gender inequality short essay

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.

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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 About Gender Inequality: Top 5 Examples and 8 Helpful Prompts

Essays about gender inequality discuss a timely subject. Discover our guide with examples and prompts to assist you in writing.

Gender inequality is a global issue where one person’s perception and treatment of others depend on predetermined social expectations, leading to discrimination. Children can learn negative stereotypes, live with these biases, and carry them into adulthood. Parents who teach their kids prejudice are one of the reasons for gender inequality that spills into everyone else’s lives. 

Organizations like UNICEF actively form partnerships worldwide to stop and promote gender equality . Their efforts include career support, higher quality maternal care, skills development, and more. Your gender inequality essay can help promote gender equality that prevents violence against all genders. In addition, by discussing the topic, more people can better understand the seriousness of the issue. Check out our round-up of the best essay writing apps to get started!

5 Essay Examples 

1. gender inequality: sources and consequences by anonymous on edubirdie.com, 2. the issue of gender inequality in the media in america by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 3. gender inequality is a huge issue from past by joshua blake, 4. the problem of gender inequality in the workplace by anonymous on gradesfixer.com, 5. gender inequality: are there any positive changes by anonymous on eduzaurus.com, 1. gender inequality: defined, 2. impact of gender inequality, 3. fighting gender inequality, 4. types and causes of gender inequality, 5. gender inequality as a global problem, 6. politics and gender inequality, 7. who are the most affected by gender inequality, 8. gender inequality and family dynamics.

“Humanity requires both men and women to move forward together, and they both are equally important. There are no reasons why women should be seen as the “weaker” sex.”

The author firmly believes that people must control old habits and notions about genders for everyone’s sake. This essay further delves into how culture and history devalue ​​women and prove that men are more powerful as they bring money and do more physical work. The media also assists in making viewers think women are sexual objects, with how most magazines and promotions cater to men’s satisfaction.

The writer understands that gender inequality is impossible to fix immediately. So they recommend parents teach their children to avoid stereotyping. Companies should also ensure equal treatment for both genders when providing job opportunities. They also mention that more influential people will speak about the problem as the unjust treatment continues.

“There is no doubt that every form of media today will have some sort of gender stereotypes and generalizations about male and female roles.”

In this gender inequality essay, the writer explains not only what stereotypes are but also how the media harms the lives of young men and women when these labels are reinforced. This includes the stereotype of being a housewife, the most common stereotype.

The writer describes how the media is at fault for promoting a negative body image. When mainstream channels portray the “perfect” male or female body, and viewers see that they are far from what those ideal types look like, it can lead to physical and mental health problems. 

“It is certain that gender inequality is a huge issue from the past to present especially [as it] occurs among women.”

To identify the causes of gender inequality, Blake uses various studies to prove that Hofstede and Schwartz’s framework on the cultural dimension influences the differences between men and women.

A good example is Schwartz’s hierarchy and Hofstede’s power distance, which both refer to unequal power distribution and sources. Some dimensions are very similar and correspond to each other, such as masculinity and mastery, femininity and harmony, autonomy and individualism, conservatism, and collectivism.

“Both genders can have the same education and experience, yet the male gets a higher wage payment compared to female.”

In discussing the topic, the author uses various statistical data to prove that gender inequality in the workplace is still present today but is improving. For example, according to their findings, American men earn one dollar while women earn only 89 cents. 

Americans are also against the women who return to work after giving birth and say men shall continue without paternity leave. But ultimately, the writer believes that when there’s gender inequality in a company, they lose the opportunity to keep their best resources.

“Gender inequality can be defined as not giving equal opportunities to people because of their biological sex.”

The essay mentions how TV shows and personalities like Emma Watson , who speak their minds on how the media portrays genders, help shed more light on gender inequality. Therefore, they encourage others to become a part of something revolutionary. However, it also shows little change in gender differences after more people became aware of the situation. The piece also notes how today’s parents are raising their children, allowing them to eliminate gender-based oppression.

8 Prompts for Essays About Gender Inequality

Explain to your readers the main topic and how inequality occurs in modern society. Give an example of gender inequality that is very common and how both sexes react to it. Conclude your essay with recommendations on how these issues can be resolved and avoided.

In reality, gender inequality has negative impacts on everyone. Discuss how this problem takes away opportunities, develops destructive behaviors, and puts people in dangerous situations. Offer real-life examples, surveys, and data to support your claims to make the essay more informative and credible.

Gender inequality has been a prevalent issue since the beginning of time and is still a pressing matter today. Use this prompt to identify and discuss steps governments, organizations, schools, churches, parents, and individuals should take to avoid being gender biased. 

