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Gender Equality Essay

Introduction to Gender Equality

In a society, everyone has the right to lead his/her life accordingly without any discrimination. When this state is achieved where all individuals are considered to be equal irrespective of their caste, gender, colour, profession, and status, we call it equality. Equality can also be defined as the situation where every individual has the same rights and equal opportunity to grow and prosper.

Every individual of society dreams for equal rights and access to resources available at their disposal, but there is a lot of discrimination. This discrimination can be due to cultural differences, geographical differences, the colour of the individual, social status and even gender. The most prevalent discrimination is gender inequality. It is not a localised issue and is limited to only certain spheres of life but is prevalent across the globe. Even in progressive societies and top organisations, we can see many examples of gender bias.

Gender equality can only be achieved when both male and female individuals are treated similarly. But discrimination is a social menace that creates division. We stop being together and stand together to tackle our problems. This social stigma has been creeping into the underbelly of all of society for many centuries. This has also been witnessed in gender-based cases. Gender inequality is the thing of the past as both men and women are creating history in all segments together.

Gender Equality builds a Nation

In this century, women and men enjoy the same privileges. The perception is changing slowly but steadily. People are now becoming more aware of their rights and what they can do in a free society. It has been found that when women and men hold the same position and participate equally, society progresses exclusively and creates a landmark. When a community reaches gender equality, everyone enjoys the same privileges and gets similar scopes in education, health, occupation, and political aspect. Even in the family, when both male and female members are treated in the same way, it is the best place to grow, learn, and add great value.

A nation needs to value every gender equally to progress at the right place. A society attains better development in all aspects when both genders are entitled to similar opportunities. Equal rights in decision making, health, politics, infrastructure, profession, etc will surely advance our society to a new level. The social stigma of women staying inside the house has changed. Nowadays, girls are equally competing with boys in school. They are also creating landmark development in their respective profession. Women are now seeking economic independence before they get married. It gives them the confidence to stand against oppression and make better decisions for themselves.

The age-old social structure dictated that women need to stay inside the home taking care of all when men go out to earn bread and butter. This has been practised for ages when the world outside was not safe. Now that the time has changed and we have successfully made our environment quite safer, women can step forward, get educated, pursue their passion, bring economic balance in their families, and share the weight of a family with men. This, in a cumulative way, will also make a country’s economy progress faster and better.

Methods to measure Gender Equality

Gender equality can be measured and a country’s growth can be traced by using the following methods.

Gender Development Index (GDI) is a gender-based calculation done similar to the Human Development Index.

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) is a detailed calculation method of the percentage of female members in decision-making roles.

Gender Equity Index (GEI) considers economic participation, education, and empowerment.

Global Gender Gap Index assesses the level of gender inequality present on the basis of four criteria: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and survival .

According to the Gender Gap Index (GGI), India ranks 140 among 156 participating countries. This denotes that the performance of India has fallen from the previous years, denoting negative growth in terms of closing the gender gap. In the current environment where equality and equal opportunities are considered supreme, this makes India be at a significant disadvantage.

Roadblocks to Gender Equality

Indian society is still wrecked by such stigmas that dictate that women are meant to manage the home and stay indoors. This is being done for ages, leading to neglect of women in areas like education, health, wealth, and socio-economic fields.

In addition to that, the dowry system is further crippling society. This ill practice had led to numerous female feticides. It has created a notion that girls are a burden on a family, which is one of the primary reasons a girl child cannot continue her education. Even if they excel in education and become independent, most of them are forced to quit their job as their income is considered a backup source, which is not fair. New-age women are not only independent, but they are confident too. The only thing they demand from society is support, which we should provide them.

Along with dowry, there is one more burning issue that has a profound impact on women's growth. It is prevalent in all kinds of society and is known as violence. Violence against women is present in one or another form in public and private spaces. Sometimes, violence is accompanied by other burning issues such as exploitation, harassment, and trafficking, making the world unsafe for women. We must take steps to stop this and ensure a safe and healthy place for women.

Poverty is also one of the major roadblocks towards gender equality. It has led to other malpractices such as child marriage, sale of children, trafficking and child labour, to name a few. Providing equal job opportunities and upliftment of people below the poverty line can help bring some checks onto this.

Initiative Towards Gender Equality

Any kind of discrimination acts as a roadblock in any nation’s growth, and a nation can only prosper when all its citizens have equal rights. Most of the developed countries has comparatively less gender discrimination and provide equal opportunity to both genders. Even the Indian government is taking multiple initiatives to cut down gender discrimination.

They have initiated a social campaign called “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana” to encourage the education of girl children. Besides this, the government runs multiple other schemes, such as the Women Helpline Scheme, UJJAWALA, National Mission for Empowerment of Women, etc., to generate awareness among the people. Moreover, as responsible citizens, it is our responsibility to spread knowledge on gender discrimination to create a beautiful world for wome n [1] [2] .

FAQs on Gender Equality Essay

1. What Makes Women Unequal to Men?

The social stigmas and beliefs that have been running deeply in the veins of all families make women unequal to men. Women are considered to be a burden by many families and are not provided with the same rights men enjoy in society. We are ill-informed regarding women’s rights and tend to continue age-old practices. This is made worse with social menaces such as the dowry system, child labor, child marriage, etc. Women can gather knowledge, get educated, and compete with men. This is sometimes quite threatening to the false patriarchal society.

2. How can We Promote Gender Equality?

Education is the prime measure to be taken to make society free from such menaces. When we teach our new generation regarding the best social practices and gender equal rights, we can eradicate such menaces aptly. Our society is ill-informed regarding gender equality and rights. Many policies have been designed and implemented by the government. As our country holds the second position in terms of population, it is hard to tackle these gender-based problems. It can only be erased from the deepest point by using education as the prime weapon.

3. Why should Women be Equal to Men?

Women might not be similar to men in terms of physical strength and physiological traits. Both are differently built biologically but they have the same brain and organs to function. Women these days are creating milestones that are changing society. They have traveled to space, running companies, creating history, and making everyone proud. Women are showing their capabilities in every phase and hence, they should be equal to men in all aspects.

4. Mention a few initiatives started by the Indian Government to enable gender equality.

The Indian government has initiated a social campaign called “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana” to encourage girls’ education. Besides this, the government runs multiple other schemes, such as the Women Helpline Scheme, UJJAWALA, National Mission for Empowerment of Women, etc., to generate awareness among the people.

Gender Equality Essay: How to Inspire Action and Awareness

Writing about the importance of gender equality is crucial in shedding light on the inequalities and disparities that persist between men and women. These essays are like windows into our society, showing us the good and the bad. They're not just for school – they're about real people's lives. When we read and write about gender parity, we're shining a light on issues like discrimination and stereotypes, and we're saying, "Hey, this isn't right!" In this article, we will show you how to write an essay about gender equality to encourage your peers to think about making things more fair for everyone and standing up for what's right, making the world a better place for everyone.

Tips for Writing an Argumentative Essay About Gender Equality

First, let’s answer the question of what is gender equality essay? By definition, it is a written composition that investigates and discusses the concept of gender fairness, aiming to highlight the importance of fair treatment and opportunities for individuals regardless of gender. These essays typically explore historical contexts, societal norms, and contemporary disparities-related challenges, offering insights into how stereotypes, discrimination, and cultural expectations affect people based on gender. Moreover, such assignments seek to raise awareness and foster understanding, prompting readers to critically examine the necessity of creating a society where everyone, regardless of gender, enjoys equal rights, opportunities, and dignity.

At this point, we should write a gender equality essay thesis statement that will serve as the anchor, encapsulating the core argument and purpose of the essay. The thesis is a concise declaration that outlines the writer's stance on the topic and provides a roadmap for the essay's content. An effective thesis statement for a gender parity essay might assert the fundamental principle of equal rights and opportunities for all genders, emphasizing the need to challenge and dismantle societal norms perpetuating discrimination. For instance, a thesis statement could assert that achieving true balance requires dismantling stereotypes, promoting equal access to education and employment, and fostering a cultural shift toward recognizing the inherent value of every individual, irrespective of gender. The thesis statement acts as a guiding beacon, steering the essay in the direction of a comprehensive exploration of the chosen perspective on evenness. Suddenly forgot your task is due tomorrow? Don’t strain yourself, and use our argumentative essay service to achieve the best outcome fast.

Brainstorming Gender Equality Essay Topics

When looking for argumentative essay topics about gender equality, you can find inspiration in various places. Keep an eye on the news, social media discussions, and academic research to see what issues are currently being debated. Personal stories from people who've faced gender-related challenges or your own experiences can be powerful starting points. Understand how past events shaped gender dynamics or analyze how it is portrayed in literature and media. For your gender roles essay, you can analyze global perspectives, legal frameworks, and social movements for additional insights. By drawing from these diverse sources, you can brainstorm compelling arguments that not only tackle the complexities of gender equality but also connect with your audience on a personal and societal level. For your inspiration, we’ve prepared some peculiar ideas for gender equality in society essay, so check them out!

Workplace fairness for men and women.
Breaking boys and girls stereotypes in children's books.
The impact of inequality on mental health stigma.
Challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.
Addressing gender bias in healthcare.
The role of men in feminist movements.
Promoting inclusivity in sports teams.
Gender-neutral language in education.
Breaking the glass ceiling in corporate leadership.
Tackling gender-based violence in schools.

Gender Equality Essay Outline

Choosing a good title for a gender equality essay involves capturing the essay's main ideas and sparking interest. You can include keywords like "equality" or "empowerment" and use phrasing that makes readers think. For the gender equality essay thesis statement, keep it concise and clear. An example could be: "To achieve real fairness, we need to challenge stereotypes, ensure equal opportunities in education and work, and transform our culture to value everyone's contribution. Only through these comprehensive efforts can we create a society where everyone has a fair shot." Before we proceed to the essay’s outline, revise how many paragraphs in an argumentative essay and its length.

Gender Equality Essay Introduction

To kick off your gender equality introduction essay effectively, start with something that grabs your reader's attention, like a quote, a surprising fact, or a relatable scenario. Next, give a quick background on what gender equality means today or historically, keeping it concise. Then, smoothly transition to your thesis statement – the main point you will argue in your essay. For example, you might say that real parity requires us to challenge stereotypes, make sure everyone has equal chances in education and work, and change our culture to value everyone's contributions. This approach helps your reader understand why the topic is important and what your essay is all about.

For the main body of a future gender equality essay, think about what could be coming up. Consider how new technology, like artificial intelligence, might affect how we see male and female roles. Talk about whether it might help break stereotypes or create new challenges. Give real examples or discuss policies that encourage women to take on roles in fields like technology.

Then, look into how work is changing and what that means for equality. Explore the idea of remote work, flexible schedules, and gig jobs and how they might create more equal opportunities. Discuss how companies or governments are making policies to support work-life balance and equal chances for leadership roles. Use examples to show where these progressive work practices are already happening and how they could impact equivalence in the future. Keep it real and forward-thinking, looking at the positives and potential challenges.

Gender Equality Essay Conclusion

To wrap up your essay, start by briefly restating your main point or thesis. Summarize the key ideas discussed in the essay's body, highlighting their importance in the context of gender equality. Don't bring in new information; instead, emphasize the connections between your arguments and the main point. Finish your gender equality conclusion essay on a strong note by inspiring your reader to consider the broader implications and take action toward achieving genuine parity in society. Keep it clear, concise, and impactful, leaving a lasting impression on your audience.

Essay Revision

To edit and proofread your gender equality essay introduction body and conclusion, start by reviewing the introduction to ensure clarity and conciseness. Verify that your thesis statement is strong and effectively communicates the main argument. Check the hook for its impact on grabbing the reader's attention. Moving to the body, focus on the logical flow of ideas between paragraphs. Confirm that each paragraph has a clear topic sentence, supporting evidence, and a smooth transition to the next. Pay attention to the coherence of your arguments and ensure they align with the overall thesis. Lastly, in the conclusion, restate the thesis, summarize key points, and end with a compelling call to action. Throughout the essay, check for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors with the help of our paper writer , ensuring a polished and error-free final draft.

Gender Equality Essay Example

Please review our example of argumentative essay about gender equality to get inspired to produce your own brilliant essay. Remember that these two gender equality essay examples are not for submission because this will be considered plagarism. If you want equally engaging and insightful work, please say, ‘ write my essay ,’ so our experts can procure a new essay for you from scratch to avoid affecting your academic integrity.

Empowering Equality: Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges

Gender equality stands as a fundamental principle for building a just and inclusive society. In recent years, progress has been made, but challenges persist. This essay delves into the multifaceted landscape of fairness, examining the importance of dismantling stereotypes, promoting equal opportunities, and fostering a cultural shift. As we navigate the complexities of the 21st century, the pursuit of genuine equality emerges not only as a moral imperative but also as a critical driver of social and economic progress.

To achieve true equality, the first step involves challenging ingrained stereotypes that limit individuals based on their gender. Stereotypes perpetuate biased expectations, restricting both men and women to predefined roles. For instance, the persistent notion that certain professions are exclusively suited for one gender perpetuates inequality in the workplace. Initiatives promoting diverse role models, debunking myths, and redefining societal norms contribute to dismantling these stereotypes.

Ensuring equal opportunities in education and employment forms the cornerstone of equality. Educational institutions and workplaces must adopt policies that eliminate barriers and provide a level playing field. This involves addressing disparities in STEM education, encouraging girls to pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated fields, and advocating for fair hiring practices. Achieving balance in educational and professional spheres fosters an environment where talent and capability, rather than gender, determine success.

A genuine cultural shift is imperative for achieving lasting equality. Cultural norms often perpetuate inequality, shaping attitudes and behaviors. Encouraging open conversations about gender, challenging discriminatory practices, and promoting inclusivity in all aspects of life contribute to this transformation. It requires collective efforts from communities, media, and policymakers to create a culture that respects and values individuals irrespective of their gender.

In conclusion, the journey toward gender fairness is a dynamic process that involves dismantling stereotypes, ensuring equal opportunities, and fostering cultural transformation. By challenging societal norms and advocating for inclusive policies, we can pave the way for a future where every individual has the opportunity to thrive, unbound by gender-based constraints. Empowering equality not only aligns with the principles of justice and fairness but also propels societies toward greater prosperity and harmony.

Breaking Chains: The Unfinished Journey Towards Gender Equality"

Gender equality, a beacon of progress in contemporary societies, still faces significant challenges, with deeply rooted stereotypes and systemic barriers hindering its realization. This essay embarks on an exploration of the persistent issues surrounding evenness, emphasizing the imperative to dismantle stereotypes, advocate for equal opportunities, and drive transformative change. As we confront the complexities of the 21st century, the pursuit of authentic equality emerges as not only a societal responsibility but also as an essential catalyst for fostering diversity, inclusivity, and social prosperity.

The journey toward true gender parity necessitates a concerted effort to challenge and dismantle age-old stereotypes that confine individuals within rigid male and female roles. These stereotypes perpetuate harmful biases, limiting opportunities for personal and professional growth. A critical focus should be on dispelling myths surrounding gendered expectations, such as the notion that certain professions are exclusively for one gender. Initiatives promoting diverse role models and challenging societal norms are pivotal in dismantling these restrictive stereotypes.

An indispensable component of achieving gender equality lies in advocating for equal opportunities in education. Educational institutions should implement policies that eradicate barriers and promote inclusivity. This involves addressing gender disparities in STEM fields, encouraging girls to pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated sectors, and ensuring fair and unbiased educational environments. By cultivating an educational landscape that values competence over gender, societies can lay the foundation for a more equitable future.

Achieving genuine gender equality requires a holistic approach that includes systemic change at various levels of society. This involves not only addressing individual attitudes but also transforming institutional practices. Policies promoting equal pay, parental leave, and unbiased hiring practices contribute to dismantling systemic barriers. Additionally, fostering workplace cultures that prioritize diversity and inclusivity plays a crucial role in creating environments where all individuals, regardless of gender, can thrive.

In conclusion, the journey toward gender equality is an ongoing struggle that demands persistent efforts to dismantle stereotypes, advocate for equal opportunities, and drive systemic change. By challenging societal norms and fostering inclusive policies, societies can move closer to realizing the promise of a future where gender does not dictate one's opportunities or potential. Breaking the chains of ingrained biases is not just a societal obligation; it is a transformative endeavor that paves the way for a more just, inclusive, and harmonious world.

When students are assigned to write about gender equality, it isn't just about getting a grade. It's a valuable way to get young minds thinking and talking about how fairness and evenness play out in our world. By putting their thoughts into words, students not only practice expressing themselves but also become part of a bigger conversation about treating everyone fairly. Use this opportunity to challenge stereotypes, call for equal rights, and be a voice for positive change. To succeed, you can buy essay online from our competent writers, who will make sure your teacher will be pleased.

Frequently asked questions

Why is gender equality essay important, how to promote gender equality essay, how to choose the best gender equality essay title.

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Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls

Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. There has been progress over the last decades, but the world is not on track to achieve gender equality by 2030.

Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and therefore also half of its potential. But gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress. On average, women in the labor market still earn 23 percent less than men globally and women spend about three times as many hours in unpaid domestic and care work as men.

Sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work, and discrimination in public office, all remain huge barriers. All these areas of inequality have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic: there has been a surge in reports of sexual violence, women have taken on more care work due to school closures, and 70% of health and social workers globally are women.

At the current rate, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to close gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws, 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership in the workplace, and 47 years to achieve equal representation in national parliaments.

Political leadership, investments and comprehensive policy reforms are needed to dismantle systemic barriers to achieving Goal 5 Gender equality is a cross-cutting objective and must be a key focus of national policies, budgets and institutions.

How much progress have we made?

International commitments to advance gender equality have brought about improvements in some areas: child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM) have declined in recent years, and women’s representation in the political arena is higher than ever before. But the promise of a world in which every woman and girl enjoys full gender equality, and where all legal, social and economic barriers to their empowerment have been removed, remains unfulfilled. In fact, that goal is probably even more distant than before, since women and girls are being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Are they any other gender-related challenges?

Yes. Worldwide, nearly half of married women lack decision-making power over their sexual and reproductive health and rights. 35 per cent of women between 15-49 years of age have experienced physical and/ or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.1 in 3 girls aged 15-19 have experienced some form of female genital mutilation/cutting in the 30 countries in Africa and the Middle East, where the harmful practice is most common with a high risk of prolonged bleeding, infection (including HIV), childbirth complications, infertility and death.

This type of violence doesn’t just harm individual women and girls; it also undermines their overall quality of life and hinders their active involvement in society.

Why should gender equality matter to me?

Regardless of where you live in, gender equality is a fundamental human right. Advancing gender equality is critical to all areas of a healthy society, from reducing poverty to promoting the health, education, protection and the well-being of girls and boys.

What can we do?

If you are a girl, you can stay in school, help empower your female classmates to do the same and fight for your right to access sexual and reproductive health services. If you are a woman, you can address unconscious biases and implicit associations that form an unintended and often an invisible barrier to equal opportunity.

If you are a man or a boy, you can work alongside women and girls to achieve gender equality and embrace healthy, respectful relationships.

You can fund education campaigns to curb cultural practices like female genital mutilation and change harmful laws that limit the rights of women and girls and prevent them from achieving their full potential.

The Spotlight Initiative is an EU/UN partnership, and a global, multi-year initiative focused on eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls – the world’s largest targeted effort to end all forms of violence against women and girls.

Facts and figures

Goal 5 targets.

