Truefeeling :: Gender Inequity

Suggested Citation: Satya, B. and Satya J. (2003). Gender Inequity in the World.. Retreived from http://www.truefeeling.com/genderinequity.htm

Gender Inequity in the World
Even though women have acquired a lot of what was always theirs - there is still a lot that needs to be gained at present. Women and men don't experience the challenges of today in the same way. The reason being that women don't have the same kind of control as men - they own less than 1% of the world's land property even though they are often responsible for the majority of agricultural production! They are often bigger victims of the socio-cultural, economic and political trends than men.

Gender disparity still exists today because the socio-economic and legal system of the world reinforces evils like 'feminization of poverty', 'glass ceilings', violence against women, few ownership opportunities, poor employment earnings and lower chances to participate politically. In fact, even today this is not recognized in many socieites around the world. Biases against women are deeply rooted in the human culture - it is only with the eradication of poverty and promotion of education that a significant change can occur in our thinking patterns, and the world.

As per the United Nations Population Fund, "A more striking finding is that there are disproportionately more women living in poverty in male-headed households and fewer men living in poverty in female-headed households. Because female-headed households account for a small proportion of the population, their contribution to aggregate poverty is small compared to all females living in poverty."

It is always the poor and weak that suffer: an estimated 80% of all internally displaced persons and refugees are women and children - women and children constitute a disproportionate number of civilians affected by armed conflict.

Recent time-use surveys show that at least half of women's total work time is spent on unpaid work. Data from nine developing countries showed even larger differences, with women spending on average 34% of their time on paid market work and 66% on non-paid market work, compared to 76% and 24% respectively, for men. Women also work longer hours than men in nearly every country. Of the total burden of work, women account for 53% in developing countries and 51% in industrial countries. It is also interesting to note that low-income women have longer working days than higher income women - leading to further loss in nutrition and health status. The differences in the work patterns of men and women, and the "invisibility" of unpaid work not included in national accounts, lead to lower entitlements to women than to men. This inequity in turn perpetuates larger gender gaps.

In a gender-fair world there would be equal representation of women at all decision-making levels of institutions (regional, national and international), expansion and enrichment in the roles of women in all fields, and establishment of meaningful policies on the representation of women and gender issues.

IFPRI research shows that reducing inequalities within the household by equalizing human capital and land, and utilizing inputs provided by women can increase crop yields by 20-25 per cent. For example, in Kenya giving women farmers the same education and resources as men increased yields by 22 per cent. Isn't it fascinating to imagine where our world would be if there was no discrimination between men and women? There is still so much potential that we haven't tapped into...

Resources:
AAUW. (1997). Title IX: Report Card on Gender Equity.
     Retreived from: http://www.aauw.org/1000/title9.html
AAUW. (1997). How Schools Shortchange Girls. Retreived from: http://www.aauw.org/2000/hssg.html
The World's Women. (2000). Trends and Statistics.
     Retreived from:http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/gender/
UN Security Council. (2000). Background Paper on Women and Peace and Security.
     Retreived from:      http://www.thecommonwealth.org/gender/htm/whatwedo/activities/politics/UNBackground.doc
UNDP. (1999). Human Development Report 1999: Globalization with a Human Face. New York.
      Oxford University Press.
UNDP.(1995). Human Development Report 1995: Gender and Development. New York:
      Oxford University Press.
UNFPA.( 2002). Women and Gender Inequality. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2002/english/ch4/index.htm

Organizations/Programs:
United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
UN, Department of Economic and Social Affairs
National Council on Research on Women ( NCRW )
IS Department of State, Women Issues (WI)
National Organization for Women (NOW)

Dates:
International Women's Day: March 8
World Rural Women's Day: October 15


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	Suggested Citation: Satya, B. and Satya J. (2003). Gender Inequity in the World.. Retreived from http://www.truefeeling.com/genderinequity.htm Gender Inequity in the World Even though women have acquired a lot of what was always theirs - there is still a lot that needs to be gained at present. Women and men don't experience the challenges of today in the same way. The reason being that women don't have the same kind of control as men - they own less than 1% of the world's land property even though they are often responsible for the majority of agricultural production! They are often bigger victims of the socio-cultural, economic and political trends than men. Gender disparity still exists today because the socio-economic and legal system of the world reinforces evils like 'feminization of poverty', 'glass ceilings', violence against women, few ownership opportunities, poor employment earnings and lower chances to participate politically. In fact, even today this is not recognized in many socieites around the world. Biases against women are deeply rooted in the human culture - it is only with the eradication of poverty and promotion of education that a significant change can occur in our thinking patterns, and the world. As per the United Nations Population Fund, "A more striking finding is that there are disproportionately more women living in poverty in male-headed households and fewer men living in poverty in female-headed households. Because female-headed households account for a small proportion of the population, their contribution to aggregate poverty is small compared to all females living in poverty." It is always the poor and weak that suffer: an estimated 80% of all internally displaced persons and refugees are women and children - women and children constitute a disproportionate number of civilians affected by armed conflict. Recent time-use surveys show that at least half of women's total work time is spent on unpaid work. Data from nine developing countries showed even larger differences, with women spending on average 34% of their time on paid market work and 66% on non-paid market work, compared to 76% and 24% respectively, for men. Women also work longer hours than men in nearly every country. Of the total burden of work, women account for 53% in developing countries and 51% in industrial countries. It is also interesting to note that low-income women have longer working days than higher income women - leading to further loss in nutrition and health status. The differences in the work patterns of men and women, and the "invisibility" of unpaid work not included in national accounts, lead to lower entitlements to women than to men. This inequity in turn perpetuates larger gender gaps. In a gender-fair world there would be equal representation of women at all decision-making levels of institutions (regional, national and international), expansion and enrichment in the roles of women in all fields, and establishment of meaningful policies on the representation of women and gender issues. IFPRI research shows that reducing inequalities within the household by equalizing human capital and land, and utilizing inputs provided by women can increase crop yields by 20-25 per cent. For example, in Kenya giving women farmers the same education and resources as men increased yields by 22 per cent. Isn't it fascinating to imagine where our world would be if there was no discrimination between men and women? There is still so much potential that we haven't tapped into... Resources: AAUW. (1997). Title IX: Report Card on Gender Equity. Retreived from: http://www.aauw.org/1000/title9.html AAUW. (1997). How Schools Shortchange Girls. Retreived from: http://www.aauw.org/2000/hssg.html The World's Women. (2000). Trends and Statistics. Retreived from:http://www.un.org/Depts/unsd/gender/ UN Security Council. (2000). Background Paper on Women and Peace and Security. Retreived from: http://www.thecommonwealth.org/gender/htm/whatwedo/activities/politics/UNBackground.doc UNDP. (1999). Human Development Report 1999: Globalization with a Human Face. New York. Oxford University Press. UNDP.(1995). Human Development Report 1995: Gender and Development. New York: Oxford University Press. UNFPA.( 2002). Women and Gender Inequality. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2002/english/ch4/index.htm Organizations/Programs: United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) UN, Department of Economic and Social Affairs National Council on Research on Women ( NCRW ) IS Department of State, Women Issues (WI) National Organization for Women (NOW) Dates: International Women's Day: March 8 World Rural Women's Day: October 15
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