Rising Sovereign Debt Deepens Gender Inequality in Developing Nations

A UNDP analysis of 85 developing economies finds that rising sovereign-debt repayments disproportionately strip women of jobs and income. When governments shift fiscal space to debt service, cuts to social and care services—sectors where women dominate—trigger the loss of tens of millions of women’s jobs in the short and long term.

Sovereign debt repayments putting 55M women's jobs at risk: UN agency

From the early 2010s to 2022, debt-servicing burdens in the sample nearly doubled, spurred by higher interest rates, currency volatility and soaring oil, gas and fertilizer prices tied to the Middle-East war. The International Monetary Fund warns that rising private-lender exposure and steep cuts in overseas aid, including by the United Kingdom, further compress fiscal space.

The Guardian

The analysis shows that shifting from a moderate to a high debt-servicing burden cuts women’s per-capita income by about 17 % while men’s earnings stay flat, and it associates the shift with a 32.5 % rise in maternal mortality. UNDP estimates 55 million women’s jobs at risk—22 million in the short term and 38 million in the long term. At the study’s snapshot, 56 countries spent over 10 % of revenue on debt service.

The Guardian

UNDP Administrator Alexander De Croo urged creditor nations to adopt gender-responsive debt relief, warning that cuts to social spending disproportionately affect women. UNDP Global Director of Gender Equality Raquel Lagunas called for mandatory gender-impact assessments and gender-responsive budgeting to protect social and care investments. The IMF’s warning reinforces the need for coordinated fiscal reforms that shield vulnerable populations.

Sovereign debt repayments putting 55M women's jobs at risk: UN agency

The Guardian article cites 22 million short-term and 38 million long-term job losses, totaling 60 million, whereas the Associated Press piece reports 55 million women’s jobs at risk. Both figures derive from the same UNDP dataset but differ in aggregation methodology, leaving the precise scale of immediate job loss unclear.

The Guardian

• “Sovereign debt is not a math problem. It is a human one. This analysis sheds new light on how crushing debt payments leave many governments across the world with limited fiscal space and lead to cuts to vital social services – with the heaviest toll falling on women,” — Alexander De Croo, UNDP Administrator

Sovereign debt repayments putting 55M women's jobs at risk: UN agency

• “Helping women to have an income, to have a job, has a very high development outcome, and it actually has a higher development outcome than providing men with an income,” — Alexander De Croo

The Guardian

• “De Croo noted that "when care services are cut, responsibility shifts back onto households – with women carrying most of it, often limiting their access to economic opportunities.” — Alexander De Croo

Sovereign debt repayments putting 55M women's jobs at risk: UN agency

• “when public spending is squeezed by debt repayment, it is women who lose first — their jobs, their services, their economic security.” — Raquel Lagunas, UNDP Global Director of Gender Equality

Sovereign debt repayments putting 55M women's jobs at risk: UN agency

The UNDP report urges integrating gender-based impact assessments into sovereign-debt negotiations and tying debt-relief packages to safeguards for social spending. Upcoming IMF and World Bank dialogues may adopt gender-responsive budgeting, aiming to break the cycle where external shocks deepen debt vulnerability and undermine progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality.

Sovereign debt repayments putting 55M women's jobs at risk: UN agency