With only seven years remaining, a mere 15.4 per cent of Goal 5 indicators with data are “on track”, 61.5 per cent are at a moderate distance and 23.1 per cent are far or very far off track from 2030 targets.
In many areas, progress has been too slow. At the current rate, it will take an estimated 300 years to end child marriage, 286 years to close gaps in legal protection and remove discriminatory laws, 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership in the workplace, and 47 years to achieve equal representation in national parliaments.
Political leadership, investments and comprehensive policy reforms are needed to dismantle systemic barriers to achieving Goal 5. Gender equality is a cross-cutting objective and must be a key focus of national policies, budgets and institutions.
Around 2.4 billion women of working age are not afforded equal economic opportunity. Nearly 2.4 Billion Women Globally Don’t Have Same Economic Rights as Men
178 countries maintain legal barriers that prevent women’s full economic participation. Nearly 2.4 Billion Women Globally Don’t Have Same Economic Rights as Men
In 2019, one in five women, aged 20-24 years, were married before the age of 18. Girls | UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence Against Children

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2023

5.1 End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere

5.2 Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation

5.3 Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation

5.4 Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through the provision of public services, infrastructure and social protection policies and the promotion of shared responsibility within the household and the family as nationally appropriate

5.5 Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decisionmaking in political, economic and public life

5.6 Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences

5.A Undertake reforms to give women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance and natural resources, in accordance with national laws

5.B Enhance the use of enabling technology, in particular information and communications technology, to promote the empowerment of women

5.C Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls at all levels

He for She campaign

United Secretary-General Campaign UNiTE to End Violence Against Women

Every Woman Every Child Initiative

Spotlight Initiative

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

UN Population Fund: Gender equality

UN Population Fund: Female genital mutilation

UN Population Fund: Child marriage

UN Population Fund: Engaging men & boys

UN Population Fund: Gender-based violence

World Health Organization (WHO)

UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)

UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Gender Statistics

Fast Facts: Gender Equality

Infographic: Gender Equality

The Initiative is so named as it brings focused attention to this issue, moving it into the spotlight and placing it at the centre of efforts to achieve gender equality and women’s empowerment, in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

An initial investment in the order of EUR 500 million will be made, with the EU as the main contributor. Other donors and partners will be invited to join the Initiative to broaden its reach and scope. The modality for the delivery will be a UN multi- stakeholder trust fund, administered by the Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office, with the support of core agencies UNDP, UNFPA and UN Women, and overseen by the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General.

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Essays About Gender Equality: Top 5 Examples and 6 Prompts

Gender equality is an important topic in the 21st century; if you are writing essays about gender equality , read our guide.

Men and women are equal. This statement makes perfect sense to most and should be common sense . Gender equality is “ the state of having the same rights, status, and opportunities as others, regardless of one’s gender .” In the 21st century, much progress has been made, and this seems something that should already be intrinsic to humanity.

However, there is still a struggle for equality worldwide, especially for women. Some countries have oppressive regulations on women’s rights , including restrictions on what women can wear, do a job, or even say. Many women still experience discrimination worldwide. Gender equality is something that we should all strive to achieve for a better world.

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5 Top Essay Examples

1. why is gender equality important by zaytoen domingo, 2. china’s #metoo moment by jiayang fan, 3. our biggest opportunity to achieve gender equality by ahmad alhendawi.

4. Women’s rights throughout U.S. history by Chris Price

5. Gender equality at workplace by Michelle Gordon

5 prompts for essays about gender equality, 1. gender equality and religion, 2. how can you help achieve gender equality, 3. gender equality in your country, 4. sexism in the workplace, 5. the history of gender equality.

For help with your essays, check out our round-up of the best essay checkers .

“UN Women reported that in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, half of the economic growth over the past 50 years is attributed to girls having better access to education. The decrease in the gap between the number of years of schooling that girls receive when compared to boys also played a role.”

Domingo explains how gender equality is present globally, from the gender pay gap to illiteracy rates. In addition, she discusses its importance: gender equality is not only important on an individual level, but it has an economic impact as well. According to Domingo, gender equality in the workforce has been shown to stimulate economic growth. In addition, women invest more of their earnings into their children than men, so when women earn more, their children’s lives improve as well. Gender equality is, in fact, a solution to poverty.

“In China, where a far more determined sense of patriarchy and hierarchical order exists, that structure can reach considerably higher. “In China, if you are a Ph.D. student, it’s difficult to overstate how much your supervisor determines your fate,” a Chinese feminist activist named Liang Xiaowen, who is now attending law school in the United States, told me. “Deference to authority is paramount to your survival as a student.””

In her essay, Fan writes about the state of women’s rights in China, where the culture is more patriarchal. Many women, especially students, have their lives almost controlled by their superiors, and if they speak out, they will be punished. As a result, women, including the one mentioned in the essay, have left the country to be free of the sexual harassment they encountered back home.

“ To build the world we want, a world free of poverty, a world with zero hunger, a world with peace and justice for all, we must empower young women and girls who are systematically left on the sidelines of today. To build the world we want, we need to take action to expand access to education to millions of girls who today are not in school and deprived of an education. We must prevent early marriage and tackle the challenge and human rights violation of the one in every four young women in developing regions who are currently being married in childhood.”

On world youth day, Alhendawi, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth, discusses the great progress the world has made in terms of gender equality, from education to healthcare to public safety. However, this issue must be addressed further. Some countries still treat women as inferior, and the global community must stand up for human rights and against violence and discrimination. It is up to the youth to make a change, especially in gender equality.

4. Women’s rights throughout U.S. history by Chris Price

“The convention, with many of the attendees pushing for equal rights for people of all races and sexes, resulted in 100 men and women signing the Declaration of Sentiments. The document was structured to resemble the Declaration of Independence, and it asserted the equality of men and women while reiterating that all people are endowed with unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Price writes about a few significant milestones the United States has made regarding women’s rights. These include the Seneca Falls Convention, the event that started the fight for women’s rights, the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote, and Roe v. Wade decision, which gave women autonomy regarding family planning. Most recently, there has been a boom in women in government roles, with women holding some of the highest government positions.

“So if we come to work with the goals of doing amazing job instead of making assumptions or judgements on other people’s capability, this will be a life-changing result. The thing that really matters is how Sarah works with people in the previous jobs and experience along with good communication skills in order to achieve instead of giving it to the less experienced worker.”

Gordon proposes a solution to gender inequality in the workplace. She wants men to respect their female peers and treat them as equals. She wishes they would work as a team rather than against one another. She reflects on the company where she works and wishes to change how women are treated. Both men and women have strengths and weaknesses; they should work to use these strengths to their advantage.

Essays About Gender Equality: Gender equality and religion

Gender equality is different in certain societies, partly due to how some religions regard and treat women. Research different religions’ treatment of women and choose two or three to explore in your essay. Discuss how these religions reflect gender equality or inequality and give examples. You can also explain the reasoning behind their teachings regarding women. Conclude your essay by discussing your views on religion impacting women’s rights and if you believe religion should influence a person’s rights or not.

For your essay, you can write about ways in which you could contribute to achieving gender equality. Define the term, give a brief background, and discuss your possible solutions. Nothing is off the table, no matter how insignificant they seem; it can be as simple as reminding your family about sexism.

Women are treated differently from country to country. Research women’s rights in your country, including any anti-discrimination laws. Then, determine whether your country has achieved gender equality or not. What else can be done? Propose possible solutions or laws that you believe would make a difference in your country and bring society close to gender equality.

Essays About Gender Equality: Sexism in the Workplace

A big issue in achieving gender equality is women’s treatment in the workplace; we have heard many stories of the gender pay gap, sexual harassment, and more. Explore the root causes of gender inequality at work and discuss why it is a problem. Be sure to cite testimonials of people who have spoken out about discrimination in the workplace for a solid base of evidence.

Gender equality has made great strides throughout the centuries; for your essay, explore some milestones in history that helped make gender equality a reality- be sure to explain why it is essential and how it helped achieve gender equality. If this topic seems too broad, you can focus on one country, as Price does in his essay.

For help with this topic , read our guide explaining what is persuasive writing ?

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Gender Equality Essay

Everyone should live as they want in society, and there should be no discrimination. Equality in society is achieved when all people, regardless of their caste, gender, colour, profession, and status rank, are considered equal. Another way to describe equality is that everyone gets the same rights and opportunities to develop and progress forward. Here are a few sample essays on ‘Gender Equality’.

100 Words Essay On Gender Equality

Gender equality is the belief that men and women should be treated and perceived as equals in society, including all areas such as education, employment, and in decision-making positions. It is a fundamental human right and a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world.

Despite significant progress in advancing gender equality, women and girls continue to face barriers and discrimination in many areas of society. This includes the gender pay gap, difficult access to education and employment opportunities, and limited representation in leadership positions. Creating a more equal society benefits everyone, as it leads to greater prosperity and happiness for all. It is important for individuals, communities, and governments to work towards achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls to reach their full potential.

200 Words Essay On Gender Equality

Gender equality is the equal treatment and perception of individuals of all genders in society.

Importance Of Gender Equality

Gender equality is important because it is a fundamental human right and is necessary for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable society. When everyone, regardless of their gender, is treated fairly and has equal opportunities, it can lead to greater prosperity and happiness for all.

Additionally, gender equality can have a positive impact on economic growth and development. When women and girls are able to fully participate and get proper education and employment opportunities, it can lead to increased productivity and innovation. It can also contribute to more balanced and representative decision-making, which can lead to more effective and fair policies and practices.

Furthermore, gender equality is essential for promoting social justice and fairness. When women and girls are marginalized and discriminated against, it can lead to a range of negative outcomes, including poverty, poor health, and reduced opportunities for personal and professional development. Overall, the promotion of gender equality is important for creating a more equal, fair, and just society for all.

Encouraging Gender Equality

Efforts to promote gender equality must involve the active participation and engagement of both men and women. This includes challenging and changing harmful gender norms and stereotypes, and promoting policies and laws that protect and advance the rights of women and girls.

500 Words Essay On Gender Equality

Everyone in the country has the same fundamental freedom to pursue happiness whichever way they see fit. It's possible if people of various backgrounds (race, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic class, gender) are treated with respect and dignity. Gender disparity is the most noticeable kind of prejudice. Gender discrimination persists even in many modern nations and calls for immediate action. When men and women are given the same opportunities, we will achieve gender equality. Furthermore, this essay will outline the many issues women encounter due to gender discrimination.

Prevalence Of Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is prevalent in many sectors and areas of society. Some examples include:

Education: Women and girls may face barriers to accessing education, such as lack of resources, cultural or societal barriers, and discrimination.

Employment: Women and girls may face discrimination in the workplace, including lower pay for the same work as men, lack of promotion opportunities, and limited representation in leadership positions.

Health care: Women and girls may face discrimination and inadequate access to quality health care, particularly in areas related to reproductive and sexual health.

Political representation: Women are often underrepresented in political leadership positions and decision-making processes.

Domestic violence: Women and girls may face higher rates of domestic violence and abuse, and may lack adequate protection and support from the justice system.

Media and advertising: Women and girls are often portrayed in stereotypical and objectifying ways in the media and advertising, which can reinforce harmful gender norms and stereotypes.

Gender inequality is a widespread issue that affects many areas of society, and it is important to work towards promoting gender equality in all sectors.

How India Can Achieve Gender Equality

Achieving gender equality in India will require a multi-faceted approach that involves addressing social norms and stereotypes, strengthening laws and policies, increasing women's representation in leadership positions, promoting women's economic empowerment, and improving access to health care.

Address social norms and stereotypes: It is important to challenge and change harmful gender norms and stereotypes that contribute to gender inequality. This can be done through education campaigns and programs that promote gender equality and challenge traditional gender roles.

Strengthen laws and policies: India can work to strengthen laws and policies that protect and advance the rights of women and girls, such as laws against domestic violence and discrimination, and policies that promote equal pay for equal work and access to education and employment.

Increase women's representation in leadership positions: India can work to increase the representation of women in leadership positions, including in politics, business, and other sectors, to ensure that women have a stronger voice in decision-making processes.

Promote women's economic empowerment: Providing women with access to education, employment, and financial resources can help to empower them and enable them to fully participate in society.

Improve access to health care: Ensuring that women and girls have access to quality health care, including reproductive and sexual health care, is essential for promoting gender equality.

My Experience

I remember one time when I was working as an intern at a small consulting firm. At the end of my internship, I was offered a full-time position. However, when I received the offer letter, I noticed that my male colleagues who were also being offered full-time positions had been offered a higher salary than me, even though we had all performed the same job duties during our internships.

I was frustrated and felt that I was being treated unfairly because of my gender. I decided to bring this issue to the attention of my supervisor, and after some negotiation, I was able to secure a salary that was equal to that of my male colleagues.

This experience taught me the importance of advocating for myself and not accepting inequality, and it also made me more aware of the ways in which gender bias can manifest in the workplace. I believe that it is important for individuals to speak up and take action when they see instances of gender inequality, and for organizations to make a conscious effort to promote gender equality and fairness in all aspects of their operations.

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Closing the equity gap

Jeni Klugman

Caren Grown and Odera Onyechi

Why addressing gender inequality is central to tackling today’s polycrises

Nonresident Senior Fellow, Africa Growth Initiative, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution

As we enter 2023, the term “ polycrisis ” is an increasingly apt way to describe today’s challenges. 1 Major wars, high inflation, and climate events are creating hardship all around the world, which is still grappling with a pandemic death toll approaching 7 million people.

Faced with such daunting challenges, one might well ask why we should be thinking about the gender dimensions of recovery and resilience for future shocks. The answer is simple: We can no longer afford to think in silos. Today’s interlocking challenges demand that sharp inequalities, including gender disparities, must be addressed as part and parcel of efforts to tackle Africa’s pressing issues and ensure the continent’s future success.

“We can no longer afford to think in silos. … Gender disparities, must be addressed as part and parcel of efforts to tackle Africa’s pressing issues and ensure the continent’s future success.”

The burdens of the pandemic have been unequally borne across regions and countries, and between the poor and better off. Inequalities exist around gender—which can be defined as the “socially constructed roles, behaviors, activities, attributes and opportunities that any society considers appropriate for men and women, boys and girls” and people with non-binary identities. 2 As Raewyn Connell laid out more than two decades ago, existing systems typically distribute greater power, resources, and status to men and behaviors considered masculine . 3 As a result, gender intersects with other sources of disadvantage, most notably income, age, race, and ethnicity.

This understanding is now mainstream. As recently observed by the IMF, “The gender inequalities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic follow different paths but almost always end up the same: Women have suffered disproportionate economic harm from the crisis.” 4 Among the important nuances revealed by micro-surveys is that rural women working informally continued to work through the pandemic , but with sharply reduced earnings in Nigeria and elsewhere. 5 And as the burden of child care and home schooling soared, rural households headed by women were far less likely than urban households to have children engaged in learning activities during school closures.

Important insights emerge from IFPRI’s longitudinal panel study (which included Ghana, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Uganda) covering income loss, coping strategies, labor and time use, food and water insecurity, and child education outcomes. 6

Among the especially adverse impacts for women were greater food and water insecurity compared to men, including worrying about insufficient food and eating less than usual, while a large proportion of women also did not have adequately diverse diets. Moreover, many women had to add hours to their workday caring for sick family members, and their economic opportunities shrank, cutting their earnings and widening gender income gaps.

While today’s problems seem daunting, there remain huge causes for optimism, especially in Africa. Over the past three decades, many African countries have achieved enormous gains in levels of education, health, and poverty reduction. Indeed, the pace of change has been staggering and commendable. As captured in the Women Peace and Security Index , which measures performance in inclusion, justice, and security, 6 of the top 10 score improvers during the period 2017-2021 were in sub-Saharan Africa. [GIWPS.2022. “Women Peace and Security Index” Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.] The Democratic Republic of Congo was among top score improvers since 2017, as the share of women with financial accounts almost tripled, to 24 percent; and increases exceeding 5 percentage points were registered in cell phone use and parliamentary representation. In the Central African Republic, improvements were experienced in the security dimension, where organized violence fell significantly, and women’s perceptions of community safety rose 6 percentage points up to 49 percent.

Looking ahead, efforts to mitigate gender inequalities must clearly be multi-pronged, and as highlighted above—we need to think outside silos. That said, two major policy fronts emerge to the fore.

Ensure cash transfers that protect against poverty , are built and designed to promote women’s opportunities, with a focus on digital payments. 7 Ways to address gender inequalities as part of social protection program responses 8 include deliberate efforts to overcome gender gaps in cell phone access by distributing phones to those women who need them, as well as private sector partnerships to subsidize airtime for the poorest, and to make key information services and apps freely available . 9 Programs could also make women the default recipient of cash transfer schemes, instead of the head of household. Furthermore, capacity-building initiatives can be built into program design to give women the skills and capabilities needed to successfully manage accounts and financial decisionmaking. 10

Reducing the risk of violence against women. Women who are not safe at home are denied the freedom from violence needed to pursue opportunities that should be afforded to all. In 2018, 10 of the 15 countries with the worst rates of intimate partner violence were in sub-Saharan Africa—in descending order of average intimate partner violence these were, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, Ethiopia, Liberia, South Sudan, Djibouti, and Uganda.

“As the burden of child care and home schooling soared, rural households headed by women were far less likely than urban households to have children engaged in learning activities.”

Conflicts and crises multiply women’s risk of physical, emotional, and sexual violence . During the pandemic, risk factors like economic stress were compounded by service closures and stay-at-home orders, which increased exposure to potential perpetrators. 11 Several governments responded by strengthening existing help services , including police and justice, supporting hotlines, ensuring the provision of psychological support, and health sector responses. 12 Examples of good practice included an NGO in North-Eastern Nigeria, which equipped existing safe spaces with phone booths to enable survivors to contact caseworkers.

However, given the high levels of prevalence and often low levels of reporting, prevention of gender-based violence is key. Targeted programs with promising results in prevention include community dialogues and efforts to change harmful norms, safe spaces, as well as possibilities to reduce the risk of violence through cash plus social protection programs. These efforts should be accompanied by more systematic monitoring and evaluation to build evidence about what works in diverse settings.

Finally, but certainly not least, women should have space and voices in decisionmaking. This case was powerfully put by former President Sirleaf Johnson in her 2021 Foresight essay, which underlined that “ economic, political, institutional, and social barriers persist throughout the continent, limiting women’s abilities to reach high-level leadership positions .” 13 Persistent gender gaps in power and decision-making, not only limits innovative thinking and solutions, but also the consideration of more basic measures to avoid the worsening of gender inequalities. Overcoming these gaps in power and decision-making requires safeguarding legal protections and rights, investing in women and girls financially, and opening space for women in political parties so that women have the platforms to access high-level appointed and competitive positions across national, regional, and international institutions. 14

Strengthening fiscal policy for gender equality

Senior Fellow, Center for Sustainable Development, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution

Research Analyst, Center for Sustainable Development, Global Economy and Development, Brookings Institution

It is often said that women act as “shock absorbers” during times of crisis; this is even more so in the current context of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and increased geopolitical conflict. These three global crises have simultaneously stretched women’s ability to earn income and intensified their unpaid work. Well-designed fiscal policy can help cushion the effects of these shocks and enable women and their households to recover more quickly.

Over 60 percent of employed women in Africa work in agriculture, including in small-scale food production; women are the primary sellers in food markets, and they work in other sectors such as informal trading. At the same time, women are an increasing share of entrepreneurs in countries such as Ghana and Uganda, even as they face financial and other constraints to start and grow their firms. [Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL). 2020. “Supporting Women Throughout the Coronavirus Emergency Response and Economic Recovery.” World Bank Group. ] In addition to earning income for their households, women bear the major responsibility for unpaid domestic activities such as cooking; collecting water and fuelwood; caring for children, elderly, and other dependents—so women are more time-poor than are men.

