18. The Commission is deeply concerned that over- 20. The Commission notes that with regard to all progress for women and girls across all the Millennium Development Goals remains slow and uneven, including on goal 3, both within and between countries, and that lack of progress on gender equality has hindered progress towards all of the Goals. It is especially concerned about the lack of progress for poverty-stricken regions and areas and for marginalized, vulnerable and disadvantaged women and girls and those women and girls who experience multiple forms of discrimination and inequalities of any kind. Millennium Development Goal 2 (achieving universal primary education), significant progress has been made in net primary school enrolments and towards eliminating gender disparity in primary education enrolment, but expresses concern that the heavy focus on numbers has resulted in less focus on completion, educational quality and learning outcomes. The Commission further notes the lack of progress in closing gender gaps in access to, retention in and completion of secondary education, which has been shown to contribute more strongly than primary school attendance to the achievement of gender equality, the empowerment of women, and the human rights of women and girls and several positive social and economic outcomes. The majority of youth lacking basic education are young women. Notwithstanding the progress made more needs to be done where progress remains uneven within groups and between countries to achieve the targets by 2015. 19. The Commission notes and expresses deep con- cern with regard to Millennium Development Goal 1 (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger), that poverty impedes women’s empowerment and progress towards gender equality, and that the feminization of poverty persists, and recognizes that significant gender gaps in employment rates and wages persist. The Commission is concerned that owing to, inter alia, socioeconomic inequalities and persistent discrimination in labour markets, women are more likely than men to be in precarious, vulnerable, gender-stereotyped and low paying forms of employment; bear a disproportionate share of unpaid care work; be engaged in the informal economy; and have less access to full and productive employment and decent work, social protection and pensions, which increases their risk of poverty, relative to men, particularly if they are living in households without other adult earners. It further notes that discriminatory norms contribute to women’s and girls’ greater vulnerability to extreme poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition and that girls and older women each face different and particular challenges. The Commission notes that current poverty measures do not adequately reflect women’s vulnerability to poverty, owing to inadequate data, inter alia, on income distribution within households. The Commission is further concerned that the targets on hunger also remain unmet, with adverse consequences for the health, livelihoods and well-being of women and girls. It notes the importance of food security and nutrition for achieving goal 1 and the need to address gender gaps in the fight against hunger, and recognizes that insufficient priority is given to addressing malnutrition in women and girls. 21. The Commission notes that with regard to Millennium Development Goal 3 (promoting gender equality and empowering women), progress has been slow, with persistent gender disparities in some regions in secondary and tertiary education enrolment; the lack of economic empowerment, autonomy and independence for women, including a lack of integration into the formal economy, unequal access to full and productive employment and decent work, underrepresentation in non-agricultural wage employment, overrepresentation in low paid jobs and gender-stereotyped jobs like domestic and care work, and the lack of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value; the unequal burden of unpaid care work and insufficient measures to reconcile paid work and care responsibilities; the persistence of discriminatory attitudes, norms, stereotypes and legal frameworks; insufficient social protection and insurance coverage for women; and, despite progress, the low proportion and unequal participation and representation of women at all levels of decision-making, including in national parliaments and other governance structures. 22. The Commission notes that with regard to Millennium Development Goal 4 (reducing child mortality), taking into account the important interconnections between women’s and children’s 5