambitious Programme of Action ever signed on women's rights. Three decades later, no country has fully implemented its commitments. According to UN Women, at the current pace, complete gender equality will not be achieved before 2158.
Notable progress in 2025
It would be dishonest to lead with the bad news. Because there is good news — several pieces of it.
In Finland, Parliament adopted a law in January 2025 making gender parity mandatory on the boards of all listed companies, extending this obligation to SMEs with over 50 employees from 2027. A model the European Union is watching closely.
In Colombia, the Constitutional Court confirmed in February 2025 that abortion is a fundamental right up to 24 weeks. After decades of near-total criminalisation, this Latin American country is setting an example in a still largely restrictive region.
In France, the constitutional entrenchment of abortion rights in March 2024 has produced concrete effects: several European countries cited this example to restart domestic debates. Belgium followed in December 2024, inscribing abortion rights into its Constitution.
UK: Equal Pay Day and the gender pay gap
In the UK, Equal Pay Day — the date from which women effectively work for free compared to men — fell on 22 November 2024. That's 53 days before the year ends. The UK's overall gender pay gap sits at around 14.3% (mean, full-time), according to the Office for National Statistics, and has barely moved in a decade.
The Fawcett Society, the UK's leading gender equality charity, published a detailed analysis in early 2025 highlighting that progress on the pay gap has essentially stalled since 2019. The gap is widest in financial services (where it can exceed 30% at senior levels), and in sectors dominated by part-time work — which disproportionately employs women.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has strengthened enforcement of the gender pay gap reporting requirements for companies with over 250 employees. But reporting obligations, critics argue, are not the same as closing the gap: companies must publish their data, but face no requirement to explain or address it. The EHRC announced in March 2025 that it would begin issuing fines for companies that fail to report — a step forward, though the amounts involved (up to £5,000) are considered symbolic by campaigners.
The Labour government that came to power in July 2024 committed in its manifesto to introducing mandatory pay gap action plans — not just reporting, but actual strategies. Legislation is expected to be introduced in 2025, though parliamentary timelines remain uncertain.
Period poverty legislation in the UK
One of the more positive UK developments of the past eighteen months has been the continued legislative attention to period poverty — the inability to afford menstrual products. Scotland became the first country in the world to make period products universally free in 2022 (Period Products Act). England and Wales have since expanded free provision in schools and some public buildings, though universal access remains a goal rather than a reality.
In January 2025, a cross-party group of MPs introduced a Private Member's Bill to mandate free period products in all NHS settings and job centres — spaces where women in financial difficulty are likely to be. The Bill has cross-party support and is expected to pass with government backing.
The Bloody Good Period charity, which provides period products to asylum seekers and refugees in the UK, reported in 2024 that demand had increased by 40% year-on-year — a direct consequence of rising living costs and cuts to asylum support. Period poverty, in other words, is not a historical problem: it is growing.
Alarming setbacks
Diana won't pretend this section is easy to write — or to read. The facts are hard. But cataloguing catastrophes without context can lead to the paralysis of hopelessness. Read these. Then read the final section on what to do.
The setbacks of 2025 organise around three main axes: reproductive rights, freedom of movement and expression, and economic participation.
On reproductive rights, the global trend since the overturning of Roe v. Wade is more complex than headlines suggest. Yes, restrictions have increased in several US states. But there has also been a backlash: seven US states have inscribed abortion rights into their constitutions via referendum since 2022. The battle is playing out state by state.
In Hungary, Viktor Orbán's government introduced a requirement in 2025 for women seeking an abortion to listen to foetal heartbeats before their consultation — a measure directly modelled on American legislation and designed to discourage rather than inform. In Poland, the new government promised to liberalise abortion law, but faces a presidential veto from Andrzej Duda that has blocked progress, leaving women in a painful legal limbo.
Afghanistan: the systematic erasure of women
Afghanistan deserves its own section. Not because it is numerically the most important situation — the country has 20 million women in a world of 4 billion — but because it represents a degree of erasure of women from public life that no other contemporary regime practices at this level.
Since the Taliban's return in 2021, restrictions have accumulated: prohibition of education beyond primary level, prohibition of work in virtually all sectors, prohibition of movement without a male guardian (mahram), prohibition of parks and public spaces. In October 2024, a new decree prohibited women from speaking in public — including to each other, in any space audible to a man.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court opened a formal inquiry into the treatment of women in Afghanistan, characterised as a crime against humanity. A world first: never before had the systematic suppression of women's rights been formally prosecuted as a crime against humanity before an international court.
United States: the reproductive rights battle
The June 2022 Dobbs decision — which overturned Roe v. Wade — triggered unprecedented mobilisation. Three years on, the picture is complex.
In states that have banned or severely restricted abortion (Texas, Alabama, Idaho, Tennessee...), documented consequences are severe: women requiring emergency care for miscarriages have been refused treatment by doctors fearing prosecution. Cases of sepsis, serious complications, and even deaths have been reported and directly linked to the new laws. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists published a devastating report in 2024 on the impact of restrictions on ordinary medical care.
But resistance is organising. Since 2022, seven states have constitutionalised abortion rights by popular referendum — including Missouri, one of the most restrictive states, in November 2024. A surprise victory that is symbolically very powerful.