African women and entrepreneurs have been impacted disproportionately more than men by the triple shocks mentioned earlier. Extreme weather events disrupt food production and agricultural employment, making it harder for women to earn income . 15 16 17 The pandemic and conflict in Ukraine further intensified women’s paid and unpaid activities . 18 19 Beyond climate change and the war in Ukraine, localized conflicts and insecurity in East and West Africa exposes women and girls to gender-based violence and other risks as they seek to support their families and develop new coping strategies. 20 21 22

“Responding to these shocks necessitates a large infusion of resources. In this context, fiscal policy can be deployed more smartly to advance gender equality and create an enabling environment for women to play a greater role in building their economies’ recovery and resilience.”

Responding to these shocks necessitates a large infusion of resources. In this context, fiscal policy can be deployed more smartly to advance gender equality and create an enabling environment for women to play a greater role in building their economies’ recovery and resilience. Public expenditure supports critical sectors such as education, health, agriculture, social protection, and physical and social infrastructure, while well-designed tax policy is essential to fund the public goods, services, and infrastructure on which both women and men rely.

Gender-responsive budgets, which exist in over 30 countries across the continent, can be strengthened. Rwanda provides a good model for other countries. After an early unsuccessful attempt, Rwanda invested seriously in gender budgeting beginning in 2011. 23 24 The budget is focused on closing gaps and strengthening women’s roles in key sectors—agriculture, education, health, and infrastructure—which are all critical for short- and medium-term economic growth and productivity. The process has been sustained by strong political will among parliamentarians. Led by the Ministry of Finance, the process has financed and been complemented by important institutional and policy reforms. A constitutional regulatory body monitors results, with additional accountability by civil society organizations.

However, raising adequate fiscal revenue to support a gender budget is a challenge in the current macro environment of high public debt levels, increased borrowing costs, and low levels of public savings. Yet, observers note there is scope to increase revenues through taxation reforms, debt relief, cutting wasteful public expenditure, and other means. 25 26 We focus here on taxation.

Many countries are reforming their tax systems to strengthen revenue collection. Overall tax collection is currently low; the average tax-to-GDP ratio in Africa in 2020 was 14.8 percent and fell sharply during the pandemic, although it may be rebounding. 27 Very few Africans pay personal income tax or other central government taxes, 28 29 and statutory corporate tax rates (which range from 25-35 percent), are higher than even the recent OECD proposal for a global minimum tax 30 so scope for raising them further is limited. Efforts should be made to close loopholes and reduce tax evasion.

As countries reform their tax policies, they should be intentional about avoiding implicit and explicit gender biases. 31 32 33 34 Most African countries rely more on indirect taxes than direct taxes, given the structure of their economies, but indirect taxes can be regressive as their incidence falls primarily on the poor. Presumptive or turnover taxes, for example, which are uniform or fixed amounts of tax based on the “presumed” incomes of different occupations such as hairdressers, can hit women particularly hard, since the burden often falls heavily on sectors where women predominate. 35 36

Property taxes are also becoming an increasingly popular way to raise revenue for local governments. The impact of these efforts on male and female property owners has not been systematically evaluated, but a recent study of land use fees and agricultural income taxes in Ethiopia finds that female-headed and female adult-only households bear a larger tax burden than male-headed and dual-adult households of property taxes. This is likely a result of unequal land ownership patterns, gender norms restricting women’s engagement in agriculture, and the gender gap in agricultural productivity. 37

“Indirect taxes can be regressive as their incidence falls primarily on the poor. Presumptive or turnover taxes … can hit women particularly hard, since the burden often falls heavily on sectors where women predominate.”

Going forward, two key ingredients for gender budgeting on the continent need to be strengthened. The first is having sufficient, regularly collected, sex-disaggregated administrative data related to households, the labor force, and other survey data. Investment in the robust technical capacity for ministries and academia to be able to access, analyze, and use it is also necessary. For instance, the World Bank, UN Women, and the Economic Commission for Africa are all working with National Statistical Offices across the continent to strengthen statistical capacity in the areas of asset ownership and control, work and employment, and entrepreneurship which can be used in a gender budget.

The second ingredient is stronger diagnostic tools. One promising new tool, pioneered by Tulane University, is the Commitment to Equity methodology, designed to assess the impact of taxes and transfers on income inequality and poverty within countries. 38 It was recently extended to examine the impact of government transfers and taxes on women and men by income level and other dimensions. The methodology requires standard household-level data but for maximum effect should be supplemented with time use data, which are becoming more common in several African countries. As African countries seek to expand revenue from direct taxes, lessons from higher income economies are instructive. Although there is no one size fits all approach, key principles to keep in mind for designing personal income taxes include building in strong progressivity, taxing individuals as opposed to families, ensuring that the allocation of shared income (e.g., property or non-labor income) does not penalize women, and building in allowances for care of children and dependents. 39 As noted, corporate income taxes need to eliminate the many breaks, loopholes, and exemptions that currently exist, 40 and countries might consider experimenting with wealth taxes.

In terms of indirect taxes, most African countries do not have single-rate VAT systems and already have zero or reduced rates for basic necessities, including foodstuffs and other necessities. While it is important to minimize exempted sectors and products, estimates show that goods essential for women’s and children’s health (e.g., menstrual health products, diapers, cooking fuel) should be considered part of the basket of basic goods that have reduced or zero rates. 41 And while African governments are being advised to bring informal workers and entrepreneurs into the formal tax system, 42 it should be noted that this massive sector earns well below income tax thresholds and already pays multiple informal fees and levies, for instance in fees to market associations. 43 44

Lastly, leveraging data and digital technologies to improve tax administration (i.e., taxpayer registration, e-filing, and e-payment of taxes) may help minimize costs and processing time, and reduce the incidence of corruption and evasion.32 Digitalization can also be important for bringing more female taxpayers into the net, especially if digital systems are interoperable; for instance, digital taxpayer registries linked to national identification or to property registration at the local level. However, digitalization can be a double-edged sword if privacy and security concerns are not built-in from the outset. Women particularly may need targeted digital financial literacy and other measures to ensure their trust in the system. Recent shocks have worsened gender inequality in Africa. It is therefore important now, more than ever, to invest in strengthening fiscal systems to help women and men recover, withstand future shocks, and reduce gender inequalities. While fiscal policy is not the only tool, it is an important part of government action. To be effective and improve both budgeting and revenue collection, more and better data, new diagnostic tools, and digitalization will all be necessary.

1. Martin Wolf. 2022.“How to think about policy in a policy crisis”. Financial Times.
2. WTO. 2022. “Gender and Health”. World Health Organization.
3. Connell RW. 1995. “Masculinities”. Cambridge, UK. Polity Press.
4. Aoyagi, Chie.2021.“Africa’s Unequal Pandemic”. Finance and Development. International Monetary Fund.
5. WB.2022. “LSMS-Supported High-Frequency Phone Surveys”. World Bank.
6. Muzna Alvi, Shweta Gupta, Prapti Barooah, Claudia Ringler, Elizabeth Bryan and Ruth Meinzen-Dick.2022.“Gendered Impacts of COVID-19: Insights from 7 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia”. International Food Policy Research Institute.
7. Klugman, Jeni, Zimmerman, Jamie M., Maria A. May, and Elizabeth Kellison. 2020. “Digital Cash Transfers in the Time of COVID 19: Opportunities and Considerations for Women’s Inclusion and Empowerment”. World Bank Group.
8. IFPRI.2020. “Why gender-sensitive social protection is critical to the COVID-19 response in low-and middle-income countries”. International Food Policy Research Institute.
9. IDFR.2020. “Kenya: Mobile-money as a public-health tool”. International Day of Family Remittances.
10. Jaclyn Berfond Franz Gómez S. Juan Navarrete Ryan Newton Ana Pantelic. 2019. “Capacity Building for Government-to-Person Payments A Path to Women’s Economic Empowerment”. Women’s World Banking.
11. Peterman, A. et al.2020. “Pandemics and Violence Against Women and Children”.Center for Global Development Working Paper.
12. UNDP/ UN Women Tracker.2022. “United Nations Development Programme. COVID-19 Global Gender Response Tracker”. United Nations Development Programme. New York.
13. McKinsey Global Institute .2019. “The power of parity: Advancing women’s equality in Africa”.
14. Foresight Africa. 2022. “African Women and Girls: Leading a continent.” The Brookings Institution.
15. One recent study in West, Central Africa, East and Southern Africa found that women represented a larger share of agricultural employment in areas affected by heat waves and droughts, and a lower share in areas unaffected by extreme weather events. Nico, G. et al. 2022. “How Weather Variability and Extreme Shocks Affect Women’s Participation in African Agriculture.” Gender, Climate Change, and Nutrition Integration Initiative Policy Note 14.
16. Carleton, E. 2022. “Climate Change in Africa: What Will It Mean for Agriculture and Food Security?” International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI).
17. Nebie, E.K. et al. 2021. “Food Security and Climate Shocks in Senegal: Who and Where Are the Most Vulnerable Households?” Global Food Security, 29.
18. Sen, A.K. 2022. “Russia’s War in Ukraine Is Taking a Toll on Africa.” United States Institute of Peace.
19. Thomas, A. 2020. “Power Structures over Gender Make Women More Vulnerable to Climate Change.” Climate Change News.
21. Kalbarczyk, A. et al. 2022. “COVID-19, Nutrition, and Gender: An Evidence-Informed Approach to Gender Responsive Policies and Programs.” Social Science & Medicine, 312.
22. Epstein, A. 2020. “Drought and Intimate Partner Violence Towards Women in 19 Countries in Sub-Saharan Africa During 2011-2018: A Population-Based Study.” PLoS Med, 17(3).
23. Stotsky, J. et al. 2016. “Sub-Saharan Africa: A Survey of Gender Budgeting Efforts. IMF Working Paper 2016/512.
24. Kadama, C. et al. 2018. Sub-Saharan Africa.” In Kolovich, L. (Ed.), Fiscal Policies and Gender Equality (pp. 9-32). International Monetary Fund (IMF).
25. Ortiz, I. and Cummins, M. 2021. “Abandoning Austerity: Fiscal Policies for Inclusive Development.” In Gallagher, K. and Gao, H. (Eds.), Building Back a Better Global Financial Safety Net (pp. 11-22). Global Development Policy Center.
26. Roy, R. et al. 2006. “Fiscal Space for Public Investment: Towards a Human Development Approach.”
27. ATAF, 2021.
28. Moore, M. et al. 2018. “Taxing Africa: Coercion, Reform and Development. Bloomsbury Publishing.
29. Rogan, M. 2019. Tax Justice and the Informal Economy: A Review of the Debates.” Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing Working Paper 14.
30. African Tax Administrative Forum (ATAF). 2021. African Tax Outlook 2021.
31. Stotsky, J. et al. 2016. “Sub-Saharan Africa: A Survey of Gender Budgeting Efforts.” IMF Working Paper 2016/512.
32. Coelho, M. et al. 2022. “Gendered Taxes: The Interaction of Tax Policy with Gender Equality.” IMF Working Paper 2022/26.
33. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2021. Gender and Capital Budgeting.
34. Grown, C. and Valodia, I. 2010. Taxation and Gender Equity: A Comparative Analysis of Direct and Indirect Taxes in Developing and Developed Countries. Routledge.
35. Joshi, Anuradha et al. 2020. “Gender and Tax Policies in the Global South.” International Centre for Tax and Development.
36. Komatsu, H. et al. 2021. “Gender and Tax Incidence of Rural Land Use Fee and Agricultural In¬come Tax in Ethiopia.” Policy Research Working Papers.
38. Lustig, N. 2018. “Commitment to Equity Handbook: Estimating the Impact of Fiscal Policy on Inequality and Poverty.” Brookings Institution Press.
39. Grown, C. and Valodia, I. 2010. “Taxation and Gender Equity: A Comparative Analysis of Direct and Indirect Taxes in Developing and Developed Countries.” Routledge.
40. Cesar, C. et al. 2022. “Africa’s Pulse: An Analysis of Issues Shaping Africa’s Economic Future.” World Bank.
41. Woolard, I. 2018. Recommendations on Zero Ratings in the Value-Added Tax System. Independent Panel of Experts for the Review of Zero Rating in South Africa.
42. It is important to distinguish between firms and individuals that are large enough to pay taxes but do not (which include icebergs, e.g., which are registered and therefore partially visible to tax authorities but do not pay their full obligations) and ghosts, e.g., those which should register to pay but do not and there invisible to tax authorities) and firms and individuals that are small and potentially but not necessarily taxable such as street vendors and waste pickers. Rogan, M. (2019). “Tax Justice and the Informal Economy: A Review of the Debates.” Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing Working Paper 14.
44. Ligomeka, W. 2019. “Expensive to be a Female Trader: The Reality of Taxation of Flea Market Trad¬ers in Zimbabwe.” International Center for Tax and Development Working Paper 93.

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27 actionable ways to improve gender equality

By: Jessica Leigh Lebos

Humanity's capacity to thrive depends on women. That may seem obvious, given that women and girls comprise half of the population — yet discrepancies persist in earning potential, healthcare access, civil rights, and economic justice for women in every pocket of the planet. These disparities can be even greater among individuals who identify as gender-diverse or non-binary.

Working to improve gender equality is one of the most important ways we can make life better for everybody on earth — all 7.9 billion of us and counting.

Here's why.

Why support gender equality?

There are billions — about 4 billion to be more specific — of reasons to support gender equality : All the women-identified farmers, doctors, caretakers, and leaders across the world, so many of whom are still seeking access to basic human rights. Women suffer from political and social inequities, and despite their economic potential and capacity for innovation, they continue to earn 20 percent less than men.

Lack of access to education, equal pay , and healthcare doesn't only affect individual women and girls — it stifles the success of society itself. Poverty and gender inequality have been shown time and again to be linked ; conversely, countries where girls receive equal education to boys reflect reliable rates of economic growth and lower rates of domestic and cultural violence.

Studies show that when women have access to participate in local and regional economies and to own homes and other assets, the health and nutrition of their children increases. It is projected that if employment rates for women matched those of men, it could increase world GDP by trillions of dollars.

In short, gender equality represents a safer, healthier, more prosperous society for all.

Read more: Why gender equality is so important

Ways to promote gender equality in daily life

More than 80% of Kiva loans go to women, many of whom live in developing countries.

While advancing gender inequity can seem insurmountable, there are actions you can take to help close the gender gap and support the success of women and girls around the world.

Read more: Gender equality around the world: Where and when will it be reached?

1. Help individual women succeed.

According to a report by Kiva and USAID on global gender lens investing, over a billion women around the world are excluded from financial systems. Financial inclusion can help increase women's incomes, which can lead to increases in household spending on food and education and an improved quality of life.

Promoting financial inclusion among women can help provide women with the opportunities to start businesses, get an education, and increase their independence and agency. It is a practice that helps one woman at a time gain traction to improve their lives while creating benefits that reverberate throughout communities.

More than 80 percent of Kiva loans go to women, many of whom live in developing countries. These loans are facilitated through the work of on-the-ground lending partners like Caurie Microfinance , working to bring their services to women living in remote locations. Based in Senegal, Caurie has raised over US$23.5 million in loans for women, not only disbursing funds but also developing improved tech and mobile platforms that make it possible for its clients to repay loans, conduct transactions, and save money without having to travel to a branch office.

Other Kiva lending partners often include business training, healthcare access, and wraparound services that help individual women succeed.

Read more: Access to finance is critical to help women entrepreneurs around the world improve their earnings

2. Discuss gender equality with family members and children.

In many developed countries and societies, it can be tempting to take women's freedom for granted. Yet there is still a tremendous chasm to cross in order to achieve gender equality around the world — and closer to home. Talk about the ways women continue to be underrepresented in government and commerce and the positive potential impact of closing the gender gap.

3. Encourage financial inclusion.

Over a billion women are excluded from traditional banking services such as credit, savings, and money transfers that foster independence. More than 70 percent of women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have inadequate access to financial services like banking and credit, many with no access at all. Often they don't have access to these services because of social barriers and systemic poverty — even in developed countries like the U.S. Making microloans through organizations like Kiva helps women access capital to build credit, start businesses, fund education for themselves and their daughters, and support gender equality.

Support financial inclusion for women with a Kiva loan

4. Support women-owned businesses.

Where we choose to spend our money matters. Seeking out small businesses owned by women directly supports them and their families or communities. It also improves local economies and surrounding communities: Studies show that women-owned companies are more likely to create jobs in healthcare, food services, and other social sector industries than those owned by men. Seeking out women-owned companies and small businesses in your area is an effective way not only to support gender equality but also to help your community — for every dollar spent at a small business, 67 cents remains in local circulation.

5. Shop from companies and businesses that promote gender equality.

Across corporations and industries, statistics show the positive effects of including women in executive leadership positions:

Executive teams that are gender-diverse generate better financial performance

Value chains that are gender-diverse are more agile and create new business opportunities

Diversity leads to improved decision-making

There is so much power in how we spend our dollars — and where we don't. There are dozens of big corporations making huge strides in equalizing the workplace for all their employees, with a few global titans leading the way . Make a habit of researching where your dollars are going before making big purchases so you can be sure you're shopping from companies you feel good about supporting.

Donate to Kiva to help further our work to provide financial access to women

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Confirm donation, 6. promote gender equality at home..

Encourage the fair division of labor for household chores. Everyone is capable of contributing to the cooking, cleaning, childcare, and other unpaid labor it takes to keep a home and family. Not only does sharing the load between women and men break down stereotypes, it also makes caring for a household easier — many hands make light work.

Read more: How microfinance providers can improve outcomes for women entrepreneurs

Ways to improve gender equality in society

If women had the same agricultural rights and resources as men, they could reduce world hunger by up to 17%.

All of us live and work in a larger context, and we often encounter people different from us in greater society. We can promote gender equality by acting with kindness and courage:

7. Keep in mind that gender is not the same as biological sex.

While someone's biological sex refers strictly to biology, gender covers a host of social constructs and expectations that comprise an individual's identity. Even if a person was not born 'female', if they identify as a woman, as gender-diverse, or as non-binary, they will face social and economic risks even greater than those that people born female do. It's important to keep in mind that these groups need even more support and consideration when discussing gender equality.

Read more: The glass ceiling still looms above for women business owners in the U.S.

8. Speak out against gender-based violence.

Almost one in three women and girls have experienced physical and/or emotional abuse in their lifetime, most often at the hands of a spouse, partner, or relative. Lower-income women are at the highest risk for violence against women, and a lack of reporting violent acts, due to lack of safety and trust with current systems, affects women across all economic and social strata.

Ways to improve gender equality in the workplace

Globally, women earn 77 cents compared to every dollar made by men.

Given the tremendous contributions of women to business, tech, science, government, and every other sector of commercial and cultural importance, it's hard to believe that gender equality remains an issue in the workplace. However, one only needs to look at the statistics to realize that imbalances still exist:

Women earn 82 cents compared to every dollar made by men in developed countries; globally, it is just 77 cents . For women of color, immigrant women and mothers, the gap is even larger.

Though the numbers are increasing, women still occupy just 26 percent of all CEO and managing director positions . Only 23 Fortune 500 companies have women CEOS. In North America, the percentage of women of color in management positions remains in the single digits.

Mothers and women of child-bearing age with the same career experience as men are less likely to be hired and promoted.

Women report far more cases of burnout, stress, and exhaustion with work.

While many companies now implement diversity and inclusion measures in their hiring practices and human resources departments, few can boast they've closed the gender gap. Since it is still so rare, it bears asking the question: What does gender equality actually look like at work?

It means every employee has access to the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities within the organization

All employees feel safe from discrimination

Training and education are made available to all

Rewards and promotions are based on merit

Merit and evaluation systems are unbiased

Everyone is treated with equal respect

So what can we do to promote gender equality in the workplace, improve working conditions, and provide access to more opportunities for women? Each of us can help, whether we are entrepreneurs, in entry-level positions, gig workers, or climbing the corporate ladder.

9. Check your bias.

Many people don't realize the implicit ways they have internalized cultural biases of gender and race, which can affect all levels of the workplace. Many employers provide implicit bias training to help dissipate unconscious perceptions.