Share ways to promote gender equality through simple tasks like sharing household chores between housemates, no matter the gender, calling out sexist jokes, and learning more about the topic.

To make your essay more effective, incorporate convincing and powerful writing. Read our guide on persuasive writing to know more.

Talk about the various types of gender inequality, such as gender discrimination in education, sexual violence, unequal pay and recognition, racism, and ownership inequality. Add their causes and roots. 

It’s best if you can interview someone who experiences this imbalance. Let them relay what they felt and why they think it happened. Include other examples to allow your readers to visualize and understand the situations.

Do thorough research and find survey data showing the number of people who are still victims of gender inequality. Look for the best and most reliable source and check how it differs from one location to the other. Discuss your findings and share your opinion on what contributes to this discrimination.

Use this prompt if you want to tackle fundamental problems related to gender inequality. Discuss how women and men are treated in politics and give examples of situations that demonstrate it. The more famous the incidents are, the better. You can also compare if there’s a relevant difference between how female and male politicians lead.

Although all are affected by this bias, who are the most prone to it? Search for applicable data from reputable sources to determine and expound on the number of people involved. Include how these people are influenced and why.

Gender inequality also occurs in wealthy families or nobility, where whoever is in charge of a business or place needs power and the ability to dominate others. Search for countries and cultures that still follow a patriarchal structure. Add your opinion on whether it’s time to modify these structures or its best to keep them as is for traditions’ sake.

If you’re still stuck, maybe this topic is not for you. Check out our general resource of essay writing topics.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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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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Short Essay on Gender Equality [100, 200, 400 Words] With PDF 

In this lesson today, you will learn how you can actually write short essays on Gender Equality. I will write three sets of sample essays here that will cover different word limits. 

Short Essay on Gender Equality in 100 Words

In our society, for thousands of years, men have had the upper hand and women have been viewed as a gender inferior to men. Even until recent times, women were restricted to their houses, were denied education and didn’t have the right to vote. Women are still paid less than their male counterparts in many fields of work.

This discriminatory attitude towards women is unfair and unjust and needs to be changed. Women are not inferior to men. Men and women may be built differently in biological terms but that does not mean one is lesser than the other. Only when everyone gets equal opportunities and rights irrespective of their gender, will our society grow and develop healthily. 

Short Essay on Gender Equality in 200 Words

Gender equality is the state where every human being has equal access to opportunities and resources as well as equal rights in society, irrespective of their gender or sex. For thousands of years, men have held a position superior to women in society. Traditionally, men were given the role of doing outdoor work while women managed household chores and focused on raising children.

However, this setup gave men all the power and limited the rights and freedom of women, creating a patriarchal society. Women couldn’t participate in decision-making, own property, work outside their homes or live lives the way they wanted. For the majority of women, even the decisions concerning their own lives, like marriage and career, were not in their own hands. 

Today, society is changing and more and more people are realising that this system has been unfair and unjust towards women. With this realization, people are asking for equal rights, resources and opportunities for all. Today, women have access to many opportunities that were previously only reserved for men, like higher studies, various jobs and even the right to vote.

However, a huge number of women still cannot exercise their rights because of family and societal pressure. Many women still don’t have a voice and are suffering because of gender inequality. It is on us to bring a change in our society and make gender equality a reality for everyone. 

Equality is when everyone has equal opportunities and rights and there is no discrimination amongst people based on their caste, creed, religion or gender. Thus, gender equality is the state where every human being has equal access to opportunities and resources as well as equal rights in society, irrespective of their gender or sex.

For thousands of years, men have held a position superior to women in society. Traditionally, men were given the role of doing outdoor work while women managed household chores and focused on raising children.

However, even now, although women have stepped into the outside world and have established themselves, they are still discriminated against. They are denied powerful positions at their jobs, they aren’t allowed to make important decisions for their families, and they are paid less than their male counterparts in many fields of work.

A huge number of women in small towns and villages do not know their rights and even if they are aware, they still cannot exercise their rights because of family and societal pressures. Many women still don’t have a voice and are being forced to live a life controlled by others. 

Gender equality can only become a reality for everyone when we all work together to bring about a change in our society. We need to educate women about their rights and give them the confidence to fight for themselves.

We should also lend our voices to those who are unable to stand for themselves and stand with those who are being discriminated against. For our society to grow and develop in a healthy way, men and women need to work together and for that to happen, we need gender equality. The right to equality is also a basic human right and it shouldn’t be denied. 

Hopefully, after going through this session, you have understood all aspects of this topic and will be able to write such short essays on your own. If you still have any doubts regarding this context, kindly let me know through the comment section below. Keep browsing our website to read more such essays on various other important topics. 

