Tax Justice and Gender Equality: A Call for Systemic Change

The world acknowledges gender gaps, yet rarely addresses the systemic factors that sustain them: a global tax system inherently favoring the wealthy. When multinational corporations and high-net-worth individuals avoid accountability, the burden disproportionately falls on women. On International Women’s Day 2026, it’s crucial to recognize this moment as one of setbacks, but also of growing resistance.

The Erosion of Multilateralism and its Impact on Gender Justice

The weakening of multilateralism, reduced funding for international institutions, and cuts in development aid have created significant setbacks, fostering inequality without counterbalancing measures. This uncertainty exacerbates gender injustice, particularly for women in the Global South, who bear a disproportionate burden from unjust tax systems and austerity policies. When funding for essential services like childcare is reduced, women often absorb these costs, deepening existing social inequalities.

Persistent Gender Pay Gaps and the Unseen Labor of Women

Despite decades of advocacy and international commitments, the gender pay gap remains a stark reality. Globally, women earn only 61% of what men earn per hour worked [ICRICT]. This disparity is even more pronounced when considering unpaid work – the often-invisible tasks that sustain societies, overwhelmingly performed by women. Including unpaid work reveals that women’s effective income plummets to a shocking 32%, highlighting a structural injustice demanding transformative action.

Financial Inclusion: Progress and Persistent Exclusion

While progress has been made in women’s financial inclusion – with 73% of women in low- and middle-income economies now having a financial account, 36% saving formally, and 58% making or receiving digital payments – significant gaps remain. 700 million women remain completely excluded from the financial system, lacking the tools to build economic resilience and achieve autonomy [ICRICT].

Legal and Economic Exclusion: A Political Choice

The World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law report consistently demonstrates that the legal and economic exclusion of women isn’t a technical failure, but a deliberate political decision hindering development. Laws guaranteeing economic equality are often not fully implemented, limiting women’s access to employment, credit, and entrepreneurship. This lack of enforcement reduces female participation in the economy and stifles overall growth.

Tax Havens and the Digital Economy: A Drain on Resources

The deliberate loss of tax revenue, particularly in the digital economy, exacerbates these inequalities. Digital platforms generate substantial profits in Global South markets through streaming, advertising, and e-commerce, yet often avoid paying taxes where they create value by exploiting legal loopholes and shifting profits to low- or no-tax jurisdictions. The 2025 Tax Justice Network report estimates that the world loses $492 billion each year due to global tax abuse by multinationals and the wealthy, disproportionately impacting low- and middle-income countries [ICRICT]. When corporations avoid taxes, the cost is often borne by women, through cuts to essential public services.

The Rise of Tax Justice Movements and International Cooperation

Despite the challenging global landscape, resistance and social mobilization are gaining momentum. The setbacks in the rules-based international order have paradoxically strengthened the response, particularly in the area of tax justice. Governments, coalitions, international organizations, and civil society are increasingly recognizing that tax justice is essential for global economic stability.

Challenging the Narrative: Taxing Wealth and the Public Good

Despite efforts by some wealthy individuals to promote the idea that taxing them would be harmful, evidence suggests otherwise. Even The Wall Street Journal has acknowledged that the low taxes paid by billionaires pose a problem for the economy. A study by the London School of Economics reveals that low effective tax rates for the super-rich erode support for middle-class taxation.

The UN Tax Convention: A Crucial Step Towards Equity

The Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT) emphasizes that the current international tax architecture perpetuates structural inequalities affecting women and girls. Reforming it is therefore an act of gender justice [ICRICT]. The negotiation of a United Nations Tax Convention, expected to be adopted in 2027, represents a critical multilateral space for addressing these issues. The convention should include provisions to correct gender imbalances and strengthen global tax equity.

Key Proposals for a Just Tax System

To achieve real tax justice, several key measures are needed: a global minimum tax of at least 25% on multinationals, a coordinated tax on the ultra-wealthy (potentially 2% of their wealth, as proposed by Gabriel Zucman), and a Global Asset Registry (GAR) to identify ultimate beneficiaries and curb evasion and illicit financial flows.

Regional and National Initiatives

Beyond the UN, momentum for tax justice and gender equality is building in other forums. Women’s economic empowerment was a key focus of the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. In the United States, despite withdrawal from UN tax negotiations, initiatives like the proposed referendum in California to establish a 5% tax on residents with wealth exceeding $1 billion demonstrate growing public support for greater contributions from the ultra-wealthy.

Looking Ahead: A Future Built on Tax Justice

Adequately taxing multinationals and the super-rich, and combating international tax evasion, are essential for funding care systems, social protection, and public services that support genuine equality between women and men. Without these resources, women’s rights remain an unfulfilled promise. Demanding tax justice is not merely a technical matter; it is a fundamental claim to women’s right to a dignified, free, and full life.