10. Use gender-inclusive language.

Referring to workers as 'individuals'; rather than as 'men' or 'women' in job descriptions, employee handbooks, and other company materials decreases bias, even — especially — in roles that have traditionally been held by one particular gender.

11. Advocate for equity.

Addressing the places and issues within company culture that create barriers for women and non-binary employees brings attention to where the work needs to be done. Often, leadership needs to be made aware of gender disparity before anything can change.

12. Ask for better.

Flexible hours, paid family and medical leave, and even offering childcare benefits are ways that some companies are creating a more equitable environment for working mothers (and parents in general!).

13. Focus on performance.

When it comes to promoting gender equality in the workplace, the best way to close the gap is to reward those who create results, bring in revenue, and achieve company goals —regardless of any perceived notions of their abilities.

Ways to advocate for gender equality

It is estimated that over seven million people participated worldwide in Women's March Day 2020.

While there are myriad actions we can take to promote gender equality at school, at work, and in our everyday lives, gender equality advocacy takes that commitment to a higher level. If you're passionate about closing the gender gap, creating more opportunities for women and non-binary individuals, and forging a more equitable and just world, here are a few suggestions.

14. Listen and learn.

All of us stand on the shoulders of those who have been doing the work of advocating for gender equality for generations. Read fundamental materials by organizations to understand the progress as well as the pitfalls that have been made. Seek out the past and present leaders of the movement, and have faith in yourself as a future leader.

15. Educate others.

Share what you know in private conversations and public forums. Use facts, statistics, and relevant anecdotes to make your case. While it's not always easy to remain patient with those who don't agree, and it is first and foremost an individual responsibility to educate ourselves, sticking to the point that gender equality improves life for everyone can help diffuse uncomfortable conversations.

16. Become an activist.

It is projected that it will take another 132 years for the world to achieve gender equality, but we can speed things up by getting involved. Make sure policymakers at local, regional, national, and international levels know that creating opportunities for women is the way to improve economies. Present gender equality issues as front and center for elections, and grill candidates on their positions. Better yet, run for office yourself!

Related: How Phearong became a women's rights leader in Cambodia

17. Support reproductive freedom.

Access to healthcare and sex education, including birth control and the right to choose when and if a woman wants to have children and how many, are a vital pillar of gender equality . Economic development, educational opportunities, and social progress depend on the right of women to control their bodies.

Ways to promote gender equality in school

Enrollment of women in higher education tripled worldwide from 1995 to 2018.

We know that educating girls is key to economic development and creating women leaders and entrepreneurs. The good news is that global enrollment of women in higher education has tripled from 1995 to 2018. However, ensuring gender equality in the classroom doesn't come automatically or easily — it takes conscious action.

18. Make sure learning materials represent everyone.

The selection of books, references, and other resources for a class can draw from a diverse group of authors. When the subject matter precludes the inclusion of women or non-binary contributors, address the reasons why that particular resource may not have favored such diversity.

19. Stick with gender-inclusive language.

As in everyday life and in the workplace, the use of gender-inclusive language in the classroom is an important way to ensure everyone feels supported. The use of 'you guys' and 'ladies and gentlemen' in the classroom favor traditional gender roles and binaries and can make young women and non-binary students feel excluded. When speaking to a group, the use of 'students', 'class', or even 'you all' are worthy gender-inclusive alternatives.

20. Challenge gender stereotypes.

While teaching anything from math to writing to science, choose examples that go against staid perceptions of gender: Women construction workers, stay-at-home dads — showing people of all genders in various roles helps students realize they need not be limited by anything.

21. Respect preferred pronouns.

When a young person expresses their wish to be referred to by a specific pronoun, honoring that wish affirms the student's identity to others and promotes gender equality in the classroom.

22. Help fund education for girls.

While women have now surpassed men in the U.S . for college graduation rates, in many places around the world, social norms prevent young women from pursuing college degrees or advanced training. Kiva helps women-identified students crowdsource tuition and living expenses from lenders all over the world, enabling them to advance their opportunities.

Lend to a woman today

Read more: How Kiran bucked traditional gender roles to pursue her education in Kathmandu

Ways to promote gender equality in sports

90% of colleges and universities discriminate against women in sports.

The U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, which Kiva is proud to partner with, made history in 2022 by demanding and receiving the same pay as the men's team, inspiring women and girls everywhere to seek out equality in sports. But even though women athletes achieved tremendous victories and the 1972 passage of Title IX was meant to guarantee equal representation in U.S. school sports, gender inequalities continue. An unacceptable 90 percent of colleges and universities discriminate against women in sports, and women are still underrepresented in leadership roles in the professional sports sector

Read more: Kiva and USWNTPA partnership wins 2023 Gold Halo Award

Here are some key ways to promote gender equality in sports and level the playing field.

23. Be a fan.

Support women's and girls' athletic teams by watching games in person or on television, following their social media, buying season passes, and sporting their merch. This goes for professional, international, and college-level teams as well as high school and younger —cheering from the sidelines encourages young players to stick with it.

24. Be a player.

Not everyone has the prowess to pursue professional sports, but there are plenty of local, low-key athletic opportunities for women of all ages. Even if it's a workplace softball team or helping coach a kindergarten soccer team, women's presence matters at every level.

25. Demand better policy.

While gender equality is finally getting attention at the professional level, there is plenty of room for improvement in school and recreational sports organizations. Women and girls deserve equal consideration when it comes to financial aid, funding and participation opportunities.

26. Protect whistleblowers.

Coming forward with examples of gender inequality, discrimination, and sexual harassment is courageous and often the only way to move the needle towards equality. Help establish anonymous programs to report such instances and protect privacy.

27. Use appropriate language.

When speaking or writing about women's sports, focus on skills and performance, not the way uniforms fit or what an athlete does in their private life. Achieving gender equality in sports depends on all athletes receiving the same kinds of respectful treatment from the media, fans, coaches, industry executives, and other players.

Every action counts

To paraphrase Kiva's Executive Chairwoman Julie Hanna, our work has just begun in achieving gender equality around the world. While the barriers may seem overwhelming, they are not insurmountable — especially when we see that there are so many actionable ways to support women — those who live in our communities and those in cultures across the globe.

Every day, with every dollar, each of us can make a difference. Millions of people have helped by lending on Kiva — funding loans for women seeking to improve their lives. It's a small way to have a big impact.

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Gender Inequality Essay

500+ words essay on gender inequality.

For many years, the dominant gender has been men while women were the minority. It was mostly because men earned the money and women looked after the house and children. Similarly, they didn’t have any rights as well. However, as time passed by, things started changing slowly. Nonetheless, they are far from perfect. Gender inequality remains a serious issue in today’s time. Thus, this gender inequality essay will highlight its impact and how we can fight against it.

About Gender Inequality Essay

Gender inequality refers to the unequal and biased treatment of individuals on the basis of their gender. This inequality happens because of socially constructed gender roles. It happens when an individual of a specific gender is given different or disadvantageous treatment in comparison to a person of the other gender in the same circumstance.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Impact of Gender Inequality

The biggest problem we’re facing is that a lot of people still see gender inequality as a women’s issue. However, by gender, we refer to all genders including male, female, transgender and others.

When we empower all genders especially the marginalized ones, they can lead their lives freely. Moreover, gender inequality results in not letting people speak their minds. Ultimately, it hampers their future and compromises it.

History is proof that fighting gender inequality has resulted in stable and safe societies. Due to gender inequality, we have a gender pay gap. Similarly, it also exposes certain genders to violence and discrimination.

In addition, they also get objectified and receive socioeconomic inequality. All of this ultimately results in severe anxiety, depression and even low self-esteem. Therefore, we must all recognize that gender inequality harms genders of all kinds. We must work collectively to stop these long-lasting consequences and this gender inequality essay will tell you how.

How to Fight Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is an old-age issue that won’t resolve within a few days. Similarly, achieving the goal of equality is also not going to be an easy one. We must start by breaking it down and allow it time to go away.

Firstly, we must focus on eradicating this problem through education. In other words, we must teach our young ones to counter gender stereotypes from their childhood.

Similarly, it is essential to ensure that they hold on to the very same beliefs till they turn old. We must show them how sports are not gender-biased.

Further, we must promote equality in the fields of labour. For instance, some people believe that women cannot do certain jobs like men. However, that is not the case. We can also get celebrities on board to promote and implant the idea of equality in people’s brains.

All in all, humanity needs men and women to continue. Thus, inequality will get us nowhere. To conclude the gender inequality essay, we need to get rid of the old-age traditions and mentality. We must teach everyone, especially the boys all about equality and respect. It requires quite a lot of work but it is possible. We can work together and achieve equal respect and opportunities for all genders alike.

FAQ of Gender Inequality Essay

Question 1: What is gender inequality?

Answer 1: Gender inequality refers to the unequal and biased treatment of individuals on the basis of their gender. This inequality happens because of socially constructed gender roles. It happens when an individual of a specific gender is given different or disadvantageous treatment in comparison to a person of the other gender in the same circumstance.

Question 2: How does gender inequality impact us?

Answer 2: The gender inequality essay tells us that gender inequality impacts us badly. It takes away opportunities from deserving people. Moreover, it results in discriminatory behaviour towards people of a certain gender. Finally, it also puts people of a certain gender in dangerous situations.

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Essays on Gender Equality

Gender equality essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: striving for gender equality: challenges, progress, and future perspectives.

Thesis Statement: This essay explores the global journey toward achieving gender equality, examining the persistent challenges, the significant progress made, and the potential future directions for advancing the cause of gender equality in all aspects of life.

Introduction
The Gender Equality Agenda: Goals and Key Principles
Obstacles to Equality: Discrimination, Stereotypes, and Institutional Barriers
Progress in Education and the Workforce: Breaking Down Gender Norms
Gender-Based Violence: Combating Domestic Violence and Harassment
Global Initiatives: UN Sustainable Development Goals and International Agreements
Empowering Women: Leadership, Political Participation, and Economic Empowerment
Future Prospects: Technology, Education, and the Role of Men in Promoting Equality
Conclusion: The Ongoing Struggle and Hope for a Gender-Equal World

Essay Title 2: The Intersection of Gender and Social Justice: Exploring the Interconnected Struggles

Thesis Statement: This essay delves into the intersectionality of gender and social justice, examining how gender inequality intersects with other forms of discrimination and how addressing these interconnected struggles is crucial for achieving a more just and equitable society.

Understanding Intersectionality: Overlapping Forms of Discrimination
Race and Gender: The Experiences of Women of Color
Gender, Socioeconomic Status, and the Wealth Gap
Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation: LGBTQ+ Rights and Inclusion
Disability and Gender: Challenges Faced by Disabled Individuals
Intersectional Activism: Movements and Advocacy for Equity
Building Inclusive Communities: Strategies for a More Just Society
Conclusion: The Urgent Need for Intersectional Approaches to Gender Equality

Essay Title 3: Gender Equality in the Workplace: Breaking Down Barriers and Promoting Inclusivity

Thesis Statement: This essay focuses on the realm of the workplace, addressing the challenges women face in achieving gender equality, examining diversity and inclusion initiatives, and highlighting the benefits of gender-balanced organizations.

The Gender Wage Gap: Causes, Consequences, and Progress
Workplace Discrimination: Stereotypes, Bias, and Microaggressions
Women in Leadership: Breaking the Glass Ceiling and Achieving Parity
Diversity and Inclusion: Strategies for Creating Gender-Equal Workplaces
Legal Protections: Labor Laws and Policies to Address Gender Discrimination
Corporate Responsibility: The Role of Businesses in Advancing Equality
Measuring Success: Metrics for Gender Equality in the Workplace
Conclusion: The Imperative of Gender Equality in the Professional World

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Each Man and Woman Should Have Equal Rights

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Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing different behaviors, aspirations and needs equally, regardless of gender.

In 2015 there were only 21 female heads of state in the entire world. Over 150 countries have at least one actively sexist law. In most countries, women only earn between 60 and 75% of men’s wages - for the same work. There are approximately 781 million illiterate adults worldwide – two-thirds of whom are women.

1. Gupta, G. R., Oomman, N., Grown, C., Conn, K., Hawkes, S., Shawar, Y. R., ... & Darmstadt, G. L. (2019). Gender equality and gender norms: framing the opportunities for health. The Lancet, 393(10190), 2550-2562. (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)30651-8/fulltext) 2. Inglehart, R., Norris, P., & Welzel, C. (2003). Gender equality and democracy. In Human values and social change (pp. 91-115). Brill. (https://brill.com/display/book/9789047404361/B9789047404361_s007.xml) 3. Pascall, G., & Lewis, J. (2004). Emerging gender regimes and policies for gender equality in a wider Europe. Journal of social policy, 33(3), 373-394. (https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-social-policy/article/abs/emerging-gender-regimes-and-policies-for-gender-equality-in-a-wider-europe/620412A9D1716CC48259C59F9BA95364) 4. Walby, S. (2004). The European Union and gender equality: Emergent varieties of gender regime. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, 11(1), 4-29. (https://academic.oup.com/sp/article-abstract/11/1/4/1654404) 5. Carli, L. L. (2020). Women, gender equality and COVID-19. Gender in Management: An International Journal, 35(7/8), 647-655. (https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/GM-07-2020-0236/full/html) 6. Kabeer, N., & Natali, L. (2013). Gender equality and economic growth: Is there a win‐win?. IDS Working Papers, 2013(417), 1-58. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.2040-0209.2013.00417.x) 7. Falk, A., & Hermle, J. (2018). Relationship of gender differences in preferences to economic development and gender equality. Science, 362(6412), eaas9899. (https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aas9899) 8. Breda, T., Jouini, E., Napp, C., & Thebault, G. (2020). Gender stereotypes can explain the gender-equality paradox. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(49), 31063-31069. (https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2008704117) 9. David, M. E. (2015). Women and gender equality in higher education?. Education Sciences, 5(1), 10-25. (https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/5/1/10)

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5 Essays to Learn More About Equality

“Equality” is one of those words that seems simple, but is more complicated upon closer inspection. At its core, equality can be defined as “the state of being equal.” When societies value equality, their goals include racial, economic, and gender equality . Do we really know what equality looks like in practice? Does it mean equal opportunities, equal outcomes, or both? To learn more about this concept, here are five essays focusing on equality:

“The Equality Effect” (2017) – Danny Dorling

In this essay, professor Danny Dorling lays out why equality is so beneficial to the world. What is equality? It’s living in a society where everyone gets the same freedoms, dignity, and rights. When equality is realized, a flood of benefits follows. Dorling describes the effect of equality as “magical.” Benefits include happier and healthier citizens, less crime, more productivity, and so on. Dorling believes the benefits of “economically equitable” living are so clear, change around the world is inevitable. Despite the obvious conclusion that equality creates a better world, progress has been slow. We’ve become numb to inequality. Raising awareness of equality’s benefits is essential.

Danny Dorling is the Halford Mackinder Professor of Geography at the University of Oxford. He has co-authored and authored a handful of books, including Slowdown: The End of the Great Acceleration—and Why It’s Good for the Planet, the Economy, and Our Lives . “The Equality Effect” is excerpted from this book. Dorling’s work focuses on issues like health, education, wealth, poverty, and employment.

“The Equality Conundrum” (2020) – Joshua Rothman

Originally published as “Same Difference” in the New Yorker’s print edition, this essay opens with a story. A couple plans on dividing their money equally among their children. However, they realize that to ensure equal success for their children, they might need to start with unequal amounts. This essay digs into the complexity of “equality.” While inequality is a major concern for people, most struggle to truly define it. Citing lectures, studies, philosophy, religion, and more, Rothman sheds light on the fact that equality is not a simple – or easy – concept.

Joshua Rothman has worked as a writer and editor of The New Yorker since 2012. He is the ideas editor of newyorker.com.

“Why Understanding Equity vs Equality in Schools Can Help You Create an Inclusive Classroom” (2019) – Waterford.org

Equality in education is critical to society. Students that receive excellent education are more likely to succeed than students who don’t. This essay focuses on the importance of equity, which means giving support to students dealing with issues like poverty, discrimination and economic injustice. What is the difference between equality and equity? What are some strategies that can address barriers? This essay is a great introduction to the equity issues teachers face and why equity is so important.

Waterford.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving equity and education in the United States. It believes that the educational experiences children receive are crucial for their future. Waterford.org was founded by Dr. Dustin Heuston.

“What does equality mean to me?” (2020) – Gabriela Vivacqua and Saddal Diab

While it seems simple, the concept of equality is complex. In this piece posted by WFP_Africa on the WFP’s Insight page, the authors ask women from South Sudan what equality means to them. Half of South Sudan’s population consists of women and girls. Unequal access to essentials like healthcare, education, and work opportunities hold them back. Complete with photographs, this short text gives readers a glimpse into interpretations of equality and what organizations like the World Food Programme are doing to tackle gender inequality.

As part of the UN, the World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization focusing on hunger and food security . It provides food assistance to over 80 countries each year.

“Here’s How Gender Equality is Measured” (2020) – Catherine Caruso

Gender inequality is one of the most discussed areas of inequality. Sobering stats reveal that while progress has been made, the world is still far from realizing true gender equality. How is gender equality measured? This essay refers to the Global Gender Gap report ’s factors. This report is released each year by the World Economic Forum. The four factors are political empowerment, health and survival, economic participation and opportunity, and education. The author provides a brief explanation of each factor.

Catherine Caruso is the Editorial Intern at Global Citizen, a movement committed to ending extreme poverty by 2030. Previously, Caruso worked as a writer for Inquisitr. Her English degree is from Syracuse University. She writes stories on health, the environment, and citizenship.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

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Research Article

Twenty years of gender equality research: A scoping review based on a new semantic indicator

Contributed equally to this work with: Paola Belingheri, Filippo Chiarello, Andrea Fronzetti Colladon, Paola Rovelli

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Energia, dei Sistemi, del Territorio e delle Costruzioni, Università degli Studi di Pisa, Largo L. Lazzarino, Pisa, Italy

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Roles Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Methodology, Software, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

* E-mail: [email protected]

Affiliations Department of Engineering, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy, Department of Management, Kozminski University, Warsaw, Poland

Roles Conceptualization, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing

Affiliation Faculty of Economics and Management, Centre for Family Business Management, Free University of Bozen-Bolzano, Bozen-Bolzano, Italy

Paola Belingheri,
Filippo Chiarello,
Andrea Fronzetti Colladon,
Paola Rovelli

Published: September 21, 2021
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474
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9 Nov 2021: The PLOS ONE Staff (2021) Correction: Twenty years of gender equality research: A scoping review based on a new semantic indicator. PLOS ONE 16(11): e0259930. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259930 View correction

Gender equality is a major problem that places women at a disadvantage thereby stymieing economic growth and societal advancement. In the last two decades, extensive research has been conducted on gender related issues, studying both their antecedents and consequences. However, existing literature reviews fail to provide a comprehensive and clear picture of what has been studied so far, which could guide scholars in their future research. Our paper offers a scoping review of a large portion of the research that has been published over the last 22 years, on gender equality and related issues, with a specific focus on business and economics studies. Combining innovative methods drawn from both network analysis and text mining, we provide a synthesis of 15,465 scientific articles. We identify 27 main research topics, we measure their relevance from a semantic point of view and the relationships among them, highlighting the importance of each topic in the overall gender discourse. We find that prominent research topics mostly relate to women in the workforce–e.g., concerning compensation, role, education, decision-making and career progression. However, some of them are losing momentum, and some other research trends–for example related to female entrepreneurship, leadership and participation in the board of directors–are on the rise. Besides introducing a novel methodology to review broad literature streams, our paper offers a map of the main gender-research trends and presents the most popular and the emerging themes, as well as their intersections, outlining important avenues for future research.

