5 Key Lessons for Addressing Gender Inequality
Gender inequality is discrimination based on sex and gender, resulting in one sex or gender being routinely privileged or prioritized over another. It has serious consequences, including on economic development and social welfare. Gender equality is a fundamental human right and, as this article illustrates, there is much more to do to achieve it around the world.
Policy responses to gender inequalities are often focused on reducing gaps that can be measured by quantitative indicators, such as the gap between men’s and women’s labor market participation and earnings or the gender gap in education. However, such measures are only the surface of the problem: addressing the root causes requires tackling the cultural norms and gender bias that drive these gaps in the first place.
Despite significant progress over the past decades, there is still work to do to ensure that women and girls can fulfill their potential by being able to access quality, affordable education; have opportunities to develop their own businesses or take professional roles; be able to make choices about when, where and how to get married; and be free from harmful practices such as child marriage, early pregnancy and sexual violence. It also means ensuring that men have the space to assume a nurturing role, and not be pressured into unpaid or informal domestic work.
The following five key lessons show that addressing gender inequalities benefits everyone, and is essential for prosperity and sustainable development. 1. Reducing gender inequalities strengthens economies and contributes to stable societies.
Gender inequality undermines a country’s economic performance and reduces overall social welfare, causing distortions and undermining growth. It is a major impediment to sustainable development, and should therefore be addressed as a matter of urgency by governments, businesses and other actors.
2. Reducing gender inequalities improves lives and makes for more stable, secure and prosperous societies.
Gender equality benefits all people, and is the best way to ensure that everyone can thrive. When women and girls have the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities as men, families are stronger, economies grow, children can fulfil their full potential, and society is more stable, secure and prosperous.
3. The most powerful approach to reducing gender inequalities is to tackle the root causes.
A holistic, gender-aware approach to development recognizes that men and women have different needs, aspirations and challenges. It takes into account the fact that some of the roots of gender inequality are social and cultural, and should be addressed through policies aimed at transforming norms and beliefs. At the same time, policies aiming to reduce gender gaps can also help, by improving women’s living conditions and making it easier for them to participate in the economy. For example, ensuring that girls stay in school for as long as possible improves their prospects of employment and wealth, while reducing male incarceration rates makes societies safer and more stable. This is why it is important to distinguish between gender gaps and underlying gender bias and social norms, which should be tackled through direct policy interventions.