The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 5 aims to increase gender equality worldwide. SDG 5 seeks to improve women’s political representation, enhance women’s academic achievement, reduce gendered divisions of care and domestic labor and combat the violence and exploitation of women. This article will examine the implementation of SDG 5 in Cuba, highlighting successes and areas that require continued attention.

Women in Government

The Federation of Cuban Women (FMC) formed in 1960 to implement reforms following the revolution. The FMC continues to work towards achieving gender equality within the political and public spheres. According to the U.N. Resident Coordinator in Cuba, Francisco Pichon, Cuba has made remarkable strides in gender equality; its parliament is one of only six governments worldwide to have achieved gender parity in its membership. As of 2024, women hold 55.74% of seats in Cuba’s parliament. This represents a nearly doubling of women’s parliamentary representation. A gendered power gap continues to exist for key government positions. For example, women hold only 18.5% of cabinet minister positions.

Education for Women

SDG 5 in Cuba has achieved significant successes in the realm of equitable education. Cuban women have achieved high levels of academic success with women reaching educational parity with their male peers in 2013. Today, Cuban women, on average, are more educated than men. Efforts to reform the National Education System during reviews in 2023 and 2024 worked to integrate education on gender-based discrimination and lack of equity in unpaid labor.

Maternal Health Care

The realm of women’s health care Cuba has made remarkable progress. Today, Cuba has among the lowest maternal mortality rates in the world. Cuba’s efforts to reduce maternal mortality have seen them collaborate with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Efforts to bolster health and better allocate resources have built more robust health screenings and statistics on maternal health. The integration of genetic counseling at all levels of care has helped health care providers and women gain insight into individual health needs. Current efforts have been aimed at rebuilding lost gains that have occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic where mortality rates increased.

President Raúl Castro’s speech at the 2015 global leaders meeting emphasized the need for continued work to achieve true equality, stating that “Political will is much needed to avoid turning the results obtained so far into our goals instead of making them a starting point and a pledge to achieve true equality for women.” Cuba demonstrates both the rapidity at which effective change can occur but also the resilience of the entrenched patriarchal culture, even with presence of women in the halls of power and ideological commitment towards at the highest echelons.

Gender Disparities in the Labor Force

According to U.N. Women, significant gendered disparities existed in terms of labor and security. According to the 2025 Sustainable Development report, despite ever-increasing academic achievement, gaps in labor force equity exist. Cuba falls short of the SDG target indicator 5.4, which aims for a more equitable gender balance in unpaid domestic and care work. Women and girls 15 and up spent 21% of their time on unpaid domestic and care work, nearly double the 12.5% of time spent by men. SDG 5 in Cuba faces challenges in addressing a significant labor gap. Women comprise 39.5% of Cuba’s labor force, while men comprise 60.5%.

Cuba’s economy has stagnated over the last half decade, a trend with negative impacts on women in the labor force. When economies struggle, women bear the brunt of the effects. During times of recession, women are forced out of the workforce. About 17.5% of women in Cuba are in vulnerable employment, lacking the safety nets that help absorb economic shocks. Cuban women are less likely than their male peers to be in vulnerable employment, but major reversals for job security have occurred for both men and women since 1991. To drive the achievement of SDG 5 and strengthen its social safety net, the Cuban government has extended maternity benefits to 15 months. Cuba has made efforts to reduce the strain of care on women by increasing in-home care support for severely disabled children.

Violence Against Women and Girls

SDG 5.2 aims to combat violence against women and girls in public and private spheres. Statistics from U.N. Women point to the continued resilience of patriarchal violence in Cuba with data indicating 4.6% of Cuban women aged 15-49 had experienced physical and or sexual violence from a partner in the last 12 months. 

In Cuba, legal frameworks protecting women are often stronger than enforcement. In September 2022, the country ratified a new Family and Penal code. These new codes have stronger protections for custody of children, and in cases of divorce, materially punish perpetrators. The penal code establishes harsher punishment for crimes based on gender. Still, common police inaction in events of abuse mean there is a substantial gap in the enforcement of robust legal codes.

Takeaways 

Cuba has seen great success in the achievement of SDG 5 in the realms of parliamentary representation, education, and health. Economic hardship means that critical gains in women’s compensation for labor are at risk. An enduring patriarchal culture means much progress remains in eliminating domestic violence. Work towards achieving SDG 5 in Cuba has been heterogeneous, demonstrating that progress on the Sustainable Development Goals requires continuous effort.

– Atticus Flanagan

Atticus is based in Cambridge, MA, USA and focuses on Good News for The Borgen Project. 

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