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5 Powerful Essays Advocating for Gender Equality

Gender equality – which becomes reality when all genders are treated fairly and allowed equal opportunities –  is a complicated human rights issue for every country in the world. Recent statistics are sobering. According to the World Economic Forum, it will take 108 years to achieve gender parity . The biggest gaps are found in political empowerment and economics. Also, there are currently just six countries that give women and men equal legal work rights. Generally, women are only given ¾ of the rights given to men. To learn more about how gender equality is measured, how it affects both women and men, and what can be done, here are five essays making a fair point.

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“Countries With Less Gender Equity Have More Women In STEM — Huh?” – Adam Mastroianni and Dakota McCoy

This essay from two Harvard PhD candidates (Mastroianni in psychology and McCoy in biology) takes a closer look at a recent study that showed that in countries with lower gender equity, more women are in STEM. The study’s researchers suggested that this is because women are actually especially interested in STEM fields, and because they are given more choice in Western countries, they go with different careers. Mastroianni and McCoy disagree.

They argue the research actually shows that cultural attitudes and discrimination are impacting women’s interests, and that bias and discrimination is present even in countries with better gender equality. The problem may lie in the Gender Gap Index (GGI), which tracks factors like wage disparity and government representation. To learn why there’s more women in STEM from countries with less gender equality, a more nuanced and complex approach is needed.

“Men’s health is better, too, in countries with more gender equality” – Liz Plank

When it comes to discussions about gender equality, it isn’t uncommon for someone in the room to say, “What about the men?” Achieving gender equality has been difficult because of the underlying belief that giving women more rights and freedom somehow takes rights away from men. The reality, however, is that gender equality is good for everyone. In Liz Plank’s essay, which is an adaption from her book For the Love of Men: A Vision for Mindful Masculinity, she explores how in Iceland, the #1 ranked country for gender equality, men live longer. Plank lays out the research for why this is, revealing that men who hold “traditional” ideas about masculinity are more likely to die by suicide and suffer worse health. Anxiety about being the only financial provider plays a big role in this, so in countries where women are allowed education and equal earning power, men don’t shoulder the burden alone.

Liz Plank is an author and award-winning journalist with Vox, where she works as a senior producer and political correspondent. In 2015, Forbes named her one of their “30 Under 30” in the Media category. She’s focused on feminist issues throughout her career.

“China’s #MeToo Moment” –  Jiayang Fan

Some of the most visible examples of gender inequality and discrimination comes from “Me Too” stories. Women are coming forward in huge numbers relating how they’ve been harassed and abused by men who have power over them. Most of the time, established systems protect these men from accountability. In this article from Jiayang Fan, a New Yorker staff writer, we get a look at what’s happening in China.

The essay opens with a story from a PhD student inspired by the United States’ Me Too movement to open up about her experience with an academic adviser. Her story led to more accusations against the adviser, and he was eventually dismissed. This is a rare victory, because as Fan says, China employs a more rigid system of patriarchy and hierarchy. There aren’t clear definitions or laws surrounding sexual harassment. 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. She argues that it’s because the global system of power at its core is broken.  Even when women are in power, which is proportionally rare on a global scale, they deal with a system built by the patriarchy. O’Hagan’s essay lays out ideas for how to fix what’s fundamentally flawed, so gender equality can become a reality.

Ideas include investing in welfare; reducing gender-based violence (which is mostly men committing violence against women); and strengthening trade unions and improving work conditions. With a system that’s not designed to put women down, the world can finally achieve gender equality.

“Invisibility of Race in Gender Pay Gap Discussions” – Bonnie Chu

The gender pay gap has been a pressing issue for many years in the United States, but most discussions miss the factor of race. In this concise essay, Senior Contributor Bonnie Chu examines the reality, writing that within the gender pay gap, there’s other gaps when it comes to black, Native American, and Latina women. Asian-American women, on the other hand, are paid 85 cents for every dollar. This data is extremely important and should be present in discussions about the gender pay gap. It reminds us that when it comes to gender equality, there’s other factors at play, like racism.

Bonnie Chu is a gender equality advocate and a Forbes 30 Under 30 social entrepreneur. She’s the founder and CEO of Lensational, which empowers women through photography, and the Managing Director of The Social Investment Consultancy.

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

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• 06 September 2023

Gender equality: the route to a better world

You have full access to this article via your institution.

The Mosuo people of China include sub-communities in which inheritance passes down either the male or the female line. Credit: TPG/Getty

The fight for global gender equality is nowhere close to being won. Take education: in 87 countries, less than half of women and girls complete secondary schooling, according to 2023 data. Afghanistan’s Taliban continues to ban women and girls from secondary schools and universities . Or take reproductive health: abortion rights have been curtailed in 22 US states since the Supreme Court struck down federal protections, depriving women and girls of autonomy and restricting access to sexual and reproductive health care .

