Gender in the 21st Century

The world is a better place that at the start of the 20th century • Spread of education and literacy • Progress in science and medicine toward disease • Freer exchange of information • Greater voice for women in public and private arena • Women’s issues are being discussed – Female genital mutilation – Women sex workers and trafficking – Dowry deaths and “honor killings”

BUT … Inequalities Persist In developing areas women do NOT enjoy equal rights (i.e. rights to own land etc) Higher female mortality rates in some regions Female-run businesses usually funded less than male-run gender wage gaps still Women underrepresented at all levels of government

Defining Gender Equality Gender refers to socially defined roles and learned behaviors associated with females and males Sex: Men and women are different biologically All cultures use these biological differences to create expectations about what behaviors etc

What does the World Bank say? Gender equality is defined in terms of equality under the law, equality of opportunity and voice

Education Female primary and secondary enrollment rates and years of schooling have increased Increases are slow and uneven in poorer regions In developed countries, representation of women in colleges and university is equal

Health Women tend to live longer than men (biological differences) BUT often have less nutrition in developing countries, frequent and complicated pregnancies, etc “missing” number of girls in Asia (prefer boys) Gender-based Violence major issue

Employment and Earnings Men have higher labor force participation rates Men and women commonly perform different tasks and work Women tend to earn less than men, with a wider earnings gap in developing countries Wage gap between men and women doing SAME work in developed countries is closing