https://www.unicef.

org/gender-equality

Girls and boys see gender inequality in their homes and communities every day – in textbooks,
in the media and among the adults who care for them.

Parents may assume unequal responsibility for household work, with mothers bearing the brunt
of caregiving and chores. The majority of low-skilled and underpaid community health workers
who attend to children are also women, with limited opportunity for professional growth.

And in schools, many girls receive less support than boys to pursue the studies they choose. This
happens for a variety of reasons: The safety, hygiene and sanitation needs of girls may be
neglected, barring them from regularly attending class. Discriminatory teaching practices and
education materials also produce gender gaps in learning and skills development. As a result,
nearly 1 in 4 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are neither employed nor in education or
training – compared to 1 in 10 boys.

Worldwide, nearly 1 in 4 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 are neither employed nor in
education or training – compared to 1 in 10 boys.

Yet, in early childhood, gender disparities start out small. Girls have higher survival rates at
birth, are more likely to be developmentally on track, and are just as likely to participate in
preschool. Among those who reach secondary school, girls tend to outperform boys in reading
across every country where data are available.

But the onset of adolescence can bring significant barriers to girls’ well-being. Gender norms
and discrimination heighten their risk of unwanted pregnancy, HIV and AIDS, and malnutrition.
Especially in emergency settings and in places where menstruation remains taboo, girls are cut
off from the information and supplies they need to stay healthy and safe.
UNICEF Nepal/2019/SKLama “I realized the harm I would be causing myself if I agreed to get
married,” says Rashida Khatun, 14, in south-eastern Nepal. Rashida is enrolled in a UNICEF-
supported programme that provides out-of-school girls with basic numeracy, literacy and life
skills. “When I first joined the class, I didn’t know that children had rights, or that child marriage
was a violation of those rights... I told [my mother] I didn’t want to ruin my future by getting
married so young. I told her that I wanted to complete my studies, become a nurse.”
In its most insidious form, gender inequality turns violent. Some 1 in 20 girls between the ages
of 15 and 19 – around 13 million – have experienced forced sex. In times of both peace and
conflict, adolescent girls face the highest risk of gender-based violence. Hundreds of millions of
girls worldwide are still subjected to child marriage and female genital mutilation – even though
both have been internationally recognized as human rights violations. And violence can occur at
birth, like in places where female infanticide is known to persist.

Some 1 in 20 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 – around 13 million globally – have
experienced forced sex in their lifetimes.

Harmful gender norms are perpetuated at the highest levels. In some countries, they become
entrenched in laws and policies that fail to uphold – or that even violate – girls’ rights, like laws
that restrict women from inheriting property. Boys also suffer from gender norms: Social
conceptions of masculinity can fuel child labour, gang violence, disengagement from school, and
recruitment into armed groups.

What progress has been made for girls and young women?

Despite major hurdles that still deny them equal rights, girls refuse to limit their ambitions. Since
the signing of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 1995 – the most comprehensive
policy agenda for gender equality – the world has seen uneven progress.

More and more girls are attending and completing school, and fewer are getting married or
becoming mothers while still children themselves. But discrimination and limiting stereotypes
remain rife. Technological change and humanitarian emergencies are also confronting girls with
new challenges, while old ones – violence, institutionalized biases, poor learning and life
opportunities – persist.

That’s why girls from all walks of life are boldly raising their voices against inequality. Girl-led
movements are stopping child marriage and female genital mutilation, demanding action on
climate change, and trail-blazing in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math
(STEM) – asserting their power as global change-makers.

What is UNICEF doing to promote gender equality?

UNICEF builds partnerships across the global community to accelerate gender equality. In all
areas of our work, we integrate strategies that address gender-specific discrimination and
disadvantages.

This means partnering with national health sectors to expand quality maternal care and support
the professionalization of the mostly female front-line community health workforce. It means
promoting the role of women in the design and delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene
(WASH) ecosystems. And it means working with the education sector to ensure girls and boys
thrive in their learning and find pathways to meaningful employment.

For adolescent girls especially, UNICEF invests in skills building to further their economic
empowerment – as entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders. We focus on providing learning
environments at a time and place that suit girls’ individual circumstances. We also work on
assistive technologies for girls with disabilities, and on the expansion of digital platforms,
vocational training and apprenticeships.

UNICEF

Supporting girls’ pathway from education to employment requires more than learning
opportunities. It requires keeping girls safe from all forms of violence, in and out of school.

Our targeted initiatives to prevent and respond to gender-based violence help end child marriage,
eliminate female genital mutilation, provide safe spaces, support menstrual health management,
deliver HIV and AIDS care, meet psychosocial needs and more. We invest in innovative models
that protect even the hardest-to-reach girls – like virtual safe spaces and apps that allow them to
report violence and connect to local resources for support.

To guide investment and programming decisions at the national and global levels, we collect,
quantify and share data critical for understanding ongoing and emerging challenges and
solutions. What’s more, we tap into the power of youth to shape solutions for their own
generation.