Women’s Rights Foundation – Accelerating Progress Towards Gender Equality

Women are half the world’s population and, as such, deserve equal rights to live full lives and fulfill their potential. Gender equality is essential to peaceful societies, economic growth, and sustainable development. Women must be able to prioritize their health and well-being, control how many children they have and when they want them, and work to achieve a decent standard of living. They should be able to choose the type of employment they want, receive equal pay for their work, and live free from sexual violence and discrimination.

Despite significant progress in some countries, there is much more to be done. Women continue to face a range of barriers that prevent them from exercising their autonomy and achieving gender equality, including widespread discrimination, sexism, misogynistic attitudes, and patriarchal traditions like child marriage, female genital mutilation, and harmful traditional practices. They are also disproportionately affected by violent forms of abuse in their homes and communities, with a high prevalence of domestic violence and a lower level of access to services that protect them from abuse.

The foundation works to accelerate progress toward a gender-equal world by identifying and dismantling the obstacles that prevent women and girls from exercising their bodily autonomy, planning for and starting healthy families, prioritizing their own health and well-being, ensuring they can be economically active in society, and being leaders in their communities. When women are able to make decisions about their own bodies, they are able to focus on their careers, provide their children with better education and healthcare, and participate in civic life. This in turn benefits the entire economy, as more and more women are able to contribute their skills, ideas, and creativity to the workplace.

When Americans are asked what they think a society with equal rights for women and men would look like, nearly half say it would mean equal pay, while others point to no discrimination in the workplace and paid maternity and paternity leave. However, more than two-thirds of both Democrats and Republicans say that women have not gained the same rights as men in the past decade.

Deep legal and legislative changes are needed to ensure the equal rights of women and men. While 143 countries have written equality into their constitutions, women still earn 20 per cent less than men globally and are underrepresented in parliaments. In addition, widespread discrimination and abuse are still present and a large number of people – particularly in rural areas – do not have access to the legal tools necessary to protect their rights. This is why the ACLU is dedicated to advancing and defending women’s rights through litigation, advocacy, and public education. This includes efforts to tackle laws and policies that limit a woman’s freedom and opportunity, such as those that prohibit women from working in certain sectors or professions or that exclude them from political decision-making. To date, we have defended more than 150 cases that advance the rights of women and girls in the United States and internationally.