Citation: Belingheri P, Chiarello F, Fronzetti Colladon A, Rovelli P (2021) Twenty years of gender equality research: A scoping review based on a new semantic indicator. PLoS ONE 16(9): e0256474. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474

Editor: Elisa Ughetto, Politecnico di Torino, ITALY

Received: June 25, 2021; Accepted: August 6, 2021; Published: September 21, 2021

Copyright: © 2021 Belingheri et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its supporting information files. The only exception is the text of the abstracts (over 15,000) that we have downloaded from Scopus. These abstracts can be retrieved from Scopus, but we do not have permission to redistribute them.

Funding: P.B and F.C.: Grant of the Department of Energy, Systems, Territory and Construction of the University of Pisa (DESTEC) for the project “Measuring Gender Bias with Semantic Analysis: The Development of an Assessment Tool and its Application in the European Space Industry. P.B., F.C., A.F.C., P.R.: Grant of the Italian Association of Management Engineering (AiIG), “Misure di sostegno ai soci giovani AiIG” 2020, for the project “Gender Equality Through Data Intelligence (GEDI)”. F.C.: EU project ASSETs+ Project (Alliance for Strategic Skills addressing Emerging Technologies in Defence) EAC/A03/2018 - Erasmus+ programme, Sector Skills Alliances, Lot 3: Sector Skills Alliance for implementing a new strategic approach (Blueprint) to sectoral cooperation on skills G.A. NUMBER: 612678-EPP-1-2019-1-IT-EPPKA2-SSA-B.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction

The persistent gender inequalities that currently exist across the developed and developing world are receiving increasing attention from economists, policymakers, and the general public [e.g., 1 – 3 ]. Economic studies have indicated that women’s education and entry into the workforce contributes to social and economic well-being [e.g., 4 , 5 ], while their exclusion from the labor market and from managerial positions has an impact on overall labor productivity and income per capita [ 6 , 7 ]. The United Nations selected gender equality, with an emphasis on female education, as part of the Millennium Development Goals [ 8 ], and gender equality at-large as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030 [ 9 ]. These latter objectives involve not only developing nations, but rather all countries, to achieve economic, social and environmental well-being.

As is the case with many SDGs, gender equality is still far from being achieved and persists across education, access to opportunities, or presence in decision-making positions [ 7 , 10 , 11 ]. As we enter the last decade for the SDGs’ implementation, and while we are battling a global health pandemic, effective and efficient action becomes paramount to reach this ambitious goal.

Scholars have dedicated a massive effort towards understanding gender equality, its determinants, its consequences for women and society, and the appropriate actions and policies to advance women’s equality. Many topics have been covered, ranging from women’s education and human capital [ 12 , 13 ] and their role in society [e.g., 14 , 15 ], to their appointment in firms’ top ranked positions [e.g., 16 , 17 ] and performance implications [e.g., 18 , 19 ]. Despite some attempts, extant literature reviews provide a narrow view on these issues, restricted to specific topics–e.g., female students’ presence in STEM fields [ 20 ], educational gender inequality [ 5 ], the gender pay gap [ 21 ], the glass ceiling effect [ 22 ], leadership [ 23 ], entrepreneurship [ 24 ], women’s presence on the board of directors [ 25 , 26 ], diversity management [ 27 ], gender stereotypes in advertisement [ 28 ], or specific professions [ 29 ]. A comprehensive view on gender-related research, taking stock of key findings and under-studied topics is thus lacking.

Extant literature has also highlighted that gender issues, and their economic and social ramifications, are complex topics that involve a large number of possible antecedents and outcomes [ 7 ]. Indeed, gender equality actions are most effective when implemented in unison with other SDGs (e.g., with SDG 8, see [ 30 ]) in a synergetic perspective [ 10 ]. Many bodies of literature (e.g., business, economics, development studies, sociology and psychology) approach the problem of achieving gender equality from different perspectives–often addressing specific and narrow aspects. This sometimes leads to a lack of clarity about how different issues, circumstances, and solutions may be related in precipitating or mitigating gender inequality or its effects. As the number of papers grows at an increasing pace, this issue is exacerbated and there is a need to step back and survey the body of gender equality literature as a whole. There is also a need to examine synergies between different topics and approaches, as well as gaps in our understanding of how different problems and solutions work together. Considering the important topic of women’s economic and social empowerment, this paper aims to fill this gap by answering the following research question: what are the most relevant findings in the literature on gender equality and how do they relate to each other ?

To do so, we conduct a scoping review [ 31 ], providing a synthesis of 15,465 articles dealing with gender equity related issues published in the last twenty-two years, covering both the periods of the MDGs and the SDGs (i.e., 2000 to mid 2021) in all the journals indexed in the Academic Journal Guide’s 2018 ranking of business and economics journals. Given the huge amount of research conducted on the topic, we adopt an innovative methodology, which relies on social network analysis and text mining. These techniques are increasingly adopted when surveying large bodies of text. Recently, they were applied to perform analysis of online gender communication differences [ 32 ] and gender behaviors in online technology communities [ 33 ], to identify and classify sexual harassment instances in academia [ 34 ], and to evaluate the gender inclusivity of disaster management policies [ 35 ].

Applied to the title, abstracts and keywords of the articles in our sample, this methodology allows us to identify a set of 27 recurrent topics within which we automatically classify the papers. Introducing additional novelty, by means of the Semantic Brand Score (SBS) indicator [ 36 ] and the SBS BI app [ 37 ], we assess the importance of each topic in the overall gender equality discourse and its relationships with the other topics, as well as trends over time, with a more accurate description than that offered by traditional literature reviews relying solely on the number of papers presented in each topic.

This methodology, applied to gender equality research spanning the past twenty-two years, enables two key contributions. First, we extract the main message that each document is conveying and how this is connected to other themes in literature, providing a rich picture of the topics that are at the center of the discourse, as well as of the emerging topics. Second, by examining the semantic relationship between topics and how tightly their discourses are linked, we can identify the key relationships and connections between different topics. This semi-automatic methodology is also highly reproducible with minimum effort.

This literature review is organized as follows. In the next section, we present how we selected relevant papers and how we analyzed them through text mining and social network analysis. We then illustrate the importance of 27 selected research topics, measured by means of the SBS indicator. In the results section, we present an overview of the literature based on the SBS results–followed by an in-depth narrative analysis of the top 10 topics (i.e., those with the highest SBS) and their connections. Subsequently, we highlight a series of under-studied connections between the topics where there is potential for future research. Through this analysis, we build a map of the main gender-research trends in the last twenty-two years–presenting the most popular themes. We conclude by highlighting key areas on which research should focused in the future.

Our aim is to map a broad topic, gender equality research, that has been approached through a host of different angles and through different disciplines. Scoping reviews are the most appropriate as they provide the freedom to map different themes and identify literature gaps, thereby guiding the recommendation of new research agendas [ 38 ].

Several practical approaches have been proposed to identify and assess the underlying topics of a specific field using big data [ 39 – 41 ], but many of them fail without proper paper retrieval and text preprocessing. This is specifically true for a research field such as the gender-related one, which comprises the work of scholars from different backgrounds. In this section, we illustrate a novel approach for the analysis of scientific (gender-related) papers that relies on methods and tools of social network analysis and text mining. Our procedure has four main steps: (1) data collection, (2) text preprocessing, (3) keywords extraction and classification, and (4) evaluation of semantic importance and image.

Data collection

In this study, we analyze 22 years of literature on gender-related research. Following established practice for scoping reviews [ 42 ], our data collection consisted of two main steps, which we summarize here below.

Firstly, we retrieved from the Scopus database all the articles written in English that contained the term “gender” in their title, abstract or keywords and were published in a journal listed in the Academic Journal Guide 2018 ranking of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS) ( https://charteredabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/AJG2018-Methodology.pdf ), considering the time period from Jan 2000 to May 2021. We used this information considering that abstracts, titles and keywords represent the most informative part of a paper, while using the full-text would increase the signal-to-noise ratio for information extraction. Indeed, these textual elements already demonstrated to be reliable sources of information for the task of domain lexicon extraction [ 43 , 44 ]. We chose Scopus as source of literature because of its popularity, its update rate, and because it offers an API to ease the querying process. Indeed, while it does not allow to retrieve the full text of scientific articles, the Scopus API offers access to titles, abstracts, citation information and metadata for all its indexed scholarly journals. Moreover, we decided to focus on the journals listed in the AJG 2018 ranking because we were interested in reviewing business and economics related gender studies only. The AJG is indeed widely used by universities and business schools as a reference point for journal and research rigor and quality. This first step, executed in June 2021, returned more than 55,000 papers.

In the second step–because a look at the papers showed very sparse results, many of which were not in line with the topic of this literature review (e.g., papers dealing with health care or medical issues, where the word gender indicates the gender of the patients)–we applied further inclusion criteria to make the sample more focused on the topic of this literature review (i.e., women’s gender equality issues). Specifically, we only retained those papers mentioning, in their title and/or abstract, both gender-related keywords (e.g., daughter, female, mother) and keywords referring to bias and equality issues (e.g., equality, bias, diversity, inclusion). After text pre-processing (see next section), keywords were first identified from a frequency-weighted list of words found in the titles, abstracts and keywords in the initial list of papers, extracted through text mining (following the same approach as [ 43 ]). They were selected by two of the co-authors independently, following respectively a bottom up and a top-down approach. The bottom-up approach consisted of examining the words found in the frequency-weighted list and classifying those related to gender and equality. The top-down approach consisted in searching in the word list for notable gender and equality-related words. Table 1 reports the sets of keywords we considered, together with some examples of words that were used to search for their presence in the dataset (a full list is provided in the S1 Text ). At end of this second step, we obtained a final sample of 15,465 relevant papers.

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.t001

Text processing and keyword extraction

Text preprocessing aims at structuring text into a form that can be analyzed by statistical models. In the present section, we describe the preprocessing steps we applied to paper titles and abstracts, which, as explained below, partially follow a standard text preprocessing pipeline [ 45 ]. These activities have been performed using the R package udpipe [ 46 ].

The first step is n-gram extraction (i.e., a sequence of words from a given text sample) to identify which n-grams are important in the analysis, since domain-specific lexicons are often composed by bi-grams and tri-grams [ 47 ]. Multi-word extraction is usually implemented with statistics and linguistic rules, thus using the statistical properties of n-grams or machine learning approaches [ 48 ]. However, for the present paper, we used Scopus metadata in order to have a more effective and efficient n-grams collection approach [ 49 ]. We used the keywords of each paper in order to tag n-grams with their associated keywords automatically. Using this greedy approach, it was possible to collect all the keywords listed by the authors of the papers. From this list, we extracted only keywords composed by two, three and four words, we removed all the acronyms and rare keywords (i.e., appearing in less than 1% of papers), and we clustered keywords showing a high orthographic similarity–measured using a Levenshtein distance [ 50 ] lower than 2, considering these groups of keywords as representing same concepts, but expressed with different spelling. After tagging the n-grams in the abstracts, we followed a common data preparation pipeline that consists of the following steps: (i) tokenization, that splits the text into tokens (i.e., single words and previously tagged multi-words); (ii) removal of stop-words (i.e. those words that add little meaning to the text, usually being very common and short functional words–such as “and”, “or”, or “of”); (iii) parts-of-speech tagging, that is providing information concerning the morphological role of a word and its morphosyntactic context (e.g., if the token is a determiner, the next token is a noun or an adjective with very high confidence, [ 51 ]); and (iv) lemmatization, which consists in substituting each word with its dictionary form (or lemma). The output of the latter step allows grouping together the inflected forms of a word. For example, the verbs “am”, “are”, and “is” have the shared lemma “be”, or the nouns “cat” and “cats” both share the lemma “cat”. We preferred lemmatization over stemming [ 52 ] in order to obtain more interpretable results.

In addition, we identified a further set of keywords (with respect to those listed in the “keywords” field) by applying a series of automatic words unification and removal steps, as suggested in past research [ 53 , 54 ]. We removed: sparse terms (i.e., occurring in less than 0.1% of all documents), common terms (i.e., occurring in more than 10% of all documents) and retained only nouns and adjectives. It is relevant to notice that no document was lost due to these steps. We then used the TF-IDF function [ 55 ] to produce a new list of keywords. We additionally tested other approaches for the identification and clustering of keywords–such as TextRank [ 56 ] or Latent Dirichlet Allocation [ 57 ]–without obtaining more informative results.

Classification of research topics

To guide the literature analysis, two experts met regularly to examine the sample of collected papers and to identify the main topics and trends in gender research. Initially, they conducted brainstorming sessions on the topics they expected to find, due to their knowledge of the literature. This led to an initial list of topics. Subsequently, the experts worked independently, also supported by the keywords in paper titles and abstracts extracted with the procedure described above.

Considering all this information, each expert identified and clustered relevant keywords into topics. At the end of the process, the two assignments were compared and exhibited a 92% agreement. Another meeting was held to discuss discordant cases and reach a consensus. This resulted in a list of 27 topics, briefly introduced in Table 2 and subsequently detailed in the following sections.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.t002

Evaluation of semantic importance

Working on the lemmatized corpus of the 15,465 papers included in our sample, we proceeded with the evaluation of semantic importance trends for each topic and with the analysis of their connections and prevalent textual associations. To this aim, we used the Semantic Brand Score indicator [ 36 ], calculated through the SBS BI webapp [ 37 ] that also produced a brand image report for each topic. For this study we relied on the computing resources of the ENEA/CRESCO infrastructure [ 58 ].

The Semantic Brand Score (SBS) is a measure of semantic importance that combines methods of social network analysis and text mining. It is usually applied for the analysis of (big) textual data to evaluate the importance of one or more brands, names, words, or sets of keywords [ 36 ]. Indeed, the concept of “brand” is intended in a flexible way and goes beyond products or commercial brands. In this study, we evaluate the SBS time-trends of the keywords defining the research topics discussed in the previous section. Semantic importance comprises the three dimensions of topic prevalence, diversity and connectivity. Prevalence measures how frequently a research topic is used in the discourse. The more a topic is mentioned by scientific articles, the more the research community will be aware of it, with possible increase of future studies; this construct is partly related to that of brand awareness [ 59 ]. This effect is even stronger, considering that we are analyzing the title, abstract and keywords of the papers, i.e. the parts that have the highest visibility. A very important characteristic of the SBS is that it considers the relationships among words in a text. Topic importance is not just a matter of how frequently a topic is mentioned, but also of the associations a topic has in the text. Specifically, texts are transformed into networks of co-occurring words, and relationships are studied through social network analysis [ 60 ]. This step is necessary to calculate the other two dimensions of our semantic importance indicator. Accordingly, a social network of words is generated for each time period considered in the analysis–i.e., a graph made of n nodes (words) and E edges weighted by co-occurrence frequency, with W being the set of edge weights. The keywords representing each topic were clustered into single nodes.

The construct of diversity relates to that of brand image [ 59 ], in the sense that it considers the richness and distinctiveness of textual (topic) associations. Considering the above-mentioned networks, we calculated diversity using the distinctiveness centrality metric–as in the formula presented by Fronzetti Colladon and Naldi [ 61 ].

Lastly, connectivity was measured as the weighted betweenness centrality [ 62 , 63 ] of each research topic node. We used the formula presented by Wasserman and Faust [ 60 ]. The dimension of connectivity represents the “brokerage power” of each research topic–i.e., how much it can serve as a bridge to connect other terms (and ultimately topics) in the discourse [ 36 ].

The SBS is the final composite indicator obtained by summing the standardized scores of prevalence, diversity and connectivity. Standardization was carried out considering all the words in the corpus, for each specific timeframe.

This methodology, applied to a large and heterogeneous body of text, enables to automatically identify two important sets of information that add value to the literature review. Firstly, the relevance of each topic in literature is measured through a composite indicator of semantic importance, rather than simply looking at word frequencies. This provides a much richer picture of the topics that are at the center of the discourse, as well as of the topics that are emerging in the literature. Secondly, it enables to examine the extent of the semantic relationship between topics, looking at how tightly their discourses are linked. In a field such as gender equality, where many topics are closely linked to each other and present overlaps in issues and solutions, this methodology offers a novel perspective with respect to traditional literature reviews. In addition, it ensures reproducibility over time and the possibility to semi-automatically update the analysis, as new papers become available.

Overview of main topics

In terms of descriptive textual statistics, our corpus is made of 15,465 text documents, consisting of a total of 2,685,893 lemmatized tokens (words) and 32,279 types. As a result, the type-token ratio is 1.2%. The number of hapaxes is 12,141, with a hapax-token ratio of 37.61%.

Fig 1 shows the list of 27 topics by decreasing SBS. The most researched topic is compensation , exceeding all others in prevalence, diversity, and connectivity. This means it is not only mentioned more often than other topics, but it is also connected to a greater number of other topics and is central to the discourse on gender equality. The next four topics are, in order of SBS, role , education , decision-making , and career progression . These topics, except for education , all concern women in the workforce. Between these first five topics and the following ones there is a clear drop in SBS scores. In particular, the topics that follow have a lower connectivity than the first five. They are hiring , performance , behavior , organization , and human capital . Again, except for behavior and human capital , the other three topics are purely related to women in the workforce. After another drop-off, the following topics deal prevalently with women in society. This trend highlights that research on gender in business journals has so far mainly paid attention to the conditions that women experience in business contexts, while also devoting some attention to women in society.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.g001

Fig 2 shows the SBS time series of the top 10 topics. While there has been a general increase in the number of Scopus-indexed publications in the last decade, we notice that some SBS trends remain steady, or even decrease. In particular, we observe that the main topic of the last twenty-two years, compensation , is losing momentum. Since 2016, it has been surpassed by decision-making , education and role , which may indicate that literature is increasingly attempting to identify root causes of compensation inequalities. Moreover, in the last two years, the topics of hiring , performance , and organization are experiencing the largest importance increase.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.g002

Fig 3 shows the SBS time trends of the remaining 17 topics (i.e., those not in the top 10). As we can see from the graph, there are some that maintain a steady trend–such as reputation , management , networks and governance , which also seem to have little importance. More relevant topics with average stationary trends (except for the last two years) are culture , family , and parenting . The feminine topic is among the most important here, and one of those that exhibit the larger variations over time (similarly to leadership ). On the other hand, the are some topics that, even if not among the most important, show increasing SBS trends; therefore, they could be considered as emerging topics and could become popular in the near future. These are entrepreneurship , leadership , board of directors , and sustainability . These emerging topics are also interesting to anticipate future trends in gender equality research that are conducive to overall equality in society.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.g003

In addition to the SBS score of the different topics, the network of terms they are associated to enables to gauge the extent to which their images (textual associations) overlap or differ ( Fig 4 ).

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.g004

There is a central cluster of topics with high similarity, which are all connected with women in the workforce. The cluster includes topics such as organization , decision-making , performance , hiring , human capital , education and compensation . In addition, the topic of well-being is found within this cluster, suggesting that women’s equality in the workforce is associated to well-being considerations. The emerging topics of entrepreneurship and leadership are also closely connected with each other, possibly implying that leadership is a much-researched quality in female entrepreneurship. Topics that are relatively more distant include personality , politics , feminine , empowerment , management , board of directors , reputation , governance , parenting , masculine and network .

The following sections describe the top 10 topics and their main associations in literature (see Table 3 ), while providing a brief overview of the emerging topics.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.t003

Compensation.

The topic of compensation is related to the topics of role , hiring , education and career progression , however, also sees a very high association with the words gap and inequality . Indeed, a well-known debate in degrowth economics centers around whether and how to adequately compensate women for their childbearing, childrearing, caregiver and household work [e.g., 30 ].