Kamala Harris's candidacy — the first woman nominated by a major party for the US presidency — was defeated in November 2024. But the mobilisation around reproductive rights contributed to significant down-ballot wins in several states, and the issue has become a structural electoral driver in American politics.
The global picture
It would be reductive to treat Africa or Asia as a single bloc. Situations vary radically between countries — and sometimes between regions within the same country.
In Kenya, the #EndFemicide movement gained enormous traction in early 2024 following a series of high-profile femicides. Mass demonstrations in Nairobi forced the government to announce an action plan — still insufficiently implemented according to advocacy groups, but the issue is now permanently on the political agenda.
In Saudi Arabia, Vision 2030 reforms have enabled women to obtain driving licences (2018), travel without a male guardian (2019), and access a broader range of employment. The female labour force participation rate rose from 17% in 2017 to 33% in 2024. But the women's rights activists who fought for these very reforms remain imprisoned. Loujain al-Hathloul, jailed in 2018 for demanding the right to drive, was released only in 2021 and remains under a travel ban.
In Iran, the Woman Life Freedom movement — born in September 2022 after the death of Mahsa Amini — has continued to structure a quiet, persistent resistance. Women circulate without the hijab in parts of Tehran at risk of reprisals. Authorities have toughened penalties. But the movement has not disappeared: it has transformed into a diffuse, documented, and international resistance.
What can you actually do?
There's no simple answer. And Diana is not going to offer you a list of symbolic gestures that feel good without changing much. What research on civic engagement shows is that the most effective actions combine several levels.
At the individual level: stay informed regularly and accurately — not just in March. Share verified information rather than emotionally charged content. Support financially the organisations doing the work on the ground.
At the collective level: social change research shows that laws evolve in response to mobilisation — and that this mobilisation often starts in small circles. Talking about these issues in your networks, without trying to convince everyone, but normalising the conversation. Joining or supporting a local organisation.
In the UK specifically: the Fawcett Society campaigns on equal pay, violence against women, and political representation. Women's Aid supports domestic abuse survivors. Bloody Good Period tackles period poverty. Imkaan focuses on Black and minoritised women's safety. All accept donations, volunteers, and campaigners.
The 8th of March is not a celebration. It is an international day of mobilisation that has existed since 1911. Its purpose is not to celebrate progress made — even though that progress deserves acknowledgement — but to measure the distance still to travel, and to renew the commitment to covering it. This year, both are necessary.
Frequently asked questions
Which country is most advanced on women's rights in 2025?
According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, Iceland holds the top position for the 15th consecutive year, with a gender gap closed at over 91%. Finland, Norway, and Sweden complete the top four. These countries stand out through a combination of public policies (shared parental leave, universal healthcare access, pay transparency) and deep cultural shifts over several decades. But even these countries have not fully closed their gender gap.
Is Afghanistan the only country where women cannot work?
Afghanistan is the only country in the world where women are legally prohibited from accessing virtually all employment and higher education. Other countries have severe restrictions, but none reaches the level of systematic exclusion documented in Afghanistan since 2021. The International Criminal Court opened a formal inquiry in November 2024 into whether this constitutes a crime against humanity.
What does the UK gender pay gap reporting system actually do?
Since 2017, UK employers with 250 or more employees must publish their gender pay gap data annually on a government website. This includes the mean and median pay gap, bonus gap, and proportion of men and women in each pay quartile. The data is public and searchable. However, employers are not required to explain or address their gap — only to report it. The Labour government elected in 2024 has committed to introducing mandatory action plans, though legislation is still in progress.
What is period poverty and how widespread is it in the UK?
Period poverty refers to the inability to afford menstrual products. A 2023 survey by the charity Plan International UK found that one in five girls and young women in the UK had struggled to afford period products in the past year, rising to one in three in the most deprived communities. Scotland has had universal free period products since 2022 under the Period Products Act. England has free provision in schools but not universally. A 2025 Private Member's Bill aims to extend free access to NHS settings and job centres.
What is the Fawcett Society and what does it do?
The Fawcett Society is the UK's leading charity campaigning for gender equality. Founded in 1866 — named after suffragist Millicent Fawcett — it campaigns on equal pay, the gender pay gap, violence against women, and women's political representation. It publishes the annual Sex and Power report tracking women in senior positions across UK institutions, and provides research and policy briefings used by MPs across parties. Membership and donations support its campaigning work.
How does the UK's approach to domestic violence compare internationally?
The UK's Domestic Abuse Act 2021 was a significant piece of legislation that, for the first time, legally defined domestic abuse to include emotional, coercive, and economic abuse — not just physical violence. It created new protections including Domestic Abuse Protection Orders and established the Domestic Abuse Commissioner. Women's Aid and Refuge, the two main national charities, welcomed the Act but have consistently noted that funding for frontline services has not kept pace with need. According to the EHRC, one in four women in the UK will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime.
What is Climate Assembly UK, and why mention it on International Women's Day?
Climate Assembly UK (CAUK) was a citizens' assembly convened by Parliament in 2020 to explore how the UK should reach net zero. Its findings included strong representation from women, who were disproportionately concerned about climate impacts on their communities and families. Research consistently shows that women — particularly in the Global South — are more severely affected by climate change while having less decision-making power over climate policy. Linking climate justice and gender justice is not a rhetorical choice: it reflects documented lived reality.