Women across the globe may have come a long way, but their struggle for equality still has a way to go.

As the world marked International Women’s Day, with the theme “Women in the Changing World of Work: Planet 50-50 by 2030”, some figures will help put things in perspective.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), women worldwide earn on average 23 percent less than men. At this pace, says the ILO, it would take 70 years to close the gap.

The statistics regarding violence against women also present a bleak picture.

About 35 percent of women around the world have been victims of physical or sexual violence, according to the United Nations. Some 200 million women and girls have been subjected to a form of genital mutilation and 700 million have been married before the age of 18.

In Nepal, a UNFPA 2016 report published November last year said one in seven women suffered physical or sexual violence from their intimate partners “in the past 12 months”.

International Women’s Day was marked in Nepal as well as across the globe on Wednesday with calls to action, but rights activists say the fight for equality continues to face new threats.