Why is gender discrimination important

It impacts people of all ages and backgrounds. Gender equality prevents violence against women and girls. Societies that value women and men as equal are safer and healthier. Gender equality is a human right. Everyone benefits from gender equality. Achieving gender equality will not happen overnight.

For people assigned female at birth, biological factors may play a role in these differences. However, studies have found fewer gender differences in the rates of mental illness in societies with more equality among men and women.

This suggests that inequity and discrimination play a major role in these disparities. Thirty percent of women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives.

Experiencing any type of abuse or assault can lead to a mental health condition, as well as further complications that are traumatic in themselves. For example, if a person survives sexual assault, they may become pregnant, contract a sexually transmitted infection, or become excluded from their community. Some research suggests that experiencing discrimination is correlated with worse physical health.

For example, a study found that women who experience discrimination at work are more likely to report ill physical health, and particularly women who have experienced sexual harassment. Stress from any source can also contribute to many chronic conditions, including chronic pain, high blood pressure , and diabetes.

Gender discrimination can also lead to a person having worse living conditions and less access to the things that they need to survive and thrive.

For example, in the United States, the gender pay gap means that women earn less than men overall — even when performing the same jobs. The pay gap is wider for women of color. Women also have higher levels of student debt, lower savings in retirement, and higher rates of poverty, in comparison to men.

This results in health inequity — avoidable and unfair differences in the health of marginalized groups, compared with privileged ones. Learn more about health inequity. Discrimination in the form of violence also directly impacts health. Female genital mutilation FGM is just one example of this. FGM is unnecessary surgery to remove part or all of the genitalia of young females, who are typically younger than Communities that practice FGM may believe that it will make girls more pure and suitable for marriage, and less likely to have extramarital sex.

People who survive the procedure can experience severe pain, bleeding, infections, and lifelong sexual health problems. Some die as a result of complications. Gender discrimination has a profound effect on healthcare, reducing the speed, accuracy, and quality of treatment.

Gender attributes and characteristics, encompassing, inter alia, the roles that men and women play and the expectations placed upon them, vary widely among societies and change over time. But the fact that gender attributes are socially constructed means that they are also amenable to change in ways that can make a society more just and equitable. Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and men. Equity leads to equality.

Gender equality requires equal enjoyment by women and men of socially-valued goods, opportunities, resources and rewards. Where gender inequality exists, it is generally women who are excluded or disadvantaged in relation to decision-making and access to economic and social resources. Therefore a critical aspect of promoting gender equality is the empowerment of women, with a focus on identifying and redressing power imbalances and giving women more autonomy to manage their own lives. Gender equality does not mean that men and women become the same; only that access to opportunities and life changes is neither dependent on, nor constrained by, their sex.

Taking gender concerns into account when designing and implementing population and development programmes therefore is important for two reasons. First, there are differences between the roles of men and women, differences that demand different approaches. Second, there is systemic inequality between men and women. Moreover, women are systematically under-represented in decision-making processes that shape their societies and their own lives.

This pattern of inequality is a constraint to the progress of any society because it limits the opportunities of one-half of its population. When women are constrained from reaching their full potential, that potential is lost to society as a whole.

Programme design and implementation should endeavour to address either or both of these factors. Gender mainstreaming is a strategy for integrating gender concerns in the analysis, formulation and monitoring of policies, programmes and projects. It is therefore a means to an end, not an end in itself; a process, not a goal.

Also, early analysis from the World Bank indicates that those in caregiving roles may face an increased burden in the wake of school closures, with working mothers finding themselves even more stretched than usual in trying to juggle home-based work, home-schooling, childcare, and housework.

Inequality of access is also a key concern. Globally, nearly 40 percent of women in wage employment are estimated to lack access to social protection. Women are less likely than men to have access to financial institutions or to have a bank account.

Although women-owned enterprises represent more than 30 percent of registered businesses worldwide, only 10 percent of women entrepreneurs have the capital they need to grow their businesses. Yet when girls are allowed to dream and realize their potential, we are all better off…. A woman is born to develop her mental, moral and physical abilities.

Over the course of history, many women have embarked on a path of self-realization to the benefit of our society. Some are famous, some less so, but each contributed to advancing the world, whether by promoting human rights and peace, forging ahead in science, or serving on the front lines to save human lives and protect public health.

Marie Curie was the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize twice! The first Chinese female Nobel laureate, Tu Youyou, received the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for her discoveries in advancing treatment for malaria, which have since saved millions of lives. She quickly rose through the ranks to head nurse and superintendent, overseeing nurses.

Mother Teresa was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in for her tireless humanitarian work on behalf of the poor and ailing in Calcutta. And, today, women are helping lead the battle against COVID on March 7, the Chinese authorities recognized 20 female medical workers for their outstanding and heroic role in the country's fight against the coronavirus outbreak.