Inequality between genders doesn’t only affect individuals – it can change entire economy.
What does gender inequality look like?
- It’s women working longer hours than men but being paid less. It’s women making up two-thirds of all illiterate peoplein the world. It’s less than 7% of world leaders being women.
- On paper, gender inequality is a long list of statistics showing the imbalance of power between men and women.
- In real terms, gender inequality is a major challenge on local, national and global levels.
- Not only does it affect the lives of individual men and women, but the inequality between genders also stunts economic growth and hinders development.
WHY IS GENDER EQUALITY IMPORTANT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?
- Sustainable development relies on ending discrimination towards women, and providing equal opportunities for education and employment.
- Gender equality has been conclusively shown to stimulate economic growth, which is important, especially in countries with higher unemployment rates and less economic opportunity.
- Unless women have access to empowerment opportunities, allowing them to join the workforce, many countries won’t develop as well as they could.
GENDER EQUALITY IN EDUCATION AND THE WORKPLACE
· For each extra year of primary schooling, girls will earn 10 to 20% more when they start working. More years of schooling also means girls marry at a later age and are less vulnerable to intimate partner violence.
· Gender equality in the workplace means both making sure women have the same opportunities, and are paid the same as men for equal work. To help address this, our women’s empowerment projects look at professional development and ongoing training.
WHAT CAN YOU DO IN SUPPORT OF GENDER EQUALITY?
The gap between genders is widest in low and middle-income countries. To add to the support available to women around the world, you can volunteer in women’s empowerment projects.
This is all about importance of Gender Inequality.
This blog is authored by Sandhya Vasudevan- Technocrat Club- AAM
