Introduction

Gender inequality refers to discrimination on the basis of an individual’s gender where

one gender is privileged over another. Today, we see gender inequality almost everywhere.

Whether it is the question of public access to resources, education, health, employment, and

other walks of life, gender inequality is often observed. Even families are not the exception, and

gender inequality is sadly present there.

Across the gender, usually, women and girls are discriminated against by men, and in

most cases, women are found to be the second recipients after men. They are deprived of most of

the basic necessities and its impact is observed on their physical, cognitive, and social life. It’s

the family and social norms that discriminate between men and women and in almost every

society, the gender differences perpetuate. Yes, it is true that in some societies, we may see less

gender inequality. Countries like Norway, Denmark, and the UK experience less gender

inequality than others. On the other hand, countries such as India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and

Middle-East countries have higher gender inequality.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) produces the “Gender Inequality

Index (GII)” which ranks countries on the Index value to show how much gender inequality

persists. According to the UNDP’s Human Development Report, “GII is a composite metric of

gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour

market. A low GII value indicates low inequality between women and men, and vice-versa.” The

value of GII varies from 0 to 1 where 0 represents no gender inequality and 1 represents the

highest gender inequality. Figure 1 shows the GII across the world in 2021.

Figure 1: GII across the world: 2021

As we can see African and Middle-East countries experience higher gender inequality while

countries from the North America and Europe experience low gender inequality. The rest of the

countries have a moderate level of gender inequality with values ranging from 0.3 to 0.6. On the

gender parity, Denmark is at the top with a GII value of 0.013 followed by Norway (0.016),

Switzerland (0.018), and Sweden (0.023) while Yemen is at the bottom by a GII value of 0.820

followed by Papua New Guinea (0.725), Nigeria (0.68), and Afghanistan (0.678). The US stands

at 44th position with a GII value of 0.179.

Over time, gender inequality has gradually fallen, although it still persists on a large

scale. Figure 2 shows the trend of the GII value of the US and the world from 1990 to 2021.

Figure 2: GII value of the world and the US: 1990 - 2021
 Source: ourworlddata.org

Between the years 1990 and 2017, the GII of the US varied between 0.3 and 0.2 and in 2018, the

first time, the GII value fell lower than 0.2.

Gender inequality in Job, occupation and wages in the US

(Globaldata.org). However, women enjoy equal rights and have equal access to resources as men

a large gender gap is observed in economic activities. The wage gap is significantly observed

across countries. Men and women get unequal pay for the same kind of jobs irrespective of

whether they are full-time or part-time workers (Gordon, 2021). However, over time, the wage

gap has reduced but still persists in most of countries. Figure 3 shows the wage gap across some

of the major countries including the US.

Figure 3: Wage gap across countries: 1990 - 2016

Source: ourworldindata.org

In 1990, the US had a wage gap of 28.5% which reduced to 18.1% in 2016. A similar

trend is observed in other countries too. In addition, women are underrepresented in high-profile

jobs from the middle to senior level. Figure 4 shows the female-to-male wage ratio in the US.
 Figure 4: Female-to-male wage ratio in the US: 2010

Source: ourworldindata.org

The female-to-male wage has always been lower than 1.0, although it has been decreasing over

time. The adjusted fill specification female-to-male wage ratio was 79.4% in 1980, raised to

91.4% in 1999 and 91.6% in 2010.

Figure 5 shows the proportion of women executives at senior level positions all around the world

in 2022.

Figure 5: Women’s proportion in senior-level jobs: 2022

Source: ourworldindata.org
As we can see countries such as the US, Russia, and Myanmar have 40-50% women

participation at senior level positions while countries like Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen have

less than 10% participation. Only three countries - Botswana, Costa Rica, and Jordan have

women’s participation of more than 50%.

Figure 6 shows the share of women in low-wage occupations in the US, in 2013

Figure 6: share of women in low-wage occupations in the US: 2013

Source: ourworldindata.org

A high proportion of women are engaged in low-wage occupations in the US. it shows gender

discrimination across the types of occupations where a large number of low-wage occupations

are offered to women while high-pay and high-position jobs are reserved for men.