SDG 5, whose stated aim is to “achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls”, is the fifth of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, all of which Nature is examining in a series of editorials. SDG 5 includes targets for ending discrimination and violence against women and girls in both public and private spheres, eradicating child marriage and female genital mutilation, ensuring sexual and reproductive rights, achieving equal representation of women in leadership positions and granting equal rights to economic resources. Globally, the goal is not on track to being achieved, and just a handful of countries have hit all the targets.

How the world should oppose the Taliban’s war on women and girls

In July, the UN introduced two new indices (see go.nature.com/3eus9ue ), the Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) and the Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI). The WEI measures women’s ability and freedoms to make their own choices; the GGPI describes the gap between women and men in areas such as health, education, inclusion and decision making. The indices reveal, depressingly, that even achieving a small gender gap does not automatically translate to high levels of women’s empowerment: 114 countries feature in both indices, but countries that do well on both scores cover fewer than 1% of all girls and women.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made things worse, with women bearing the highest burden of extra unpaid childcare when schools needed to close, and subjected to intensified domestic violence. Although child marriages declined from 21% of all marriages in 2016 to 19% in 2022, the pandemic threatened even this incremental progress, pushing up to 10 million more girls into risk of child marriage over the next decade, in addition to the 100 million girls who were at risk before the pandemic.

Of the 14 indicators for SDG 5, only one or two are close to being met by the 2030 deadline. As of 1 January 2023, women occupied 35.4% of seats in local-government assemblies, an increase from 33.9% in 2020 (the target is gender parity by 2030). In 115 countries for which data were available, around three-quarters, on average, of the necessary laws guaranteeing full and equal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights had been enacted. But the UN estimates that worldwide, only 57% of women who are married or in a union make their own decisions regarding sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Systemic discrimination against girls and women by men, in many contexts, remains a colossal barrier to achieving gender equality. But patriarchy is not some “natural order of things” , argues Ruth Mace, an anthropologist at University College London. Hundreds of women-centred societies exist around the world. As the science writer Angela Saini describes in her latest book, The Patriarchs , these are often not the polar opposite of male-dominated systems, but societies in which men and women share decision making .

After Roe v. Wade: dwindling US abortion access is harming health a year later

One example comes from the Mosuo people in China, who have both ‘matrilineal’ and ‘patrilineal’ communities, with rights such as inheritance passing down either the male or female line. Researchers compared outcomes for inflammation and hypertension in men and women in these communities, and found that women in matrilineal societies, in which they have greater autonomy and control over resources, experienced better health outcomes. The researchers found no significant negative effect of matriliny on health outcomes for men ( A.  Z. Reynolds et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 117 , 30324–30327; 2020 ).

When it comes to the SDGs, evidence is emerging that a more gender-equal approach to politics and power benefits many goals. In a study published in May, Nobue Amanuma, deputy director of the Integrated Sustainability Centre at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in Hayama, Japan, and two of her colleagues tested whether countries with more women legislators, and more younger legislators, are performing better in the SDGs ( N. Amanuma et al. Environ. Res. Lett. 18 , 054018; 2023 ). They found it was so, with the effect more marked for socio-economic goals such as ending poverty and hunger, than for environmental ones such as climate action or preserving life on land. The researchers recommend further qualitative and quantitative studies to better understand the reasons.

The reality that gender equality leads to better outcomes across other SDGs is not factored, however, into most of the goals themselves. Of the 230 unique indicators of the SDGs, 51 explicitly reference women, girls, gender or sex, including the 14 indicators in SDG 5. But there is not enough collaboration between organizations responsible for the different SDGs to ensure that sex and gender are taken into account. The indicator for the sanitation target (SDG 6) does not include data disaggregated by sex or gender ( Nature 620 , 7; 2023 ). Unless we have this knowledge, it will be hard to track improvements in this and other SDGs.

The road to a gender-equal world is long, and women’s power and freedom to make choices is still very constrained. But the evidence from science is getting stronger: distributing power between genders creates the kind of world we all need and want to be living in.

Nature 621 , 8 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-02745-9

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What does gender equality look like today?

Date: Wednesday, 6 October 2021

Progress towards gender equality is looking bleak. But it doesn’t need to.

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 major disruptions, undermining women’s sexual and reproductive health. And despite women’s central role in responding to COVID-19, including as front-line health workers, they are still largely bypassed for leadership positions they deserve.

UN Women’s latest report, together with UN DESA, Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The Gender Snapshot 2021 presents the latest data on gender equality across all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The report highlights the progress made since 2015 but also the continued alarm over the COVID-19 pandemic, its immediate effect on women’s well-being and the threat it poses to future generations.

