Poverty makes women more vulnerable to discrimination, on the basis of both gender and their economic situation. Providing practical training to low-income women, as well as offering loans, can empower them to take control of their future and stand up for their rights. According to United Nations (UN) data, women are more likely to live in poverty than men.

Education has long been identified as one of the most important steps to gender equality. Schooling and vocational training can make women more independent, challenge gender sterotypes, and at the same time boost the economy. While access to education is easier for girls than it used to be, some 131 million worldwide were still out of school in 2018.

Access to adequate health services — from sexual health to mental health to nutrition — is still a major challenge for many women around the world. Working to end harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM) also falls within this area of concern. The World Health Organization says an estimated three milion girls are at risk of being cut every year.

Violence against women remains a universal problem — although it is more severe in some countries than others. After the 1995 Beijing Conference, two-thirds of all countries involved, implemented laws designed to curtail domestic violence. But there is still much more work to be done when it comes to legal protection and essential services for women needing to escape a violent situation.

Armed conflict wreaks havoc on society, with women and girls particularly vulnerable to brutal war tactics such as abduction and sexual violence. To mitigate this, UN programs are increasingly looking to engage women in all aspects of conflict negotiation and peacebuilding as a means of creating more inclusive societies.

Women are vital to economies around the world. Today, they can be CEOs, entrepreneurs, farmers, doctors, scientists and more. But gender discrimination means too many women still end up in low-wage, insecure jobs and are more likely to be exploited in the labor market. Promoting economic empowerment can help women secure decent work and build a better future for themselves.

In recent years, women have made major strides towards better representation in positions of power. But from elected office to the boardroom, there is still a long way to go before true equal representation. Establishing quota laws and encouraging political participation are examples of how women can increase their influence on both a local and global level.

The foundation of special institutions which help to inform the development of new laws, policies and programs have proved vital when it comes to advancing gender equality. National action plans can lead to more informed policymaking which will benefit women in both the short and long term.

The Beijing Platform for Action stresses that women and girls are entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of fundamental human rights — the right to live free from violence, slavery and discrimination, to be educated, to vote, to work and earn a decent wage. "Women's rights are human rights," has become a familar slogan, but gender inequality means women are still more likely to be left behind.

The media is a powerful tool that can either perpetuate or challenge harmful attitudes that discriminate against women. Getting more women involved in this sector not only allows their voices to be heard, but positions them as role models for their audience and sets the stage for a shift towards more gender-sensitive reporting.

The state of the environment is indelibly linked to women's well-being. Natural disasters leave them more vulnerable to exploitation and violence and they are more likely to be among those worst-affected by climate change. Honduran environmental activist Berta Caceres received repeated threats against her life, and was shot dead in her home in 2016.

Sadly, girls are disproportionately affected by harmful practices such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation (FGM) and sexual abuse. Empowering girls and young women through policies and education not only allows them to pursue their dreams, but helps them confront discrimination within society.

The campaign theme for International Women's Day in 2020 is #EachforEqual, calling for equal rights for all genders. While there has undoubtedly been huge progress in the way society treats women, this year's campaign calls for collective action towards creating a truly gender-inclusive world.

The 34-year-old Sanna Marin was elected by her party in December 2019 to serve as Finland's prime minister after Antti Rinne resigned over fallout from a postal strike. Once she is sworn in, set for mid-December, she will become one of the world's youngest head's of states. She previously served as her country's transport minister.

Since October 2017, Jacinda Arden has served as the 40th prime minister of New Zealand. She took office at the age of 37. She is also only the second woman to give birth while in office. Arden is regarded as one of the world's most powerful women and was praised internationally for her response to the Christchurch terror attacks in 2019.

After Evo Morales resigned as Bolivia's president in November 2019, the 52-year-old Jeanine Anez became the interim leader of the country. Previously a vice president of the Senate, she has said she would like to try to schedule fresh elections as soon as possible. She is politically right-wing.

After serving as Belgium's budget minister, Sohpie Wilmes became the country's prime minister — and its first female one — in late October 2019. The 44-year-old has a tough task before her: scraping together a majority from a highly fragmented national parliament. She belongs to the French-speaking liberal-centrist MR party.

Slovakia elected Zuzana Caputova as its first female president in March 2019. She took office in June, also becoming the youngest-ever president at age 45. Her political views are marked by her strong environmentalism and her determination to weed out corruption in the central European state. Prior to becoming president, she had not held an elected political office.

The 65-year-old was appointed chancellor in 2005 — the country's first female head of government — and is currently serving her fourth term as Germany's leader. The pastor's daughter from communist East Germany and chemistry doctorate was named "Person of the Year 2015" by Time magazine. Her term is scheduled to end in 2021, and she has said she will not pursue the chancellor position again.

The 69-yeaer-old Sahle-Work Zewde was elected unanimously by the members of Ethiopia's parliament to serve as the country's 5th president. She is the first woman to fill the role, though the role is largely ceremonial. However, as of 2019, she is Africa's only serving head of state. A career diplomat, she had previously held various high-level positions in the UN.

Tsai Ing-Wen is the first woman to serve as president of the Republic of China, more commonly known as Taiwan. Her inauguration in May 2016 led Beijing to freeze official relations with the small island, which the mainland claims can never be independent. Tsai has made it clear she will not "bow to pressure" over the issue of sovereignty. She has announced she will run for reelection in 2020.

Norway, too, is governed by a woman. Erna Solberg took office in 2013. The 58-year-old is the wealthy northern country's second female prime minister, after Gro Harlem Brundtland, who held the position in the 80s and 90s. Her tough asylum policies earned her the nickname "Iron Erna." She also heads up Norway's Conservative Party.

The 52-year-old, Namibia's fourth prime minister, has been in office since 2015. Kuugongelwa-Amadhila went into exile in Sierra Leone as a young teenager. She pursued higher education in the US, graduating with a degree in economics before returning home in 1994, where she began working in politics. She is the first woman to head Namibia's government and a strong proponent of women's rights.

Sheikh Hasina is the 10th and longest serving prime minister in the history of Bangladesh. Before her current term, which began in 2009, she also held the office from 1996-2001. Forbes business magazine listed the 72-year-old on its list of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

The 51-year-old held several government positions and represented Croatia as ambassador to the United States before she was elected in 2015 as the country's first woman president, and its youngest. Grabar-Kitarovic's position from 2011 to 2014 as assistant secretary general for public diplomacy at NATO makes her the highest-ranking female ever within NATO's administrative team.