Gender inequality in other areas in the US

including education and health. According to the OECD’s report, young women in the US

outperform young men in education and they are more likely to have a university degree. In the

age group of 25-34 years, around 46% of women earn a university degree whereas this

percentage is only 36% among men. Similarly, a significant difference is observed in health and
healthcare access among women. In the study of Cameron et al. (2010), it is found that women

are less likely to be hospitalized than men and they also have fewer physician visits than men. In

contrast, the higher use of home remedies among women indicates that they have a higher unmet

need for healthcare than men.

Gender differences are also observed in household work. Across the range of activities, a

significant difference is observed between men and women in shouldering the burden of

households in the US. A survey by Pew Research (2021) explored that around 59% of women

thought they were highly burdened with household chores. Among men, around 46% said the

household workload was equally distributed. Further, more than 47% of women said they did

more for the financing of their households while more than 50% confirmed their partner did

more. In the case of child care, around 74% of women said they did more to manage the schedule

and activities of children than their partners and around 54% of women said they did more to be

involved parents than their partners.

Why to reduce gender inequality

development of the human being. Gender equality ensures equal access and distribution of

resources and opportunities and hence, leads to overall growth and development. When women

are empowered and bring them at the same footing as men, the family, society, and nation all

grow and develop. An equally treated mother can better raise their children; well-educated

women can effectively share the burden of responsibility and contribute to the financial needs of

the family; and well-respected women can better make our family and society a good place to

live. To ensure gender equality, both political spirit and sensitization among men and society are

required. Through legislation, laws and programs, the government reduces the cases of violence,
exploitation, abuse and discrimination against women and reinforces the sense of gender

equality. Family members and elders can also contribute to inculcating a sense of gender equality

among others.

According to the UN Women, an investment of $1 in women generates a return of $20 and every

year spent in the school by girls increases their income by more than 20%. According to the

McKinsey Global Institute, gender equality can add $28 trillion to the global annual growth by

2025. Therefore, achieving gender equality is essential to our lives and future to be prosperous.

Conclusion
Gender inequality is one of the major barriers to sustainable growth and development. In almost

every region and society including the US, gender inequality is largely observed in many areas

such as health, education, employment, and others. Over time, gender inequality has gradually

reduced, but a lot remains to do. Women and men are indeed physically and psychologically

different and they can’t be expected to do the same work with the same efficiency. However, they

must have equal opportunities to pursue their goal of desire. Equality is one of the fundamental

rights that needs to be exercised in good spirit. Most important, the family and societal norms

should be gender neutral. The mindset of the people needs to be correct and free from any gender

biasness. We need to realize the importance of women’s contribution to our lives and inculcate

the sense of respect and pride for them. Then only, we can imagine a better world for us.
References:
Gender Inequality Index. (2021). Available at: https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/thematic-
composite-indices/gender-inequality-index#/indicies/GII
Gender Inequality Index (2021). Available at: https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/gender-
inequality-index-from-the-human-development-report?tab=chart&country=USA~OWID_WRL
Sex ratio in the US. (2021). Available at:
https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/macroeconomic/the-gender-ratio-of-united-states-of-
america-325511/
Gordon, C. (2021). Growing Apart: A political history of income inequality. Available at:
https://scalar.usc.edu/works/growing-apart-a-political-history-of-american-inequality/gender-
and-inequality
Closing the gender gap. OECD. Available at: https://www.oecd.org/unitedstates/Closing%20the
%20Gender%20Gap%20-%20USA%20FINAL.pdf
Cameron KA, Song J, Manheim LM, Dunlop DD. Gender disparities in health and healthcare use
among older adults. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2010 Sep;19(9):1643-50. doi:
10.1089/jwh.2009.1701.
Barosso, A. (2021). For American couples, gender gaps in sharing household responsibilities
persist amid pandemic. Pew research. Available at:
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/01/25/for-american-couples-gender-gaps-in-
sharing-household-responsibilities-persist-amid-pandemic/
Facts and Figures. UN Women. Available at:
https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/commission-on-the-status-of-women-2012/facts-
and-figures
Jonathan, W., Anu, M., Kweilin, E., et al. (2015). How advancing women’s equality can add $12
trillion to global growth. McKinsey Global Institute. Available at:
https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/employment-and-growth/how-advancing-womens-
equality-can-add-12-trillion-to-global-growth