Even in paid work, women continue being offered lower compensations than their male counterparts who have the same job or cover the same role [ 64 – 67 ]. This severe inequality has been widely studied by scholars over the last twenty-two years. Dealing with this topic, some specific roles have been addressed. Specifically, research highlighted differences in compensation between female and male CEOs [e.g., 68 ], top executives [e.g., 69 ], and boards’ directors [e.g., 70 ]. Scholars investigated the determinants of these gaps, such as the gender composition of the board [e.g., 71 – 73 ] or women’s individual characteristics [e.g., 71 , 74 ].

Among these individual characteristics, education plays a relevant role [ 75 ]. Education is indeed presented as the solution for women, not only to achieve top executive roles, but also to reduce wage inequality [e.g., 76 , 77 ]. Past research has highlighted education influences on gender wage gaps, specifically referring to gender differences in skills [e.g., 78 ], college majors [e.g., 79 ], and college selectivity [e.g., 80 ].

Finally, the wage gap issue is strictly interrelated with hiring –e.g., looking at whether being a mother affects hiring and compensation [e.g., 65 , 81 ] or relating compensation to unemployment [e.g., 82 ]–and career progression –for instance looking at meritocracy [ 83 , 84 ] or the characteristics of the boss for whom women work [e.g., 85 ].

The roles covered by women have been deeply investigated. Scholars have focused on the role of women in their families and the society as a whole [e.g., 14 , 15 ], and, more widely, in business contexts [e.g., 18 , 81 ]. Indeed, despite still lagging behind their male counterparts [e.g., 86 , 87 ], in the last decade there has been an increase in top ranked positions achieved by women [e.g., 88 , 89 ]. Following this phenomenon, scholars have posed greater attention towards the presence of women in the board of directors [e.g., 16 , 18 , 90 , 91 ], given the increasing pressure to appoint female directors that firms, especially listed ones, have experienced. Other scholars have focused on the presence of women covering the role of CEO [e.g., 17 , 92 ] or being part of the top management team [e.g., 93 ]. Irrespectively of the level of analysis, all these studies tried to uncover the antecedents of women’s presence among top managers [e.g., 92 , 94 ] and the consequences of having a them involved in the firm’s decision-making –e.g., on performance [e.g., 19 , 95 , 96 ], risk [e.g., 97 , 98 ], and corporate social responsibility [e.g., 99 , 100 ].

Besides studying the difficulties and discriminations faced by women in getting a job [ 81 , 101 ], and, more specifically in the hiring , appointment, or career progression to these apical roles [e.g., 70 , 83 ], the majority of research of women’s roles dealt with compensation issues. Specifically, scholars highlight the pay-gap that still exists between women and men, both in general [e.g., 64 , 65 ], as well as referring to boards’ directors [e.g., 70 , 102 ], CEOs and executives [e.g., 69 , 103 , 104 ].

Finally, other scholars focused on the behavior of women when dealing with business. In this sense, particular attention has been paid to leadership and entrepreneurial behaviors. The former quite overlaps with dealing with the roles mentioned above, but also includes aspects such as leaders being stereotyped as masculine [e.g., 105 ], the need for greater exposure to female leaders to reduce biases [e.g., 106 ], or female leaders acting as queen bees [e.g., 107 ]. Regarding entrepreneurship , scholars mainly investigated women’s entrepreneurial entry [e.g., 108 , 109 ], differences between female and male entrepreneurs in the evaluations and funding received from investors [e.g., 110 , 111 ], and their performance gap [e.g., 112 , 113 ].

Education has long been recognized as key to social advancement and economic stability [ 114 ], for job progression and also a barrier to gender equality, especially in STEM-related fields. Research on education and gender equality is mostly linked with the topics of compensation , human capital , career progression , hiring , parenting and decision-making .

Education contributes to a higher human capital [ 115 ] and constitutes an investment on the part of women towards their future. In this context, literature points to the gender gap in educational attainment, and the consequences for women from a social, economic, personal and professional standpoint. Women are found to have less access to formal education and information, especially in emerging countries, which in turn may cause them to lose social and economic opportunities [e.g., 12 , 116 – 119 ]. Education in local and rural communities is also paramount to communicate the benefits of female empowerment , contributing to overall societal well-being [e.g., 120 ].

Once women access education, the image they have of the world and their place in society (i.e., habitus) affects their education performance [ 13 ] and is passed on to their children. These situations reinforce gender stereotypes, which become self-fulfilling prophecies that may negatively affect female students’ performance by lowering their confidence and heightening their anxiety [ 121 , 122 ]. Besides formal education, also the information that women are exposed to on a daily basis contributes to their human capital . Digital inequalities, for instance, stems from men spending more time online and acquiring higher digital skills than women [ 123 ].

Education is also a factor that should boost employability of candidates and thus hiring , career progression and compensation , however the relationship between these factors is not straightforward [ 115 ]. First, educational choices ( decision-making ) are influenced by variables such as self-efficacy and the presence of barriers, irrespectively of the career opportunities they offer, especially in STEM [ 124 ]. This brings additional difficulties to women’s enrollment and persistence in scientific and technical fields of study due to stereotypes and biases [ 125 , 126 ]. Moreover, access to education does not automatically translate into job opportunities for women and minority groups [ 127 , 128 ] or into female access to managerial positions [ 129 ].

Finally, parenting is reported as an antecedent of education [e.g., 130 ], with much of the literature focusing on the role of parents’ education on the opportunities afforded to children to enroll in education [ 131 – 134 ] and the role of parenting in their offspring’s perception of study fields and attitudes towards learning [ 135 – 138 ]. Parental education is also a predictor of the other related topics, namely human capital and compensation [ 139 ].

Decision-making.

This literature mainly points to the fact that women are thought to make decisions differently than men. Women have indeed different priorities, such as they care more about people’s well-being, working with people or helping others, rather than maximizing their personal (or their firm’s) gain [ 140 ]. In other words, women typically present more communal than agentic behaviors, which are instead more frequent among men [ 141 ]. These different attitude, behavior and preferences in turn affect the decisions they make [e.g., 142 ] and the decision-making of the firm in which they work [e.g., 143 ].

At the individual level, gender affects, for instance, career aspirations [e.g., 144 ] and choices [e.g., 142 , 145 ], or the decision of creating a venture [e.g., 108 , 109 , 146 ]. Moreover, in everyday life, women and men make different decisions regarding partners [e.g., 147 ], childcare [e.g., 148 ], education [e.g., 149 ], attention to the environment [e.g., 150 ] and politics [e.g., 151 ].

At the firm level, scholars highlighted, for example, how the presence of women in the board affects corporate decisions [e.g., 152 , 153 ], that female CEOs are more conservative in accounting decisions [e.g., 154 ], or that female CFOs tend to make more conservative decisions regarding the firm’s financial reporting [e.g., 155 ]. Nevertheless, firm level research also investigated decisions that, influenced by gender bias, affect women, such as those pertaining hiring [e.g., 156 , 157 ], compensation [e.g., 73 , 158 ], or the empowerment of women once appointed [ 159 ].

Career progression.

Once women have entered the workforce, the key aspect to achieve gender equality becomes career progression , including efforts toward overcoming the glass ceiling. Indeed, according to the SBS analysis, career progression is highly related to words such as work, social issues and equality. The topic with which it has the highest semantic overlap is role , followed by decision-making , hiring , education , compensation , leadership , human capital , and family .

Career progression implies an advancement in the hierarchical ladder of the firm, assigning managerial roles to women. Coherently, much of the literature has focused on identifying rationales for a greater female participation in the top management team and board of directors [e.g., 95 ] as well as the best criteria to ensure that the decision-makers promote the most valuable employees irrespectively of their individual characteristics, such as gender [e.g., 84 ]. The link between career progression , role and compensation is often provided in practice by performance appraisal exercises, frequently rooted in a culture of meritocracy that guides bonuses, salary increases and promotions. However, performance appraisals can actually mask gender-biased decisions where women are held to higher standards than their male colleagues [e.g., 83 , 84 , 95 , 160 , 161 ]. Women often have less opportunities to gain leadership experience and are less visible than their male colleagues, which constitute barriers to career advancement [e.g., 162 ]. Therefore, transparency and accountability, together with procedures that discourage discretionary choices, are paramount to achieve a fair career progression [e.g., 84 ], together with the relaxation of strict job boundaries in favor of cross-functional and self-directed tasks [e.g., 163 ].

In addition, a series of stereotypes about the type of leadership characteristics that are required for top management positions, which fit better with typical male and agentic attributes, are another key barrier to career advancement for women [e.g., 92 , 160 ].

Hiring is the entrance gateway for women into the workforce. Therefore, it is related to other workforce topics such as compensation , role , career progression , decision-making , human capital , performance , organization and education .

A first stream of literature focuses on the process leading up to candidates’ job applications, demonstrating that bias exists before positions are even opened, and it is perpetuated both by men and women through networking and gatekeeping practices [e.g., 164 , 165 ].

The hiring process itself is also subject to biases [ 166 ], for example gender-congruity bias that leads to men being preferred candidates in male-dominated sectors [e.g., 167 ], women being hired in positions with higher risk of failure [e.g., 168 ] and limited transparency and accountability afforded by written processes and procedures [e.g., 164 ] that all contribute to ascriptive inequality. In addition, providing incentives for evaluators to hire women may actually work to this end; however, this is not the case when supporting female candidates endangers higher-ranking male ones [ 169 ].

Another interesting perspective, instead, looks at top management teams’ composition and the effects on hiring practices, indicating that firms with more women in top management are less likely to lay off staff [e.g., 152 ].

Performance.

Several scholars posed their attention towards women’s performance, its consequences [e.g., 170 , 171 ] and the implications of having women in decision-making positions [e.g., 18 , 19 ].

At the individual level, research focused on differences in educational and academic performance between women and men, especially referring to the gender gap in STEM fields [e.g., 171 ]. The presence of stereotype threats–that is the expectation that the members of a social group (e.g., women) “must deal with the possibility of being judged or treated stereotypically, or of doing something that would confirm the stereotype” [ 172 ]–affects women’s interested in STEM [e.g., 173 ], as well as their cognitive ability tests, penalizing them [e.g., 174 ]. A stronger gender identification enhances this gap [e.g., 175 ], whereas mentoring and role models can be used as solutions to this problem [e.g., 121 ]. Despite the negative effect of stereotype threats on girls’ performance [ 176 ], female and male students perform equally in mathematics and related subjects [e.g., 177 ]. Moreover, while individuals’ performance at school and university generally affects their achievements and the field in which they end up working, evidence reveals that performance in math or other scientific subjects does not explain why fewer women enter STEM working fields; rather this gap depends on other aspects, such as culture, past working experiences, or self-efficacy [e.g., 170 ]. Finally, scholars have highlighted the penalization that women face for their positive performance, for instance when they succeed in traditionally male areas [e.g., 178 ]. This penalization is explained by the violation of gender-stereotypic prescriptions [e.g., 179 , 180 ], that is having women well performing in agentic areas, which are typical associated to men. Performance penalization can thus be overcome by clearly conveying communal characteristics and behaviors [ 178 ].

Evidence has been provided on how the involvement of women in boards of directors and decision-making positions affects firms’ performance. Nevertheless, results are mixed, with some studies showing positive effects on financial [ 19 , 181 , 182 ] and corporate social performance [ 99 , 182 , 183 ]. Other studies maintain a negative association [e.g., 18 ], and other again mixed [e.g., 184 ] or non-significant association [e.g., 185 ]. Also with respect to the presence of a female CEO, mixed results emerged so far, with some researches demonstrating a positive effect on firm’s performance [e.g., 96 , 186 ], while other obtaining only a limited evidence of this relationship [e.g., 103 ] or a negative one [e.g., 187 ].

Finally, some studies have investigated whether and how women’s performance affects their hiring [e.g., 101 ] and career progression [e.g., 83 , 160 ]. For instance, academic performance leads to different returns in hiring for women and men. Specifically, high-achieving men are called back significantly more often than high-achieving women, which are penalized when they have a major in mathematics; this result depends on employers’ gendered standards for applicants [e.g., 101 ]. Once appointed, performance ratings are more strongly related to promotions for women than men, and promoted women typically show higher past performance ratings than those of promoted men. This suggesting that women are subject to stricter standards for promotion [e.g., 160 ].

Behavioral aspects related to gender follow two main streams of literature. The first examines female personality and behavior in the workplace, and their alignment with cultural expectations or stereotypes [e.g., 188 ] as well as their impacts on equality. There is a common bias that depicts women as less agentic than males. Certain characteristics, such as those more congruent with male behaviors–e.g., self-promotion [e.g., 189 ], negotiation skills [e.g., 190 ] and general agentic behavior [e.g., 191 ]–, are less accepted in women. However, characteristics such as individualism in women have been found to promote greater gender equality in society [ 192 ]. In addition, behaviors such as display of emotions [e.g., 193 ], which are stereotypically female, work against women’s acceptance in the workplace, requiring women to carefully moderate their behavior to avoid exclusion. A counter-intuitive result is that women and minorities, which are more marginalized in the workplace, tend to be better problem-solvers in innovation competitions due to their different knowledge bases [ 194 ].

The other side of the coin is examined in a parallel literature stream on behavior towards women in the workplace. As a result of biases, prejudices and stereotypes, women may experience adverse behavior from their colleagues, such as incivility and harassment, which undermine their well-being [e.g., 195 , 196 ]. Biases that go beyond gender, such as for overweight people, are also more strongly applied to women [ 197 ].

Organization.

The role of women and gender bias in organizations has been studied from different perspectives, which mirror those presented in detail in the following sections. Specifically, most research highlighted the stereotypical view of leaders [e.g., 105 ] and the roles played by women within firms, for instance referring to presence in the board of directors [e.g., 18 , 90 , 91 ], appointment as CEOs [e.g., 16 ], or top executives [e.g., 93 ].

Scholars have investigated antecedents and consequences of the presence of women in these apical roles. On the one side they looked at hiring and career progression [e.g., 83 , 92 , 160 , 168 , 198 ], finding women typically disadvantaged with respect to their male counterparts. On the other side, they studied women’s leadership styles and influence on the firm’s decision-making [e.g., 152 , 154 , 155 , 199 ], with implications for performance [e.g., 18 , 19 , 96 ].

Human capital.

Human capital is a transverse topic that touches upon many different aspects of female gender equality. As such, it has the most associations with other topics, starting with education as mentioned above, with career-related topics such as role , decision-making , hiring , career progression , performance , compensation , leadership and organization . Another topic with which there is a close connection is behavior . In general, human capital is approached both from the education standpoint but also from the perspective of social capital.

The behavioral aspect in human capital comprises research related to gender differences for example in cultural and religious beliefs that influence women’s attitudes and perceptions towards STEM subjects [ 142 , 200 – 202 ], towards employment [ 203 ] or towards environmental issues [ 150 , 204 ]. These cultural differences also emerge in the context of globalization which may accelerate gender equality in the workforce [ 205 , 206 ]. Gender differences also appear in behaviors such as motivation [ 207 ], and in negotiation [ 190 ], and have repercussions on women’s decision-making related to their careers. The so-called gender equality paradox sees women in countries with lower gender equality more likely to pursue studies and careers in STEM fields, whereas the gap in STEM enrollment widens as countries achieve greater equality in society [ 171 ].

Career progression is modeled by literature as a choice-process where personal preferences, culture and decision-making affect the chosen path and the outcomes. Some literature highlights how women tend to self-select into different professions than men, often due to stereotypes rather than actual ability to perform in these professions [ 142 , 144 ]. These stereotypes also affect the perceptions of female performance or the amount of human capital required to equal male performance [ 110 , 193 , 208 ], particularly for mothers [ 81 ]. It is therefore often assumed that women are better suited to less visible and less leadership -oriented roles [ 209 ]. Women also express differing preferences towards work-family balance, which affect whether and how they pursue human capital gains [ 210 ], and ultimately their career progression and salary .

On the other hand, men are often unaware of gendered processes and behaviors that they carry forward in their interactions and decision-making [ 211 , 212 ]. Therefore, initiatives aimed at increasing managers’ human capital –by raising awareness of gender disparities in their organizations and engaging them in diversity promotion–are essential steps to counter gender bias and segregation [ 213 ].

Emerging topics: Leadership and entrepreneurship

Among the emerging topics, the most pervasive one is women reaching leadership positions in the workforce and in society. This is still a rare occurrence for two main types of factors, on the one hand, bias and discrimination make it harder for women to access leadership positions [e.g., 214 – 216 ], on the other hand, the competitive nature and high pressure associated with leadership positions, coupled with the lack of women currently represented, reduce women’s desire to achieve them [e.g., 209 , 217 ]. Women are more effective leaders when they have access to education, resources and a diverse environment with representation [e.g., 218 , 219 ].

One sector where there is potential for women to carve out a leadership role is entrepreneurship . Although at the start of the millennium the discourse on entrepreneurship was found to be “discriminatory, gender-biased, ethnocentrically determined and ideologically controlled” [ 220 ], an increasing body of literature is studying how to stimulate female entrepreneurship as an alternative pathway to wealth, leadership and empowerment [e.g., 221 ]. Many barriers exist for women to access entrepreneurship, including the institutional and legal environment, social and cultural factors, access to knowledge and resources, and individual behavior [e.g., 222 , 223 ]. Education has been found to raise women’s entrepreneurial intentions [e.g., 224 ], although this effect is smaller than for men [e.g., 109 ]. In addition, increasing self-efficacy and risk-taking behavior constitute important success factors [e.g., 225 ].

Finally, the topic of sustainability is worth mentioning, as it is the primary objective of the SDGs and is closely associated with societal well-being. As society grapples with the effects of climate change and increasing depletion of natural resources, a narrative has emerged on women and their greater link to the environment [ 226 ]. Studies in developed countries have found some support for women leaders’ attention to sustainability issues in firms [e.g., 227 – 229 ], and smaller resource consumption by women [ 230 ]. At the same time, women will likely be more affected by the consequences of climate change [e.g., 230 ] but often lack the decision-making power to influence local decision-making on resource management and environmental policies [e.g., 231 ].

Research gaps and conclusions

Research on gender equality has advanced rapidly in the past decades, with a steady increase in publications, both in mainstream topics related to women in education and the workforce, and in emerging topics. Through a novel approach combining methods of text mining and social network analysis, we examined a comprehensive body of literature comprising 15,465 papers published between 2000 and mid 2021 on topics related to gender equality. We identified a set of 27 topics addressed by the literature and examined their connections.

At the highest level of abstraction, it is worth noting that papers abound on the identification of issues related to gender inequalities and imbalances in the workforce and in society. Literature has thoroughly examined the (unconscious) biases, barriers, stereotypes, and discriminatory behaviors that women are facing as a result of their gender. Instead, there are much fewer papers that discuss or demonstrate effective solutions to overcome gender bias [e.g., 121 , 143 , 145 , 163 , 194 , 213 , 232 ]. This is partly due to the relative ease in studying the status quo, as opposed to studying changes in the status quo. However, we observed a shift in the more recent years towards solution seeking in this domain, which we strongly encourage future researchers to focus on. In the future, we may focus on collecting and mapping pro-active contributions to gender studies, using additional Natural Language Processing techniques, able to measure the sentiment of scientific papers [ 43 ].

All of the mainstream topics identified in our literature review are closely related, and there is a wealth of insights looking at the intersection between issues such as education and career progression or human capital and role . However, emerging topics are worthy of being furtherly explored. It would be interesting to see more work on the topic of female entrepreneurship , exploring aspects such as education , personality , governance , management and leadership . For instance, how can education support female entrepreneurship? How can self-efficacy and risk-taking behaviors be taught or enhanced? What are the differences in managerial and governance styles of female entrepreneurs? Which personality traits are associated with successful entrepreneurs? Which traits are preferred by venture capitalists and funding bodies?

