Giving Compass' Take:

• Emma Batha reports that a new index rates countries' status on gender equality and finds that no country is on track for their gender equality goals set out in the SDGs. 

• How can funders work to further the progress that is being made in around the world? Where is additional support needed? 

• Read a gender equality giving guide. 

World leaders are failing 1.4 billion girls and women on promises of a fairer future, according to a global index launched at the world's biggest gender equality conference.

The research shows the world is way off track to meet a 2030 deadline for achieving gender equality, with not one country having reached the "last mile."

In 2015, world leaders did just that when they placed girls and women at the heart of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), promising sweeping transformations by 2030.

The new index ranks 129 countries on dozens of SDG targets related to women, be it health, education, violence or work.

Denmark, Finland, and Sweden topped the list, while Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad came bottom.

Nearly 40% of girls and women — 1.4 billion — live in countries graded "very poor"; another 1.4 billion in countries graded "poor."

Only 8% of girls and women live in countries ranked "good." No country achieved an "excellent" score, while the global average was "poor."

But Equal Measures 2030 (EM2030), the partnership behind the index, also noted some surprising success stories.

Senegal has a greater proportion of women in parliament (42%) than Denmark (37%), while 3 in 4 Kenyan women use digital banking — higher than many wealthier countries.

Read the full article about gender equality goals by Emma Batha at Global Citizen.