Women’s Rights Around the World

Despite substantial progress in advancing women’s rights, we have much further to go. Women continue to face a range of challenges, including poverty, discrimination and violence in the workplace, disproportionate burdens of unpaid work, low representation in parliament and other decision-making bodies, lack of access to education and health services, and persistent gender gaps in earnings and productivity.

The United Nations has established two critical documents to protect the human rights of women: The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference in 1995. Both documents aimed to ensure that gender equality is a central part of all policies and institutions, empowering women in every area of life. Since the 1960s, many women have organized to advance their own cause — and those of their sisters and communities. They have founded mass-membership organizations that focus on specific groups, like Blacks, Latinas, Asians, and lesbians, and they have formed their own political parties and movements. Today, women in all sectors of society, from aspiring politicians to suffragettes to business owners and tradeswomen, are making their voices heard.

In 143 countries, women are now guaranteed equality with men in their constitutions, but gender disparity persists in many areas of life. Women still earn 20 per cent less than men globally and are underrepresented in parliaments. They remain vulnerable to violence, and in some countries, patriarchal local customs prevent women from voting or participating in civic life. In rural areas, they may be barred from access to land ownership and other resources because of their husbands’ property rights.

But a vast majority of people around the world agree that it is very important that women have equal rights as men in their country. Majorities in 30 of the 34 countries surveyed hold this view, with the highest percentages in Sweden and the Netherlands.

While some have criticized the term “women’s rights,” this concept has become mainstream in recent decades. Women and girls deserve equal social status with men and boys, and this goal should be seen as a non-negotiable ethical imperative for all of humanity. This goal also has a powerful side effect: it can help slow population growth, which will benefit both women and men as well as the other species with whom we share this planet.

Amid the current turmoil in our national politics, some have begun to question whether there is a need to protect women’s rights. But a strong plurality of Americans say it’s important to do so, with nearly half saying the U.S. hasn’t gone far enough in this regard and one-in-ten saying it has gone too far. This includes majorities of Democrats and Republicans, as well as both women and men. The most positive view comes from young people, especially those aged 18 to 24. In this age group, three-quarters of adults think it’s important to have equal rights for men and women.