Gender equality
Gender equality (also known as gender equity, gender
egalitarianism, or sexual equality) is the goal of
the equality of the genders,[1] stemming from a belief in
the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.
The movement towards gender equality, especially in
Western countries, began with
the suffragette movement of the late-19th century. Then
there was a change in relation to a woman's property
rights in marriage. (See for example, Married Women's
Property Act 1882.) In the 1960s, a more general
movement for gender equality developed based
on women's liberation and feminism. However, actual
changes in attitudes continued to focus on specific
issues.
The movement resulted in changes to laws, either relating to
particular issues or general anti-sex discrimination laws.
Changes to attitudes to equality in education opportunities for
boys and girls has also undergone a cultural shift. Some
changes came about by adopting affirmative action policies.
The change has also involved changes to social views, including
"equal pay for equal work" as well as most occupations
being equally available to men and women, in many countries.
For example, many countries now permit women to serve in
the armed forces, the police force and to be fire fighters. Also,
an increasing number of women are active in politics and
occupy high positions in business.
Conversely, men increasingly are working in occupations which
in previous generations had been considered "female
occupations", such as nursing. Also, in the home, while
acknowledging the biological differences between men and
women, most notably in relation to child bearing, the role of
child rearing is not as widely considered to be an exclusively
female role. Another manifestation of the change in social
attitudes is the non-automatic taking by a woman of her
husband's surname on marriage, as well as a wife being free to
pursue her career after marriage.
Many people, feminist and not, still do not regard the objective
of gender equality as having been achieved, especially in non-
Western countries. A highly contentious issue relating to
gender equality is the role of women in Christian churches, and
female priests. The issue has caused splits in some churches.
Not all ideas for gender equality have been popularly adopted.
For example, the movement for topfreedom rights has
remained a marginal issue, though breast feeding rights in
semi-public places have been accepted. However, women
embracing pornography and anti-social behaviour at times
associated with male groups is widely criticised.[citation needed]
World bodies have defined gender equality in terms of human
rights, especially women's rights, and economic
development.[2][3] UNICEF defines gender equality as
"levelling the playing field for girls and women by ensuring that
all children have equal opportunity to develop their talents."[4]
The United Nations Population Fund has declared that
women have a right to equality.[5] "Gender equity" is one of the
goals of the United Nations Millennium Project, to end
world poverty by 2015; the project claims, "Every single Goal
is directly related to women's rights, and societies where
women are not afforded equal rights as men can never achieve
development in a sustainable manner."[3]
Thus, promoting gender equality is seen as an encouragement
to greater economic prosperity.[2] For example, nations of
the Arab world that deny equality of opportunity to women
were warned in a 2008 United Nations-sponsored report that
this disempowerment is a critical factor crippling these nations'
return to the first rank of global leaders in commerce, learning
and culture.[6]
In 2010, the European Union opened the European Institute
for Gender Equality (EIGE) in Vilnius, Lithuania to
promote gender equality and to fight sex discrimination.
Laws
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women or CEDAW (United
Nations, 1979)
Danish Act of Succession referendum, 2009
Equal Pay Act of 1963 (United States)
Equality Act 2006 (UK)
Equality Act 2010 (UK)
European charter for equality of women and men in
local life
Gender Equality Duty in Scotland
Gender Equity Education Act (Taiwan)
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (United States, 2009)
List of gender equality lawsuits
Paycheck Fairness Act (in the US)
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (United States)
Uniform civil code (India)
Women's Petition to the National Assembly (France,
1789)
[edit]Organizations and ministries
Afghan Ministry of Women Affairs (Afghanistan)
Centre for Development and Population Activities
Christians for Biblical Equality
Committee on Women's Rights and Gender
Equality (European Parliament)
Equal Opportunities Commission (UK)
European Institute for Gender Equality
Gender Empowerment Measure, a metric used by the
United Nations
Gender-related Development Index, a metric used by the
United Nations
Government Equalities Office (UK)
International Center for Research on Women
Ministry of Integration and Gender Equality (Sweden)
Ministry of Women, Family and Community
Development (Malaysia)
Philippine Commission on Women (Philippines)
Total E-Quality (Germany)
{5} SELECTED FACTS ON GENDER EQUALITY
* Of the world's one billion poorest people, three fifths are
women and girls.
* Of the 960 million adults in the world who cannot read, two
thirds are women.
* Seventy per cent of the 130 million children who are out of
school are girls.
* With notable exceptions, such as Rwanda and the Nordic
countries, women are conspicuously absent from parliaments,
making up, on average, only 16 per cent of parliamentarians
worldwide.
* Everywhere, women typically earn less than men, both because
they are concentrated in low-paying jobs and because they are
paid less for the same work.
* Although women spend about 70 per cent of their unpaid time
caring for family members, that contribution to the global
economy remains invisible.
* Up to half of all adult women have experienced violence at the
hands of their intimate partners.
* Systematic sexual violence against women has characterized
almost all recent armed conflicts and is usedas a tool of terror and
"ethnic cleansing".
* In sub-Saharan Africa, 57 per cent of those living with HIV are
women, and young women aged 15 to 24 years are at least three
times more likely to be infected than men of the same age.
* Each year, half a million women die and 10 to 15 million suffer
chronic disability from preventable complications of pregnancy
and childbirth.
{8} PROMOTING GENDER EQUALITY AND EMPOWERING
WOMEN: THE VALUE OF THE CULTURE LENS
UNFPA's cooperative approach to programming integrates three
elements: human rights, gender mainstreaming and cultural
sensitivity. It is based on the following premises:
* All human beings are entitled to equal rights and protections.
* Gender mainstreaming is a strategic response to the
widespread denial of women's human rights.
* Culturally sensitive approaches involve communities in
supporting human rights in many cultural contexts.
Gender Equality, Women's Empowerment and Culture
"Cultural issues...