We’re breaking down some of the findings from the report, and calling for the action needed to accelerate progress.

The pandemic is making matters worse

One and a half years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, the toll on the poorest and most vulnerable people remains devastating and disproportionate. The combined impact of conflict, extreme weather events and COVID-19 has deprived women and girls of even basic needs such as food security. Without urgent action to stem rising poverty, hunger and inequality, especially in countries affected by conflict and other acute forms of crisis, millions will continue to suffer.

A global goal by global goal reality check:

Goal 1. Poverty

In 2021, extreme poverty is on the rise and progress towards its elimination has reversed. An estimated 435 million women and girls globally are living in extreme poverty.

And yet we can change this .

Over 150 million women and girls could emerge from poverty by 2030 if governments implement a comprehensive strategy to improve access to education and family planning, achieve equal wages and extend social transfers.

Goal 2. Zero hunger

The global gender gap in food security has risen dramatically during the pandemic, with more women and girls going hungry. Women’s food insecurity levels were 10 per cent higher than men’s in 2020, compared with 6 per cent higher in 2019.

This trend can be reversed , including by supporting women small-scale producers, who typically earn far less than men, through increased funding, training and land rights reforms.

Goal 3. Good health and well-being

Disruptions in essential health services due to COVID-19 are taking a tragic toll on women and girls. In the first year of the pandemic, there were an estimated 1.4 million additional unintended pregnancies in lower and middle-income countries.

We need to do better .

Response to the pandemic must include prioritizing sexual and reproductive health services, ensuring they continue to operate safely now and after the pandemic is long over. In addition, more support is needed to ensure life-saving personal protection equipment, tests, oxygen and especially vaccines are available in rich and poor countries alike as well as to vulnerable population within countries.

Goal 4. Quality education

A year and a half into the pandemic, schools remain partially or fully closed in 42 per cent of the world’s countries and territories. School closures spell lost opportunities for girls and an increased risk of violence, exploitation and early marriage .

Governments can do more to protect girls education .

Measures focused specifically on supporting girls returning to school are urgently needed, including measures focused on girls from marginalized communities who are most at risk.

Goal 5. Gender equality

The pandemic has tested and even reversed progress in expanding women’s rights and opportunities. Reports of violence against women and girls, a “shadow” pandemic to COVID-19, are increasing in many parts of the world. COVID-19 is also intensifying women’s workload at home, forcing many to leave the labour force altogether.

Building forward differently and better will hinge on placing women and girls at the centre of all aspects of response and recovery, including through gender-responsive laws, policies and budgeting.

Goal 6. Clean water and sanitation

In 2018, nearly 2.3 billion people lived in water-stressed countries. Without safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and menstrual hygiene facilities, women and girls find it harder to lead safe, productive and healthy lives.

Change is possible .

Involve those most impacted in water management processes, including women. Women’s voices are often missing in water management processes. 

Goal 7. Affordable and clean energy

Increased demand for clean energy and low-carbon solutions is driving an unprecedented transformation of the energy sector. But women are being left out. Women hold only 32 per cent of renewable energy jobs.

We can do better .

Expose girls early on to STEM education, provide training and support to women entering the energy field, close the pay gap and increase women’s leadership in the energy sector.

Goal 8. Decent work and economic growth

The number of employed women declined by 54 million in 2020 and 45 million women left the labour market altogether. Women have suffered steeper job losses than men, along with increased unpaid care burdens at home.

We must do more to support women in the workforce .

Guarantee decent work for all, introduce labour laws/reforms, removing legal barriers for married women entering the workforce, support access to affordable/quality childcare.

Goal 9. Industry, innovation and infrastructure

The COVID-19 crisis has spurred striking achievements in medical research and innovation. Women’s contribution has been profound. But still only a little over a third of graduates in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics field are female.

We can take action today.

 Quotas mandating that a proportion of research grants are awarded to women-led teams or teams that include women is one concrete way to support women researchers. 

Goal 10. Reduced inequalities

Limited progress for women is being eroded by the pandemic. Women facing multiple forms of discrimination, including women and girls with disabilities, migrant women, women discriminated against because of their race/ethnicity are especially affected.

Commit to end racism and discrimination in all its forms, invest in inclusive, universal, gender responsive social protection systems that support all women. 

Goal 11. Sustainable cities and communities

Globally, more than 1 billion people live in informal settlements and slums. Women and girls, often overrepresented in these densely populated areas, suffer from lack of access to basic water and sanitation, health care and transportation.

The needs of urban poor women must be prioritized .

Increase the provision of durable and adequate housing and equitable access to land; included women in urban planning and development processes.

