The Effects of Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is the systematic exclusion of girls, women and non-binary people from social, economic and political life. It is a human rights issue that affects every person on Earth. It is one of the oldest and most persistent forms of inequality, holding back girls and women from realizing their full potential, and keeping them rooted in poverty.

Gender equality is a fundamental prerequisite for peaceful societies and sustainable development. It has been proven that when girls are empowered, everyone benefits. For example, a girl’s eventual income increases by up to 20% for every year she stays in school, which also encourages her to marry later and have fewer children, leaving them less vulnerable to violence. In addition, advancing gender equality can boost global economic growth by up to $28 trillion by 2025 – according to McKinsey Global Institute.

The effects of gender inequality are far-reaching and impact all aspects of a society’s well-being, including health, education, the economy and political participation. But the focus of policies tackling these issues often varies by country, depending on its context and stage of development. Some governments have focused on implementing laws that prohibit discrimination against sex or gender, while others are taking more action at a more structural level by examining the way in which gender bias and stereotypes influence policymaking and economic decisions.

There are many reasons to tackle gender inequality, but the most important is that it’s simply wrong. The fact that women are still disadvantaged in nearly every aspect of life means that their human rights are violated. This can be as simple as the fact that girls are systematically denied access to quality education, which leads them to live longer than boys, or that they are more likely to experience violence and be at greater risk of HIV infection.

As such, reducing the gender gap should be at the heart of any foreign policy agenda. Yet, despite the considerable attention to this issue, there is still much work to be done. It will take 131 years for the world to close the gap in all five indicators used to calculate the Global Gender Gap Index (GII), which incorporates female reproductive health, empowerment and labour force participation. This gap is also increasing in many countries, with the largest increases in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad and Afghanistan.