The emerging topic of sustainability also deserves further attention, as our society struggles with climate change and its consequences. It would be interesting to see more research on the intersection between sustainability and entrepreneurship , looking at how female entrepreneurs are tackling sustainability issues, examining both their business models and their company governance . In addition, scholars are suggested to dig deeper into the relationship between family values and behaviors.

Moreover, it would be relevant to understand how women’s networks (social capital), or the composition and structure of social networks involving both women and men, enable them to increase their remuneration and reach top corporate positions, participate in key decision-making bodies, and have a voice in communities. Furthermore, the achievement of gender equality might significantly change firm networks and ecosystems, with important implications for their performance and survival.

Similarly, research at the nexus of (corporate) governance , career progression , compensation and female empowerment could yield useful insights–for example discussing how enterprises, institutions and countries are managed and the impact for women and other minorities. Are there specific governance structures that favor diversity and inclusion?

Lastly, we foresee an emerging stream of research pertaining how the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic challenged women, especially in the workforce, by making gender biases more evident.

For our analysis, we considered a set of 15,465 articles downloaded from the Scopus database (which is the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature). As we were interested in reviewing business and economics related gender studies, we only considered those papers published in journals listed in the Academic Journal Guide (AJG) 2018 ranking of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (CABS). All the journals listed in this ranking are also indexed by Scopus. Therefore, looking at a single database (i.e., Scopus) should not be considered a limitation of our study. However, future research could consider different databases and inclusion criteria.

With our literature review, we offer researchers a comprehensive map of major gender-related research trends over the past twenty-two years. This can serve as a lens to look to the future, contributing to the achievement of SDG5. Researchers may use our study as a starting point to identify key themes addressed in the literature. In addition, our methodological approach–based on the use of the Semantic Brand Score and its webapp–could support scholars interested in reviewing other areas of research.

Supporting information

S1 text. keywords used for paper selection..

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0256474.s001

Acknowledgments

The computing resources and the related technical support used for this work have been provided by CRESCO/ENEAGRID High Performance Computing infrastructure and its staff. CRESCO/ENEAGRID High Performance Computing infrastructure is funded by ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development and by Italian and European research programmes (see http://www.cresco.enea.it/english for information).

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Achieving gender equity in sports

Gender parity has been a problem since the dawn of society. Numerous historical records show women encountering inequalities in their careers, education, homes, etc., and sports is not an exemption. The perceptions of dominance, physical strength, and power typically portrayed by men manifest in violence against women, exploitation, non-inclusion, and discrimination. This narrative needs to stop.

Sports has always been associated with men and their interests. This has alienated other genders who wish to participate in sports. There are several ways to encourage gender equity in the sporting world, and the following must be put into practice for a more inclusive future.

Work to reduce the investment/financing gap in women's sport

Insufficient finance is one of the issues many sports teams face. Men’s teams most times receive the majority of sponsorships and television deals.

Most companies are hesitant to support women's sports, and those that do view it as a moral obligation rather than an investment. Women's sports are developing and can reach greater levels with the appropriate financial assistance.

The economic gap can be closed by increasing funding for women's sports. Women can then have more options to participate in sports as a result.

Boost media exposure

Media representations of sports and athletes contribute to the construction of harmful gender stereotypes, as the media tends to represent women athletes as women first and athletes second.

The media is a powerful tool, if strategically engaged to address the gender disparity in sports. It is also a source of hidden power, affecting societies, influencing and reinforcing attitudes, beliefs, and practices, without realizing it.

Together, collaborating organizations and the media can use their power and voice, take action, and show leadership in increasing visibility for women in sports by addressing the inequality in sports and journalism.

The training and recruitment of female reporters into the sports industry can also contribute to promoting women's sports and addressing gender inequalities in sports.

Stop assuming that men are superior athletes

Another way to promote gender equity in sports is to stop assuming and portraying men as superior athletes. Men are often perceived to be stronger, better, and faster at sports than other genders due to the build of their body. This is not always true, as women have unique strengths and weaknesses. For example, they tend to be less likely to injure themselves and perform better than men in sports.

Create policies for gender equality

The gender equity goal needs to be pursued strategically by sports groups. Women who put in an equivalent amount of effort should be entitled to the same participation possibilities, financial support, pay, and perks as men.

Establish a whistleblower program

An easy-to-use, secure, and anonymous whistleblowing platform can capture discrimination and harassment complaints in sports organizations. Coming forward to expose unfair practices can be daunting, so maintaining the whistleblower’s security and privacy is essential.

Encourage female-led sports team

It is essential to support women's teams the same way as you would men's teams. This is a great strategy to encourage female athletes and advance gender equality in sports.

This can be done by paying women the same attention given to men's sports. You may also consider joining a club, going to games, and attending sports events for all genders as a strategy to promote gender equality.

To promote equity in sports, equal opportunities must be provided for all genders. Promoting gender equality in sports requires the participation of everyone. As an individual, be mindful of your words and actions, as you may inadvertently support gender inequality. When discussing gender equality on social media, exercise caution and use inclusive language. It is also important to try to find materials and information on how other people are promoting gender equity in sports.

As Nelson Mandela said, “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”

_____________________________________________________________________________

Anna Mambula is the Programme Manager at FAME Foundation , a gender not-for-profit organization using sports as a tool to advocate for the SDGs.

Emma Abasiekong is the Assistant Project Officer at FAME Foundation.

Read more: Reshaping sport and development
Related article: Implementing sports governance and fostering social development
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Improving gender equality will help end violence against women, but it’s only part of the puzzle

Research Fellow, La Trobe University

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The spike in reports of women murdered by men this year has prompted widespread conversations across Australia about how we end gender-based violence . Much of this discussion has been about the importance of creating a more gender-equal society.

This then spurred conversations about the “ Nordic paradox ”. This theory questions why countries closer to achieving gender equality still report high rates of violence against women.

Countries such as Iceland elect more women to parliament, have more equitable parental leave policies and better pay parity, but have rates of violence similar to ostensibly less gender-equal countries.

At first glance, this seems an interesting contradiction. However, research informing Australian approaches is clear. These forms of gender parity are important, but they’re not enough to prevent violence against women on their own.

What is Australia doing?

In Australia, there’s a large focus on primary prevention, or stopping violence happening in the first place. This work happens alongside other prevention efforts that ensure perpetrators are helped to change their behaviour and keep survivors safe. This continuum is often talked about as fitting into three categories of effort : primary, secondary and tertiary prevention.

Primary prevention means changing the social conditions that allow gender-based violence to occur. This requires comprehensive effort across every setting where we live, work, play and learn, to address the gendered drivers of violence and the reinforcing factors that can make this violence more severe.

Secondary prevention, also called early intervention, aims to support people ( predominantly men ) who have used violence (or are at risk of doing so) from perpetrating further harm. Tertiary prevention is also referred to as crisis response. This category supports victim-survivors to get help, such as safe housing and emergency funds when escaping violence. It also includes men’s behaviour change programs and law and justice responses to perpetrators.

Work to address the gendered drivers of violence happens across all these categories. However, Australia’s National Plan to end violence against women rightly emphasises the importance of dedicated attention to primary prevention. Most primary prevention efforts in Australia draw on international evidence reviews , developed by Our Watch into a framework called Change the Story . This sets out four categories of gendered drivers of violence against women:

condoning of violence against women

men’s control of decision-making and limits to women’s independence in public and private life

rigid gender stereotyping and dominant forms of masculinity

male peer relations and cultures of masculinity that emphasise aggression, dominance and control.

Layers of complexity

Violence against women is a complex, multi-layered problem. These four categories overlap with drivers of other forms of structural discrimination. Ableism , colonialism and racism and heteronormativity and cisnormativity (building society around the idea that heterosexual and cisgender people are the norm) all add complexity.

Change the Story also highlights additional factors to consider, such as heavy alcohol use or backlash to gender equality.

A woman chants at a rally surrounded by protestors

Alone, these do not necessarily cause gender-based violence, but they do reinforce the likelihood that violence will occur or cause significant harm.

All these dynamics shape how gender-based violence is perpetrated and experienced by different cohorts of the community. Addressing these different needs, therefore, should be tailored and comprehensive.

This is already happening in many areas. Programs in faith-based organisations and different diasporic communities , women’s health networks and Aboriginal community-controlled organisations take this approach. So too do programs led by people with disability and those in LGBTQIA+ communities.

Measuring the wrong things

Primary prevention calls on everyone to help change social norms, while not losing sight of the need for broader structural change.

The multifaceted nature of these strategies means measuring success based only on the data used to construct the Nordic paradox is like critiquing a theatre performance purely on the set design. It’s important, but you must also consider the efforts of the playwrights, actors and directors when deciding whether the play is a success.

Studies used to inform the Nordic paradox report on measures of gender equality where progress is easier to track across more countries. Measures include who is accessing education and health services, who is going to work, who is in parliament, how much people are paid, and what laws are in place.

A woman wearing a jacket and scarf walks in a busy European street

These play an important role in progressing efforts on the ground. Reducing structural barriers to things like women’s financial security, for example, makes a tangible difference.

However, such broad metrics can’t tell us how individual people react to such changes. They don’t provide insight into how reforms are administered and taken up. They don’t reveal whether men think violence against women is a problem or how people think they should behave in intimate relationships. Nor do they say anything about how men think about consent or pornography , or how men talk to each other about women.

Piecing the puzzle together

In Australia, there are different studies that build a more nuanced picture of progress to address all the drivers. These exist alongside tracking progress towards gender parity across measures considered in the Nordic paradox.

We measure change over time in attitudes towards gender equality and violence against women across Australia. There’s also work considering how men’s endorsement of harmful masculine norms shapes their attitudes towards women and gender-diverse people. This research provides crucial insight into where change is happening at a national level.

We also need to understand how and why progress is (or isn’t) made locally. We need to consider the effectiveness of all prevention initiatives, including respectful relationships education , equitable parenting initiatives and digital campaigns . We need more research to understand how, why and by whom violence is perpetrated .

We then need to bring all these separate pieces together to complete the puzzle. What’s the cumulative impact of all these programs and services, and how do they work together?

This kind of evaluation is a work in progress for Australia . However, we know from international examples that they can demonstrate powerful change .

Ending gender-based violence requires complex strategies informed by an evolving evidence base. This must include more than high-level gender parity measures.

Domestic violence
Gender inequality
Violence against women
Gender equality
Family violence
Gender-based violence
Violence prevention
Domestic violence support services

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DOI: 10.12968/bjhc.2023.0100
Corpus ID: 270337737

A silver lining: did COVID-19 accelerate the road to gender equality?

Andrew Atherton
Published in British Journal of Healthcare… 2 June 2024
Sociology, Medicine, Business

7 References

Data inspiring action – getting to the heart of women's career progression, nothing changes, really: why women who break through the glass ceiling end up reinforcing it, overall job performance, remote work engagement, living with children, and remote work productivity during the covid-19 pandemic, the glass ceiling in context: the influence of ceo gender, recruitment practices and firm internationalisation on the representation of women in management, women and part-time employment, from local to global: visual strategies of glocalisation in digital storytelling, related papers.

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Gender equality strategy 2022-2025.

UNDP GENDER EQUALITY STRATEGY 2022-2025 (EN) PDF (18.3 MB)
SUMMARY VERSION (EN) PDF (48.7 MB)
UNDP GENDER EQUALITY STRATEGY 2022-2025 (FR) PDF (15.1 MB)
SUMMARY VERSION (FR) PDF (29.3 MB)
UNDP GENDER EQUALITY STRATEGY 2022-2025 (ES) PDF (15.2 MB)
SUMMARY VERSION (ES) PDF (29.3 MB)
UNDP GENDER EQUALITY STRATEGY 2022-2025 (RU) PDF (3.8 MB)
SUMMARY VERSION (RU) PDF (4.3 MB)
UNDP GENDER EQUALITY STRATEGY 2022-2025 (CH) PDF (4 MB)
SUMMARY VERSION (CH) PDF (4.4 MB)
UNDP GENDER EQUALITY STRATEGY 2022-2025 (AR) PDF (3.1 MB)
SUMMARY VERSION (AR) PDF (2.4 MB)

The United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 has been created during turbulent times. Multiple crises and risks are threatening the world and we are witnessing an alarming backlash against women’s rights and gender equality. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, women have been nearly twice as likely to lose their jobs compared to men. Yet less than 20 percent of policy measures implemented by countries across the world addressed women’s economic insecurity. Gender inequality also takes a toll on men and other affected groups. For men, rigid gender norms can result in risky behaviour resulting in violence, poor health, and lower life expectancy.

At a time when progress towards achieving gender equality is often stalling or even reversing, this ambitious new Gender Equality Strategy will guide UNDP in its efforts to assist countries to move beyond piecemeal efforts towards portfolio approaches that shift power structures and the economic, social, and political systems that perpetuate discrimination.

The strategy is grounded in UNDP’s commitment to eradicating poverty...

Achim Steiner, Administrator, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

...reducing inequalities and exclusion, and supporting the empowerment of all women. It describes how UNDP together with our partners, will pursue gender equality -- helping to make a difference to millions of people across the globe through our

six signature solutions, and three ‘enablers’: innovation, digital transformation, and financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). That includes ending gender-based violence, tackling the gender dimension of poverty, expanding access to clean, affordable energy, public institutions reform, and helping to unlock additional public and private investment towards gender equality. Crucially, the strategy also asks UNDP to continue advancing gender equality within the organization. Leaders at every level of our organization are encouraged to innovate and seek incremental and breakthrough improvements to unlock the structural changes needed.

Every element of the new strategy draws on knowledge from UNDP’s longstanding engagement to advance gender equality in every corner of the globe. I am deeply grateful to the more than 1,000 colleagues and stakeholders whose contributions helped to produce a strategy that genuinely reflects the diversity and needs of the countries and territories where we operate.

I invite you to read the strategy and learn more. With the support and collaboration of our partners from the UN family -- including our close partnership with UN Women -- and beyond, UNDP will continue to take action with countries and communities to expand people’s choices and realize a just and more equal world.

The Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 has been written in unprecedented times. The COVID-19 pandemic has imperilled every dimension of our well-being and amplified a sense of fear across the globe, and there is an alarming escalation in armed violence. This strategy responds to reflections around two key concerns. First, why has progress towards gender equality been so slow and scattered, and even reversed? Second, what can UNDP best do in response?

Assisting 80 countries to expand care services and redistribute care work.
Supporting 250 million women to gain access to productive uses of clean energy.
Helping 1 million more women to access and control digital assets.
Leveraging and aligning over US$100 billion to contribute to gender equality through taxation systems, public spending, debt instruments and private capital investments.
Certifying 500 public institutions and private companies with the Gender Equality Seal.

The global context: Crisis and opportunity

The world faces unprecedented planetary and social crises driven by human actions. The COVID-19 pandemic has raised acute questions about why progress continues to lag in many places, for many people, for so long. Development and other thought leaders, including many in feminist movements, have called for rethinking and rebalancing political, economic, social and environmental systems so that they become inclusive and sustainable. UNDP is ready to stand at the vanguard of this call for a new direction, including through this strategy for 2022-2025, recognizing that:

The COVID-19 crisis is eroding decades of progress while at the same time opening opportunities for innovative policies on gender equality.

Economic inequality is increasing, with a persistent uneven distribution of care.

Climate change has become a climate emergency, requiring a green transition that contributes to gender equality and human rights.

Governance is at stake, with polarization, democratic regression and serious pushbacks to gender equality.

Growing intersecting crises collide with gender norms to determine vulnerability, with war impacts and disaster fatality rates higher for the poorest women.

Rapid digitalization has impacts, with potential for widening inequalities but also with enormous power to help close gender gaps in access to and use of technology.

A mismatch between commitment and reality persists when it comes to investments, with a tension between collective ambition and financial resources for gender equality.

The Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 builds on the progress and lessons of the previous strategy. It draws on insights from assessments and evaluations, and from conversations with government leaders, prominent thinkers, feminist practitioners, civil society, the private sector, the United Nations system and UNDP staff worldwide.

The strategy responds to several key lessons, including that UNDP will:

Help countries to shift power relationships and cut the deep roots of gender inequality.

Be equipped with more sophisticated analysis to address the complexities of gender inequalities.

Integrate gender expertise across teams and invest adequate resources to scale up impact.

Partner with grassroots and women’s organizations to shift policy.

Mobilize financial resources for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Our partnerships

Over the next four years, UNDP will foster collaborative leadership and learning, valuing diverse sources of knowledge and pursuing creative, emotionally engaging, and analytically sound collaborations. UNDP will pursue new partnerships for gender equality and deepen existing ones to advance longer-term advocacy and policy goals, including with:

UN Women and across the UN system

Civil society, including feminists’ organizations, women’s organizations and other groups advocating for rights

New partners who can help shift norms and behaviours to support gender equality, such as faith-based organizations, and networks of young women innovators and influencers

Academia and think tanks

Private sector

UNDP is uniquely capable of taking a whole-of-society approach and helping governments expand national development choices that work for all. During this strategy period and beyond, UNDP will be accompanying countries, driven by national development choices, in pursuing three directions of systemic change that are fundamental to gender equality.

Structural transformation

Working with countries to shift the underlying systems and power structures that determine development, UNDP will ask questions and hold difficult conversations, serving as a convener and advocate as much as, if not more than, a programme provider.

Leaving no one behind

To ‘reach the furthest behind first’, UNDP will address the multiple and intersecting forms of deprivation, disadvantage, and discrimination such as race, ethnicity, religion or belief, health, status, age, class, caste, and sexual orientation and identity.

Building resilience

Helping countries develop capacities to prevent, mitigate and respond to diverse risks and crises, UNDP will put gender equality at the centre of resilience building, including by fully involving women on equal terms and at all levels in decision-making.

Progress requires sustained action and investment over decades. UNDP will combine shorter-term incremental changes that reach individuals and communities with longer-term reductions in structural barriers that generate changes across social, economic and other systems.

UNDP will pursue gender mainstreaming across each of the five signature solutions of the Strategic Plan reflected in this section, along with stand-alone interventions summarized under signature solution 6.

Priorities represent accelerators where UNDP has demonstrated results and offers comparative advantages. They combine focused attention on closing historical inequities with interventions to achieve women’s empowerment, autonomy, and ability to make choices. With governments in a range of country situations as core partners, UNDP follows a contextualized, country-driven approach to implementing its priorities.

Signature solution 1

Poverty and inequality.

Contribute to gender-equal and sustainable economies:

Universal and gender-responsive social protection and care services
Fiscal policies that work for gender equality
Expanded access to essential services, digital and other assets, and finance.

Signature solution 2

Help reinvigorate inclusive governance, participation and women’s leadership :

Women's collective mobilization, voice and influence
Towards genderresponsive States
Achieving gender justice to realize rights.

Signature solution 3

Support equal societies to build resilience:

Fully gender-responsive disaster risk reduction and management
Resilient economic recovery to advance gender equality
Women’s leadership and full participation in peace and recovery.

Signature solution 4

Environment.

Put gender equality at the heart of caring for people and the planet:

Gender-responsive management of natural resources
Implementing gender equality commitments in climate action plans
Climate finance for gender equality.

Signature solution 5

Close gender gaps in access to modern energy:

Energy access to unleash women’s economic empowerment
Energy investments to reduce time poverty
Galvanizing new knowledge on gender and energy.

Signature solution 6

Gender equality.

Accelerate the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women:

Inclusive economies and women’s economic empowerment
Equal power and representation
Preventing and responding to gender-based violence
Reversing the backlash against gender equality
Better data and analysis for policy making
Changing negative social norms.

Three enablers

Aligned with UNDP’s Strategic Plan, enablers are capacities and approaches to scale up development impact for country partners and within UNDP. To achieve this Gender Equality Strategy, UNDP will pursue three enablers: finance, digitalization and innovation.

Partnering with governments and the private sector to align public and private finance with gender equality commitments.

