A new UN report highlights gender-based violence against women over the past decade
“Half of the world’s people still believe that men make better political leaders than women, and more than 40 percent believe that men make better business managers than women,” according to the UN Development Program (UNDP) in its latest Social Security Index (GSNI) report.
Pedro Conceição, head of UNDP’s Human Development Research Center said: “Societal policies that undermine women’s rights are harmful to society more broadly.
More things change
A surprise 25 percent of people believe that it is right for a man to beat his wifeaccording to the report, highlighting the latest data from the Global Prices Survey.
The report argues that these inequities are causing the obstacles women face, manifesting in the erosion of women’s rights in many parts of the world including movement against racial equality having close and, in some countries, many human rights violations.
Discrepancy is also shown in the a strong imbalance of women in leadership. Overall, the proportion of women as heads of State or government has been around 10 per cent since 1995 and in the labor market women occupy less than a third of management positions.
Broken links are improved
The report also sheds light on the fragile link between women’s progress in education and economic empowerment. Women are more educated and educated than ever before, yet even in the 59 countries where women are now more educated than men, the The overall gender income gap remains at 39 percent in favor of men.
“The lack of progress on male social norms is showing against us human development crisis“Mr. Conceição said, noting that the global Human Development Index (HDI) declined in 2020 for the first time on record and again next year.
“Everyone stands to gain to ensure freedom and agency for women,” he added.
Governments’ important role
The UNDP report emphasizes that governments have an important role in changing gender social normsfrom the adoption of parental leave policies, which have changed the ideas around caring jobs, to labor market reforms which have led to a change in beliefs around women in the workplace.
“An important place to start considers the economic value of unpaid care work,” said Raquel Lagunas, director of the gender group of UNDP.
“This can be a very effective way of challenging gender norms around how care work is viewed. In countries with the highest levels of gender discrimination, it is estimated that women spend six times as much time as men on unpaid care work.”
SDG Target 5: Educational Equity.
Change can happen
The report emphasizes that despite the progress of violence against women, the data shows change can happen.
An increase in the percentage of people who are not biased in any indicator is evident in 27 of the 38 countries surveyed. The report’s authors say that to bring about change towards greater gender equality, there needs to be focus Expand human development through investment, insurance, and innovation.
This too investment in laws and policy measures that promote women’s equality in political participation, increase insurance policies, such as improving social security and care systems, and encourage new interventions that can be particularly effective in challenging harmful social orderpatriarchal attitudes, and gender attitudes.
For example, Combating online hate speech and information about gender can help shift broad gender norms toward greater acceptance and equality, according to the report.
The report recommends direct address social norms through education to change people’s views, policies and legal changes that recognize the rights of women in all areas of life, and more representation in decision-making and political processes.
