There are 476 million indigenous peoples around the world, constituting 6.2 percent of the global population and, according to different sources, representing more than 19% of the extreme poor (ILO, 2019) of the world. Half of this population are women (approximately 240 million).

Even though indigenous peoples represent 19 percent of the global poor population (ILO, 2019), it is important to highlight that indigenous peoples and indigenous women are not vulnerable populations per se.

For thousands of years, indigenous women have played a fundamental role in preserving their livelihoods, languages, culture, cosmogony and territory. However, the systemic lack of recognition of their rights, in particular indigenous peoples’ right to self-identification and their collective rights, places them in situations of increased discrimination, vulnerability, poverty, conflict and food insecurity.

This document presents some of the main challenges that indigenous women face and provide recommendations to eliminate the barriers that prevent indigenous women from achieving their full potential and their ability to contribute to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, are enlisted below.