b'ABOUT THIS REPORTAcrosstheworld,wecontinuetoseehard-wonmembers,CSOsareexcellentlyplacedtocreate progresstowardsachievingtheSustainablestrongpartnershipsandcaneffectivelycarryout Development Goals go backwards. Many challengesactivities that reach some of the most marginalised stillfacesocietiesaftertheCOVID-19pandemic,andvulnerablepeopleinsociety.Duringthe particularlyinrelationtoeducationandgenderpandemic,thenumberofpeoplerequiringthis equality. Women and girls have missed out on yearssupport has significantly increased.ofeducationandtraining,andgendergaps regarding employment and pay have continued toIt is not new to say that COVID-19 has revealed and widen. Many will never return to education or work.entrenched the inequalities that exist in our world Opportunities for womens work has shrunk, moretoday. As ever, it will be impossible to overcome women are living in poverty, gender-based violenceCOVID-19andachievesustainabledevelopment hasincreased,ashaschildmarriage,teenwithoutaddressingtheseinequalities.Theseare pregnancy, and maternal and infant mortality rateswords that organisations regret repeating, yet every haveincreased.Thesearethechallengestheyear we do. This is more than simply a problem with projectssharedinthisreportaddress.Overthepolitical willin reality, the cause of injustices comingyearsitiscriticaltoextendeducationalandinequalitieswithincountriesandbetween opportunities to girls and women, including thosecountries is the direct result of deliberate and bad whichwillenablethemtogainemployment,topolitical choices, policies and laws. Once again, we become economically independent and leaders. call for action, unsure what more needs to happen forstatestotransformtheirpromisesinto This report focuses on SDG4 on education, SDG5 onimmediate and concrete action to support gender gender equality, and SDG17 on partnerships. Theequality. COVID-19 may have set us back, but during projects featured in this report have had to adapt tothisdecadeofaction,withambition,increased newcircumstancescreatedbytheCOVID-19politicalwill,andfull,effective,equaland pandemicandhavesuccessfullymobilisedmeaningful collaboration with all stakeholders, it is partnershipsforsustainabledevelopment.BeingstillpossibletoachievetheSustainable based in communities and comprised of communityDevelopment Goals by 2030. About Soroptimist International SoroptimistInternational (SI) is a global womens122countriesworldwide,SIcontributestothe organisationthatactivelycontributestotheachievement of gender equality through its aim to achievement of the Sustainable Development GoalsEducate, Empower and Enable all women and girls. throughempoweringwomenintheirlocalSharing SIs voice at the UN are Representatives in communitiestocreatetheirowntransformativeNew York, Geneva, Vienna, Nairobi, Paris, Rome and change.Activeinover3,000communitiesacrossBangkok.2'