Goal 12. Sustainable consumption and production; Goal 13. Climate action; Goal 14. Life below water; and Goal 15. Life on land

Women activists, scientists and researchers are working hard to solve the climate crisis but often without the same platforms as men to share their knowledge and skills. Only 29 per cent of featured speakers at international ocean science conferences are women.

 And yet we can change this .

Ensure women activists, scientists and researchers have equal voice, representation and access to forums where these issues are being discussed and debated. 

Goal 16. Peace, justice and strong institutions

The lack of women in decision-making limits the reach and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other emergency recovery efforts. In conflict-affected countries, 18.9 per cent of parliamentary seats are held by women, much lower than the global average of 25.6 per cent.

This is unacceptable .

It's time for women to have an equal share of power and decision-making at all levels.

Goal 17. Global partnerships for the goals

There are just 9 years left to achieve the Global Goals by 2030, and gender equality cuts across all 17 of them. With COVID-19 slowing progress on women's rights, the time to act is now.

Looking ahead

As it stands today, only one indicator under the global goal for gender equality (SDG5) is ‘close to target’: proportion of seats held by women in local government. In other areas critical to women’s empowerment, equality in time spent on unpaid care and domestic work and decision making regarding sexual and reproductive health the world is far from target. Without a bold commitment to accelerate progress, the global community will fail to achieve gender equality. Building forward differently and better will require placing women and girls at the centre of all aspects of response and recovery, including through gender-responsive laws, policies and budgeting.

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Essay on Gender Discrimination

• Updated on  
• Jul 14, 2022

One of the challenges present in today’s society is gender discrimination. Gender discrimination is when someone is treated unequally based on their gender. Gender discrimination is not just present in the workplace but in schools, colleges and communities as well. As per the Civil Rights Act of 1964,  gender discrimination is illegal in India. This is also an important and common essay topic in schools and competitive exams such as IELTS , TOEFL , SAT , UPSC , etc. Let’s explore some samples of essay on gender discrimination and tips for writing an impactful essay.

Tips for Writing an Impactful Essay

If you want to write a scoring and deep impact essay, here are some tips for writing a perfect informative essay:

• The most important and first step is to write an introduction and background information about and related to the topic
• Then you are also required to use the formal style of writing and avoid using slang language
• To make an essay more impactful, write dates, quotations, and names to provide a better understanding
• You can use jargon wherever it is necessary as it sometimes makes an essay complicated
• To make an essay more creative, you can also add information in bulleted points wherever possible
• Always remember to add a conclusion where you need to summarise crucial points
• Once you are done read through the lines and check spelling and grammar mistakes before submission

Essay on Gender Discrimination in 200 Words

One of the important aspects of a democratic society is the elimination of gender discrimination. The root cause of this vigorous disease is the stereotypical society itself. When a child is born, the discrimination begins; if the child is male, he is given a car, bat and ball with blue, and red colour clothes, whereas when a child is female, she is given barbie dolls with pink clothes. We all are raised with a mentality that boys are good at sports and messy, but girls are not good at sports and are well organised. This discriminatory mentality has a deeper impact when girls are told not to work while boys are allowed to do much work. This categorising males and females into different categories discriminating based on gender are known as gender discrimination. Further, this discriminatory behaviour in society leads to hatred, injustice and much more. This gender discrimination is evident in every woman’s life at the workplace, in educational institutions, in sports, etc., where young girls and women are deprived of their rights and undervalued. This major issue prevailing in society can be solved only by providing equality to women and giving them all rights as given to men.

Essay on Gender Discrimination in 300 Words 

Gender Discrimination, as the term signifies, is discrimination or discriminatory behaviour based on gender. The stereotypical mindset of people in the past has led to the discrimination that women face today. According to Kahle Wolfe, in 2015, women earned 83% of the income paid to men by working the same hours. Almost all women are not only discriminated against based on their salaries but also on their looks.

Further, most women are allowed to follow a certain dress code depending upon the work field and the dress women wear also decides their future career.

This dominant male society teaches males that women are weak and innocent. Thus women are mostly victims and are targeted in crimes. For example, In a large portion of the globe, women are blamed for rapes despite being victims because of their clothes. This society also portrays women as weaker and not eligible enough to take a stand for themselves, leading to the major destruction of women’s personalities as men are taught to let women down. This mindset of people nowadays is a major social justice issue leading to gender discrimination in society.

Further, gender-based discrimination is evident across the globe in a plethora of things, including sports, education, health and law. Every 1 out of 3 women in the world is abused in various forms at some point in their lives by men. This social evil is present in most parts of the world; in India, women are burnt to death if they are incapable of affording financial requirements; in Egypt, women are killed by society if they are sensed doing something unclean in or out of their families, whereas in South Africa baby girls are abandoned or killed as they are considered as burden for the family. Thus gender discrimination can be only eliminated from society by educating people about giving equal rights and respect to every gender.

