Gender Inequality

Gender inequality refers to a society’s attitudes and practices that treat women as inferior and deny them the same rights, opportunities and privileges as men. These attitudes and practices can stem from deeply embedded cultural stereotypes, historical traditions, and distorted religious beliefs.

Discrimination against women manifests itself in varying degrees in the following domains: [2]

• Capabilities: refers to basic human abilities as measured by education, health, and nutrition. These capabilities are fundamental to individual well-being and are the means through which individuals access other forms of well-being.
• Access to resources and opportunities: refers to equal opportunity to use or apply basic capabilities through access to economic assets (e.g. land, property, or infrastructure) and resources (e.g. income and employment), as well as political opportunity (e.g. representation in parliaments and other political bodies). Without access to resources and opportunities, both political and economic, women will be unable to employ their capabilities for their well-being and that of their families, communities, and societies.
• Security: defined here to mean reduced vulnerability to violence and conflict. Violence and conflict result in physical and psychological harm and lessen the ability of individuals, households, and communities to fulfill their potential. Violence directed specifically at women and girls often aims at keeping them in “their place” through fear.

Important as it is for women’s well-being and the development of societies,
education alone is insufficient to eliminate the wide range of gender inequalities found in many societies. Education may be an important precondition to women’s empowerment, but it does not guarantee that empowerment. For this to occur, women must also enjoy equal rights with men, equal economic opportunities, use of productive assets, freedom from drudgery, equal representation in decisionmaking bodies, and freedom from the threat of violence and coercion. [2]

For more information visit our Education & Employment page.

"... gender inequality has a higher toll on women's health due to the discrimination they face in nearly every culture. Gender inequality exacerbates the harmful effects of poverty and lack of education on women's health, hampering the ability of millions of women worldwide to access health care and achieve the best possible level of health."[3]

For more information, visit our Health page.

"Women's struggle for freedom from violence in the home, on the streets and in the workplace has existed throughout history. Violence against women and girls is a measure of women's vulnerability in society and serves to perpetuate inequality. As long as women live in fear, they will never be able to fully engage in the social, political and economic development of their communities." [14]

For more information, visit our Violence page.

In the Islamic world discrimination against women has reached the point where it is referred to as Gender Apartheid. Women often are not treated as human beings. Their activities are monitored and curtailed. The smallest infraction – a glimpse of white socks or a wisp of hair – can result in severe punishment. In many countries, women must be veiled from head to toe in public. They live in purdah and lead segregated lives. Women are forced into arranged, often polygamous marriages, often when they are children, and often to much older men. Beating of women and girls is routine and culturally sanctioned. In many Islamic countries, women are not allowed to vote, drive, leave the house, or leave the country without written permission of their male guardian.

In 2005, a hospital in Tehran was accused of refusing entry to women who did not wear head-to-toe covering. In 2002, in Saudi Arabia, religious policemen prevented 14 year old schoolgirls from leaving a burning school building because they were not wearing their headscarves and abayahs. Fifteen girls died.

Dowry murder: A practice seen predominantly in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, in which a woman is killed by her husband or in-laws because her family is unable to meet their demands for her dowry.

Honor killings: In countires such as Pakistan, Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Morocco and other Mediterranean and Gulf countries, rape victims, women suspected of engaging in premarital sex, and women accused of adultery are murdered by their relatives – the violation of a woman’s chastity is seen as an affront to the family’s honor.

Child marriages: The practice of early marriage is prevalent in Africa and South Asia. Young girls are often forced into the marriage and into sexual relations which can leave them with internal injuries such as fistula, raise their risk of exposure to HIV/AIDS, and limit their chances of attending school. Because of their young age, the girls are vulnerable to sexual abuse from other family members.

Sex-selective abortion and female infanticide are practised in areas such as southern and eastern Asia where cultural norms value male children over female children. Sex-selective abortion targets female fetuses that have been identified through ultrasound. Where ultrasound is not available, the alternative is female infanticide, the selective killing of female infants, usually through abandonment. Although China and India have made it illegal to reveal the sex of a fetus, abortion and abandonment of females still occur. The number of girls born and surviving in India is significantly lower than the number of boys. The normal ratio of births should be 950 girls for every 1000 boys, however in some regions the number is as low as 300. [4] In China, 118 boys were born in 2005 for every 100 girls. [5]

Female genital mutilation is a deeply rooted fertility or coming-of-age ritual in the Arab world. Estimates say over 130 million girls and women alive today have undergone FGM, mainly in Africa and some Middle Eastern countries. [6]

Gender equity reduces poverty, generates economic activity and improves the quality of health and productivity of the family unit. [5]

“There can be no development, and no lasting peace on the planet, if women continue to be relegated to subservient and often dangerous and back-breaking roles in society. … Gender equality is vital for achieving all of the Millennium Development Goals. Women carry the brunt of poverty. They support and care for their families. They sustain life by collecting food, fuel, and water. It is time for development practice not only to honor those life-sustaining roles, but to promote women’s rights, empowerment, and leadership actively at the center of economic development.” [7]

Gender equality and the well-being of children go hand in hand. Gender equality furthers the cause of child survival and development. Gender equality produces a double dividend: It benefits both women and children. Healthy, educated and empowered women have healthy, educated and confident daughters and sons. Gender equality will not only empower women to overcome poverty and live full and productive lives, but will better the lives of children, families and countries as well. [8]

In 1979 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Described as an international bill of rights for women, it came into force on 3 September 1981. The United States is the only developed nation that has not ratified the CEDAW. [9]

The third of the UN Millennium Development Goals is to promote gender equality and empower women. The UN Millenium Campaign claims, "Every single Goal is directly related to women's rights, and societies where women are not afforded equal rights as men can never achieve development in a sustainable manner." [10]

Women hold at least 40 per cent of the seats in five parliaments: Rwanda (48.8 per cent), Sweden (47 per cent), Cuba (43.2 per cent), Finland (41.5 per cent) and Argentina (40 per cent). Women constitute less than 10 per cent of the members of parliament in one third of all countries. Despite greater parliamentary participation, women are largely absent from the highest levels of governance. In January 2008, women accounted for 7 of the 150 elected heads of state and 8 of the 192 heads of government of United Nations Member States. [11]

In 2005, 90 million women were estimated to be missing in seven Asian countries alone, apparently due to sex-selective abortion. [13]

There are no known cultures that practice sex selection in favour of females.

A woman has never held the position of UN Secretary-General.