Gender equality is central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), yet persistent gaps continue to limit women’s participation in multiple domains. This study examines four dimensions of gender inequality: economic participation, political representation, gender-based violence, and the role of scientific production. A mixed-methods design was applied, combining bibliometric and qualitative approaches to analyze 370 open-access documents indexed in Scopus from 2018 to 2023. Findings show that women remain underrepresented in the labor market, concentrated in less productive sectors, and burdened with unpaid work, which undermines economic equity. In politics, only a few countries have achieved parliamentary parity, while global progress remains slow. Gender-based violence persists as one of the most critical challenges, with more than half of femicides occurring in the home, revealing the insecurity of domestic spaces for women. Scientific production on gender equality has grown, yet female authors remain underrepresented, highlighting the persistence of the “glass ceiling”. These results confirm a gap between formal equality recognized in laws and substantive equality experienced in practice. Stronger state commitments, affirmative policies, and inclusive strategies are needed to ensure that gender equality is not only a right but also a driver of sustainable development.
Ochoa-Díaz et al. (2025) studied this question.