Top Universities for Gender Studies Abroad

UK, Canada and USA are the top three countries to study gender studies abroad. Here’s the list of top universities you can consider to study abroad for Indian students if you planning to pursue gender studies course abroad:

We hope this blog has helped you in structuring a terrific essay on gender discrimination. Planning to ace your IELTS, get expert tips from coaches at Leverage Live by Leverage Edu .

Sonal is a creative, enthusiastic writer and editor who has worked extensively for the Study Abroad domain. She splits her time between shooting fun insta reels and learning new tools for content marketing. If she is missing from her desk, you can find her with a group of people cracking silly jokes or petting neighbourhood dogs.

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Essay On Gender Inequality

Table of Contents

Short Essay On Gender Inequality

Gender inequality refers to the unequal treatment or perceptions of individuals based on their gender. It is a global issue that affects individuals of all ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Despite significant progress in recent decades, gender inequality remains prevalent in many areas, including education, employment, and political representation.

In education, gender inequality can manifest as unequal access to education, unequal educational opportunities, and unequal outcomes. For example, in some countries, girls are less likely to attend school, receive lower quality education, and have fewer opportunities to pursue higher education. This can limit their future career opportunities and earning potential.

In the workplace, gender inequality can result in unequal pay, limited career advancement opportunities, and a lack of representation in leadership positions. Women are often paid less than men for performing the same job and face obstacles in climbing the corporate ladder. This not only affects women but also perpetuates the cycle of inequality, as it becomes difficult for future generations of women to break through these barriers.

In politics, gender inequality is evident in the underrepresentation of women in elected and appointed positions of power. Women make up just a small fraction of world leaders and are underrepresented in national legislatures. This disparity can limit the advancement of policies that prioritize the needs and interests of women and girls.

To address gender inequality, it is important to raise awareness and educate individuals about the issue. This can involve challenging gender stereotypes, promoting gender-sensitive policies, and providing equal opportunities for education and employment. It is also crucial to empower women and girls, through initiatives such as microfinance programs, that give them the tools and resources to succeed.

In conclusion, gender inequality remains a major issue that affects individuals around the world. It is essential to work towards creating a more equal and inclusive society, where individuals of all genders have equal access to education, employment, and political representation. By working together, we can create a world where everyone has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Long Essay On Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is an issue that has existed for centuries, but it still remains a major challenge in many parts of the world. This essay will explore the causes, effects, and solutions to gender inequality and how we can work towards a more equitable society. We will look at how different laws, policies, and cultural norms have impacted this issue and how we can make meaningful changes to address these issues.

Introduction: Definition and History of Gender Inequality

Gender inequality is defined as the disparity in power, privilege, and access to resources between men and women. This can manifest in many ways, such as through the unequal distribution of paid labor, education, or political representation. Though gender inequality has been a historic reality throughout the world, it has begun to receive increased attention in recent decades as women have fought for greater equality.

The history of gender inequality is often traced back to early civilizations, where women were seen as subordinate to men in both public and private spheres. This trend continued through the medieval period and into early modernity. During the Industrial Revolution, women began to enter the workforce in larger numbers, but they were still paid less than men and relegated to lower-status jobs. In the 20th century, women made significant strides towards equality with men, but there is still much work to be done in order to fully close the gender gap.

In recent years, scholars have increasingly turned their attention to intersectionality when studying gender inequality. Intersectionality is the idea that different forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.) intersect and compound one another. This perspective has helped shed light on how different intersections of identity can contribute to greater or lesser degrees of inequality.

Causes of Gender Inequality

There are many causes of gender inequality. One cause is that women are not given the same opportunities as men. This can be seen in the workplace, where women are often paid less than men for doing the same job. Additionally, women are often not given the same opportunities to advance in their careers as men. This can be due to a variety of factors, including gender discrimination and sexual harassment.

Another cause of gender inequality is that women are not given the same rights as men. For example, in many countries, women do not have the right to vote or hold elected office. Additionally, women often do not have the same rights as men when it comes to property ownership and inheritance. This can lead to a cycle of poverty and powerlessness for many women around the world.

Finally, another cause of gender inequality is violence against women. This includes physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. It is estimated that one in three women worldwide will experience some form of violence in her lifetime. This violence can have lifelong consequences for victims, including physical and mental health problems, economic insecurity, and social isolation.

