No Gender Equality For Another 170 Years: Study

There is some bad news for all those feminists slogging day and night trying to make the world a better place for both the genders. According to a study by the World Economic Forum, it will take 170 years for women to be equal to men.

The report was released after considering women's standing on 4 indexes. While the fields of educational attainment and health didn't see much disparity, there is a huge gap between men and women in terms of political empowerment and economic participation.

Differences in Political representation

Women are well known for their leadership and management skills but the ground reality is harsh. There are only a handful of countries with women at the helm of affairs. The poor representation of women in politics thwarts their attempts to make their voices heard in the national and global arena.

For instance,

The number of women who attended the Global Economic Forum summit held in Davos was abysmally low. Out of 1,300 leaders that came to the summit, only 20% were women 

According to sources, the global average for women in Parliament stands at 22.4%. India ranks 103 among the 141 ranks listed for 190 countries.

Also Read: What I Really Want Is Gender Equality, says Jacqueline Fernandez

Lack of economic independence

One would argue that more and more women are entering the workforce and becoming economically independent, but then, a lot of their work is unpaid. The onus of taking care of the household lies solely on the woman. This severely affects her productivity. As a result, she ends up earning less.

The prevalent gender pay gap between men and women is another important factor that aggravates the problem. Equal pay for equal work seems to be a distant dream.

Solutions

Accelerating efforts towards meeting gender-equality goals is the only concrete solution to the problem. The policy-makers must take this study as a clarion call to focus on women's development and combat issues related to gender inequality.

Countries located in the Middle East and North Africa must take a cue from Rwanda where women in power outnumber men.

Our take: Women are under-represented everywhere. Making them a visible strata of society is significant for their empowerment. Countries must opt for a multi-dimensional approach to uplift the status of women. With the right opportunities and encouragement, women can help the world prosper at a faster rate.

Also Read: Brazil, A Step Towards Gender Equality

Charvi Is An Intern With SheThePeople.TV