Expanding women’s economic opportunities is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The pace of improvement in expanding women’s economic empowerment and closing gender gaps has been far too slow, while gender inequalities in other critical areas including political representation and protection against violence, are persistent and pervasive. Four overarching systemic constraints to the economic empowerment of women are identified: adverse social norms; discriminatory laws and lack of legal protection; the failure to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid household work and care; and a lack of access to financial, digital and property assets.