Digitalization

Supporting partners to close gender gaps in access to and uses of digital technology.

Empowering governments to use a more systemic and transformational lens to address multiple facets of gender inequality at the same time.

The Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 sets out an ambitious agenda to help countries embrace complexity and find new solutions, responding with flexibility and promoting learning instead of compliance or rigid responses to gender equality. At a pivotal moment for reimagining development, much depends on learning from the past to reframe strategies for our future. The following seven interconnected building blocks will help UNDP scale up impact and achieve transformative results for gender equality. The Gender Equality Seal will continue to be the UNDP global initiative for operationalizing this strategy.

Leaders foster listening and open spaces for self-reflection, pushing beyond comfort zones to change behaviours while modelling power-sharing in practice.

Composed of gender specialists, a gender architecture moves away from mechanical approaches to gender equality and works towards dismantling structural barriers.

New knowledge and innovation transforms how we develop solutions and generates frontier knowledge for gender equality.

UNDP continues to transform as a more inclusive, diverse and harmonious working organization.

Increase investments to achieve our ambition on gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Accountability mechanisms reinforce gender equality – for example, by establishing a Gender Data Powerhouse to provide reliable data on UNDP’s performance.

Communication for advocacy is employed across portfolios, including accessible messages to foster strategic dialogues with stakeholders.

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Leading the fight for gender equality and an end to violence against women in south sudan.

A lifelong advocate for women and children’s rights, Elizabeth Henry started the "Mother & Childcare” organization 24-years ago in Aweil and relentlessly works to ensure women are allocated seats at the top table in local government. Photo by Rabindra Giri/UNMISS.

Elizabeth Henry is the founding chair and Executive Director of Women in Local Government Administration which is working to ensure women are allocated at least 35 per cent of seats in local governments. “The biggest problem in South Sudan is to change how society views the role of women and children because that is the root of it all,” says 50-year-old Elizabeth Henry. A lifelong crusader for women’s and children’s rights, Elizabeth started a Non-Governmental Organization named “Mother & Childcare” in 2000 in Aweil, Northern Bahr El Ghazal. “Many local laws in different states still view girls and women as commodities, something to be paid as compensation to resolve conflicts between warring parties,” she says. She is referring to the practice of paying a “blood price” in states like Unity and Eastern Equatoria where girls are given to compensate an aggrieved party who lost a family or community member. It is essentially an incentive to bring peace between the warring parties. “This is a horrible practice that must be stopped,” she says.Married at 16, Elizabeth became a full-time wife and mother, but she was determined to continue her education and found time over the years to complete a law degree as well as raise five children, who are now also pursuing higher education.The daughter of a regional police chief she says she was lucky to be able to manage the time and scrape together some resources to continue studying between long breaks and bouts of displacement throughout the conflicts that eventually saw South Sudan gain independence.But it was only when she was attending a training on local governance in 2018 that she noticed she was the sole female participant. “That was when I realized that the only way women could ever close the gap with men was by being active participants in governance,” says Elizabeth. That idea gave birth to Women in Local Government Administration (WiLGA) and she credits the United Nations Development Programme and German Corporation for International Cooperation for supporting the organization. Most recently, Elizabeth co-chaired a capacity building workshop for women in local governance in partnership with the Gender Affairs Unit of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The event brought together more than 50 women working in local government administration across all 10 states, women from NGOs and, importantly, male local chiefs who oversee customary courts.“The biggest misperception is that many women and men in our country don’t know that sexual and gender-based violence is a crime – they are led to believe that it is a part of the culture which they must accept,” says Elizabeth in her opening remarks.UNMISS has partnered with WiLGA since 2023 to train and recruit a new cohort of educated women who can serve on local government boards and, over time, influence decisions in their respective jurisdictions for gender equality and the eradication of all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict related sexual violence. Elizabeth is candid when she says they continue to face many challenges, but that every small achievement and every male or female advocate they win over will help to turn the tide towards greater gender equality in South Sudan. “The male local chiefs are critical advocates for our cause, because they are the ones who oversee the customary courts at the Payam and village level – and if they believe that existing laws are discriminatory and wrong – then we have won half the battle,” she says.On the legislative front too, there is hope. Currently pending are two laws in draft from which, when passed, will ensure that women rights to protection and equality are firmly entrenched: the Draft Family Law and Draft Anti-Gender-Based Violence Prevention Bill. As part of the peace deal in 2018, it was decreed that 35 percent of parliamentary seats be allocated to women. Some women already serve in senior government posts, including that of Vice President. However, Elizabeth says that the battle is far from over. In fact, it is just beginning.“Legislation alone cannot guarantee that women will be protected and accorded equal opportunities for participation – but it will help lay the foundation for future generations of girls and women who will one day become leaders for a more just and equitable South Sudan.” Meanwhile, she hopes that the government’s positive responses and approach as well as the partnerships with the United Nations and other development organizations, will help to cement women’s rights as inalienable and inclusive.

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Gender Equality

Back Working together to end violence against women

European countries are taking a stronger stand against violence against women thanks to a key international human rights treaty, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence ( Istanbul Convention ). This convention goes beyond simply condemning violence – it requires concrete action from countries which have ratified.

Article 10 stipulates that each country must set up an official coordinating body. These bodies act as central hubs, overseeing the development and implementation of plans to prevent violence against women, protect victims, prosecute perpetrators and develop integrated policies to end violence against women and domestic violence. They are also responsible for monitoring the effectiveness of these plans and making adjustments as needed.

A collection of papers was developed in late 2023 on “Setting up co-ordinating bodies responsible for policies on violence against women: Article 10 of the Istanbul Convention”. The practical information it contains includes clear guidelines, examples of promising practices drawing from 36 baseline evaluation reports by GREVIO, the Istanbul Convention’s independent monitoring body, and a checklist of key considerations for implementation. The collection also offers a list of resources which may foster these efforts.

To support implementation of the Istanbul Convention in Ukraine, the resource has been translated into Ukrainian under the Council of Europe project “ Combating violence against women in Ukraine – Phase II” (COVAW-II) .

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Speech: Looking forward to a future of gender equality

Closing remarks by under-secretary-general of the united nations and executive director of un women, sima bahous, at the annual session of the un women executive board, 22 june 2022..

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[As delivered.]

Distinguished delegates, I would like to thank the President of the Executive Board, H.E. Ambassador Fatima Rabab—my good friend, your good friend—for leading us through the annual session so effectively. And we look forward, like we said earlier in the opening, to continuing to work with her in her new capacity as our best ally for gender equality within the system. So, thank you.

I would also like to thank the Vice-Presidents, and all those who have contributed to the robust discussion of this session’s significant agenda. I appreciate very much the collaborative and constructive spirit in which we are able to approach all topics. Congratulations on the adoption of the robust decisions that will guide our work.

The 2022 annual session of the UN Women Executive Board was held at UN Headquarters on 21–22 June 2022. Photo: UN Women/Ryan Brown.

Your engagement, distinguished delegates, in setting these joint directions signals the deep value of the multilateral process and our ability to chart a unified path for the future of UN Women. I leave the meeting today with renewed energy for the months and the years ahead.

In that regard, I also thank the delegations for their wide-ranging and perceptive remarks over the past two days.

Among the long-standing supporters of UN Women within this Board, and within your ranks of delegates, allow me to recognize, in particular, Mr. Markus Reisle, who returns to Bern as Chief of Staff at the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation. We have deeply appreciated your skilful support during negotiations and wish you well in your new role.

Excellencies, at this session we have presented the results of the 2018–2021 period and looked ahead to the areas of focus under the new Strategic Plan . I greatly valued your guidance and feedback on this.

I would like to reiterate my remarks on our institutional strengthening efforts to enhance the transparency, accountability, and fiduciary strength of the organization. I would also like to be clear that we have heard the valuable feedback from our Independent Audit and Evaluation Service and our Audit Advisory Committee. Allow me to assure you of my personal commitment that we will take action as promised.

In my opening statement , I undertook to establish a dedicated ethics function within UN Women. Thank you for your positive response. This confirms to me that this is the right decision. I will take action to strengthen our capacity in this area. I will ensure the highest standards of conduct in our organization, including protection of whistle-blowers, and report regularly on this to the Board from 2023. The Board’s formal decision on this subject is also welcome.

I share the Board’s views on your crucial oversight role. We will reflect carefully with you on how to make this role more effective, in addition to other aspects of internal controls of our organizational effectiveness and efficiency, such as robust anti-fraud mechanisms and strengthened audit and evaluation functions.

You have placed your trust in us, and we are committed to continuing to deserve it. I am grateful for your positive comments in regard to our success in mobilizing non-core resources, growing our regular resources, and maintaining a 30 per cent core to non-core ratio. We will continue to diversify and broaden our donor base, strengthening our strategic partnerships with international financial institutions and the work around innovative financing such as gender bonds. We will also pursue the success of multi-stakeholder partnerships in support of gender equality and women’s empowerment, such as Generation Equality , noting at the same time our shared regard for national ownership to ensure sensitivity to local contexts.

Excellencies, it is that strong relationship between country objectives and programme implementation that we saw reflected in the results of the Strategic Plan 2018–2021 . Your acknowledgement of the work that has been done to put in place gender-responsive laws, policies, and strategies at country level is especially important in the context of recovery, amidst the current political and economic turmoil.

However, as we have noted, we are still too far from achieving our shared Sustainable Development Goals .

I am pleased that the COVID-19 Policy Tracker has been useful to highlight the gaps and identify priorities. Among those gaps, social protection and care work are important for the revival of women’s participation in the labour force, including in the digital sector.

We are grateful for your recognition of the significant role played by UN Women, including through the UN Trust Fund on Violence Against Women and Girls , in responding to the intensification of violence against women and girls. I noted the emphasis, in particular, on virtual spaces and in crisis settings such as in Afghanistan and Ukraine. We share the deep concern expressed by you about reaching the most vulnerable populations in these contexts, including those at the “crossroads” of multiple forms of discrimination.

Distinguished delegates, as we look ahead to the implementation of the new Strategic Plan in the increasingly challenging global context, we will continue to focus on core areas of our work. These include ensuring that women participate meaningfully in peace and security as well as in humanitarian and climate action . As some of you noted, our UN system coordination role is vital in this regard, to amplify the work to support women and girls and make progress towards the achievement of SDG 5 and Agenda 2030 more broadly. I took good note of the several requests for stronger engagement in areas such as climate change, education, and the use of digital technology—both in terms of emerging opportunities and threats.

We appreciated the recognition of UN Women as a “catalyst of systematic change within the UN system”. We take very seriously our role in driving UN reforms, ensuring gender mainstreaming and accountability for gender equality and women’s empowerment across the UN system and assure you all of our continued commitment to do so.

I thank the Board for their continued support to the work and the mandate of UN Women.

I also thank the Secretary of the Executive Board, Jean-Luc Bories, and the entire team of the Executive Board Secretariat . Once again, they have ensured that the proceedings of the Board are seamless and well-coordinated, leading to the positive outcome of this session, including the four decisions.

Also, I would like to extend my thanks and appreciation to my Deputies, Åsa and Anita, and all my team who worked hard towards the positive decisions we have seen today.

Distinguished delegates, to conclude, this has been my first annual session. I have found it informative but, more importantly, inspiring, and also very satisfying in terms of the clarity with which we have addressed key issues with a shared focus on action. And we will act.

I will continue to depend on you all to support us. I ask those who can, to maintain or even increase funding support. I ask all of you to be champions for gender equality, alongside us, within the UN, in all multilateral spaces, and in your own countries. And I very much look forward to our ongoing work together.

I thank you.

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Speech: UN Women: enabling, influencing, supporting and empowering

UN Women Executive Board meets the Prime Minister of Moldova, Dorin Recean to further strengthen collaboration and UN Women's support to the Government of Moldova. Photo: UN Women

UN Women Executive Board makes landmark field visit to Moldova and Ukraine

UN Women Executive Board to convene annual session 2024

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Activists are charting unfamiliar territory, which this essay explores. "Men built this system. No wonder gender equality remains as far off as ever.". - Ellie Mae O'Hagan. Freelance journalist Ellie Mae O'Hagan (whose book The New Normal is scheduled for a May 2020 release) is discouraged that gender equality is so many years away.
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500+ Words Essay on Gender Equality Essay. Equality or non-discrimination is that state where every individual gets equal opportunities and rights. Every individual of the society yearns for equal status, opportunity, and rights. ... Conclusion. For overall wellbeing and growth of a nation, scoring high on gender equality is the most crucial ...
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Introduction to Gender Equality. In a society, everyone has the right to lead his/her life accordingly without any discrimination. When this state is achieved where all individuals are considered to be equal irrespective of their caste, gender, colour, profession, and status, we call it equality. Equality can also be defined as the situation ...
Gender Equality Essay Definition, Tips, Topics, and Examples
Gender Equality Essay Conclusion. To wrap up your essay, start by briefly restating your main point or thesis. Summarize the key ideas discussed in the essay's body, highlighting their importance in the context of gender equality. Don't bring in new information; instead, emphasize the connections between your arguments and the main point.
15 strategies helping to close the gender gap around the world
It will now take an estimated 135.6 years to close the worldwide gender gap between men and women. However, progress is being made in areas including science and politics. Improving paternity policies and representation of women will help. There is still a huge amount of work to do to achieve gender equality around the world.
United Nations: Gender equality and women's empowerment
Goal 5: Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world ...
How Can We Stop Gender Discrimination?
Gender discrimination can be tackled by offering paid leave and childcare, supporting more women in senior roles, and reviewing salaries. It should also be remembered that the Covid-19 pandemic had a big effect on workplace gender equality. More women than men left their jobs, often because women tend to do more childcare.
Essays About Gender Equality: Top 5 Examples and 6 Prompts
It is up to the youth to make a change, especially in gender equality. 4. Women's rights throughout U.S. history by Chris Price. "The convention, with many of the attendees pushing for equal rights for people of all races and sexes, resulted in 100 men and women signing the Declaration of Sentiments.
Five ways to build gender equality and sustainability
Five ways to build gender equality and sustainability. 28 February 2022. Gender inequality and the climate crisis are two of the most urgent challenges of today. As we better understand and make the critical connections between gender, social equity and climate change, it's time we take action towards solutions.
What does gender equality look like today?
A new global analysis of progress on gender equality and women's rights shows women and girls remain disproportionately affected by the socioeconomic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, struggling with disproportionately high job and livelihood losses, education disruptions and increased burdens of unpaid care work. Women's health services, poorly funded even before the pandemic, faced ...
Gender Equality Essay
100 Words Essay On Gender Equality. Gender equality is the belief that men and women should be treated and perceived as equals in society, including all areas such as education, employment, and in decision-making positions. It is a fundamental human right and a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous, and sustainable world.
Gender: Closing the equity gap
After an early unsuccessful attempt, Rwanda invested seriously in gender budgeting beginning in 2011. 23 24 The budget is focused on closing gaps and strengthening women's roles in key sectors ...
27 actionable ways to improve gender equality
25. Demand better policy. While gender equality is finally getting attention at the professional level, there is plenty of room for improvement in school and recreational sports organizations. Women and girls deserve equal consideration when it comes to financial aid, funding and participation opportunities. 26.
Gender Inequality Essay for Students
Answer 2: The gender inequality essay tells us that gender inequality impacts us badly. It takes away opportunities from deserving people. Moreover, it results in discriminatory behaviour towards people of a certain gender. Finally, it also puts people of a certain gender in dangerous situations. Share with friends.
Free Gender Equality Essays and Papers
Gender Equality Essay Topics and Outline Examples Essay Title 1: Striving for Gender Equality: Challenges, Progress, and Future Perspectives. Thesis Statement: This essay explores the global journey toward achieving gender equality, examining the persistent challenges, the significant progress made, and the potential future directions for advancing the cause of gender equality in all aspects ...
PDF A Guide to Being an Effective Advocate for Gender Equality
The practice of constitutional advocacy for gender equality is when people or groups work to change the constitution to be more. gender-sensitive—integrating the rights of women, men, boys and girls in equal measure—or to ensure that gender-sensitive principles, and more specifically provisions, of a constitution are fully implemented.
It is time for action to end violence against women: a speech by
We must promote a culture of equality between men and women through institutional and legal reform, education, awareness-raising and the full engagement of men and boys. Honourable MPs, Ending violence against women is one of UN Women's key priorities and a critical part of UN Women's mission to achieve gender equality and women's ...
Gender equality and women's rights
We promote women and girls' equal enjoyment of all human rights, including freedom from violence, sexual and reproductive rights, access to justice, socio-economic equality, and participation in decision-making. We do this by monitoring and advocating for women's rights, building capacity of stakeholders, and providing technical advice.
PDF Effective Strategies for Promoting Gender Equality
This is essential for sustainable progress towards gender equality at both macro and micro levels. Assess and strengthen partner capacity for gender responsive and participatory analysis, planning and implementation. Lack of attention to partner capacity is a major obstacle to addressing gender equality issues.
5 Essays to Learn More About Equality
Gender inequality is one of the most discussed areas of inequality. Sobering stats reveal that while progress has been made, the world is still far from realizing true gender equality. How is gender equality measured? This essay refers to the Global Gender Gap report's factors. This report is released each year by the World Economic Forum.
Twenty years of gender equality research: A scoping review based on a
Gender equality is a major problem that places women at a disadvantage thereby stymieing economic growth and societal advancement. In the last two decades, extensive research has been conducted on gender related issues, studying both their antecedents and consequences. However, existing literature reviews fail to provide a comprehensive and clear picture of what has been studied so far, which ...
Achieving gender equity in sports
This is a great strategy to encourage female athletes and advance gender equality in sports. This can be done by paying women the same attention given to men's sports. You may also consider joining a club, going to games, and attending sports events for all genders as a strategy to promote gender equality. To promote equity in sports, equal ...
Improving gender equality will help end violence against women, but it
Countries such as Iceland elect more women to parliament, have more equitable parental leave policies and better pay parity, but have rates of violence similar to ostensibly less gender-equal ...
World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024
The World Bank Group Gender Strategy 2024-30 puts forward the bold ambition to accelerate gender equality to end poverty on a livable planet. Building on lessons from .
A silver lining: did COVID-19 accelerate the road to gender equality
The study challenges the ethos of presenteeism which exists in the NHS and highlights how the pandemic presented opportunities to overcome some of the barriers to advancement for female leaders. As part of a larger study on gender inequality in the NHS, this study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on gender equality in NHS leadership. The aim was to investigate whether the pandemic ...
Researcher: Improving gender equality will help end violence ...
condoning of violence against women; men's control of decision-making and limits to women's independence in public and private life; rigid gender stereotyping and dominant forms of masculinity
Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025
The Gender Equality Strategy 2022-2025 sets out an ambitious agenda to help countries embrace complexity and find new solutions, responding with flexibility and promoting learning instead of compliance or rigid responses to gender equality. At a pivotal moment for reimagining development, much depends on learning from the past to reframe ...
Leading the fight for gender equality and an end to violence against
Currently pending are two laws in draft from which, when passed, will ensure that women rights to protection and equality are firmly entrenched: the Draft Family Law and Draft Anti-Gender-Based Violence Prevention Bill. As part of the peace deal in 2018, it was decreed that 35 percent of parliamentary seats be allocated to women.
Working together to end violence against women
European countries are taking a stronger stand against violence against women thanks to a key international human rights treaty, the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).This convention goes beyond simply condemning violence - it requires concrete action from countries which have ratified.
Speech: Looking forward to a future of gender equality
[As delivered.] Distinguished delegates, I would like to thank the President of the Executive Board, H.E. Ambassador Fatima Rabab—my good friend, your good friend—for leading us through the annual session so effectively. And we look forward, like we said earlier in the opening, to continuing to work with her in her new capacity as our best ally for gender equality within the system.