Effects of Gender Inequality

The effects of gender inequality are far-reaching and affect women in a variety of ways. Inequality between sexes means that women are not given the same opportunities as men, which can lead to a number of negative consequences. For example, women may be paid less than men for doing the same job, or they may be denied access to education and jobs that are open to men. This can limit their ability to earn a good income and provide for themselves and their families. Additionally, gender inequality can result in physical and sexual violence against women. Women who live in societies where gender inequality is prevalent often have little recourse when faced with these types of abuse. As a result, they may suffer from physical and emotional trauma, as well as mental health problems.

Solutions to Address Gender Inequality

There are many ways to address gender inequality. Some solutions include:

-Educating girls and boys equally about their rights and responsibilities -Promoting women’s empowerment and equality in all aspects of society -Providing equal opportunities for education, employment, and political participation for women and men -Creating laws and policies that protect women’s rights and promote gender equality -Challenging harmful gender norms and stereotypes -Conducting gender-sensitive research to better understand the causes and effects of gender inequality -Supporting female leadership in all aspects of public and private life -Encouraging collaboration between men and women to address gender issues -Creating safe and supportive environments for girls, women, boys, and men -Raising awareness about the importance of gender equality and equity.

Personal Reflection on Gender Inequality

Sexual discrimination is an important issue in today’s society. Despite the fact that both men and women are equal, there are still many cases where women are treated unfairly because of their gender. This is especially apparent in the workplace, where women often earn less than men for doing the same job.

Gender inequality is an issue that needs to be addressed in order to create a fair and equal society for everyone. As someone who believes in equality for all, I feel that it is important to raise awareness about this issue and fight for change. I hope that by sharing my personal reflection on gender inequality, I can help make a difference.

Gender inequality is a complex issue that affects us all. It can be seen in many areas of life, from the workplace to our personal relationships. It’s an issue that needs to be addressed by everyone – men and women alike – if we are to see meaningful change. We must work together to break down these outdated stereotypes, challenge gender norms and create more equal opportunities for both genders so that no one is left behind in society. With education, understanding and open dialogue between sexes, real progress can be made towards creating a fairer world for us all.

Manisha Dubey Jha is a skilled educational content writer with 5 years of experience. Specializing in essays and paragraphs, she’s dedicated to crafting engaging and informative content that enriches learning experiences.

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Home — Essay Samples — Social Issues — Social Inequality — Gender Inequality

Essays on Gender Inequality

Gender inequality essay topics and outline examples, essay title 1: unveiling gender inequality: root causes, impact, and paths to equality.

Thesis Statement: This essay delves into the multifaceted issue of gender inequality, examining its underlying causes, its pervasive impact on society, and the strategies and movements aimed at achieving gender equality and justice.

• Introduction
• Understanding Gender Inequality: Social Constructs, Stereotypes, and Bias
• Economic Disparities: Gender Wage Gap, Occupational Segregation, and Glass Ceilings
• Education and Empowerment: Gender Disparities in Access and Opportunities
• Violence Against Women: Domestic Violence, Harassment, and Human Rights Violations
• Global Perspectives: Gender Inequality in Different Cultural and Geographical Contexts
• The Role of Advocacy: Movements, Legislation, and Progress Towards Equality
• Conclusion: The Ongoing Struggle for Gender Equality

Essay Title 2: Intersectionality and Gender Inequality: Examining the Overlapping Forms of Discrimination

Thesis Statement: This essay explores the concept of intersectionality within the context of gender inequality, analyzing how overlapping factors such as race, class, sexuality, and disability intersect with gender to create unique experiences of discrimination and privilege.

• Intersectionality Defined: Interplay of Identity, Power, and Discrimination
• Race and Gender: The Experiences of Women of Color
• Socioeconomic Factors: Poverty, Wealth, and Economic Disparities
• Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: LGBTQ+ Issues and Discrimination
• Disability and Gender: Challenges Faced by Disabled Women
• Intersectionality in Action: Real-Life Examples and Case Studies
• Empowerment and Solidarity: Intersectional Feminism and Social Change
• Conclusion: Embracing Intersectionality in the Fight Against Gender Inequality

Essay Title 3: Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Women's Leadership and Gender Equality in the Corporate World

Thesis Statement: This essay focuses on women's leadership in the corporate world, examining the challenges and barriers they face in reaching leadership positions, the importance of diversity in leadership, and the potential for change in the business sphere.

• The Gender Leadership Gap: Statistics and Trends in Corporate Leadership
• Barriers to Women's Advancement: Stereotypes, Bias, and Family-Work Balance
• The Business Case for Gender Diversity: Benefits to Companies and Economies
• Women Breaking Barriers: Success Stories and Female Role Models in Business
• Initiatives for Change: Corporate Policies, Mentorship Programs, and Gender Parity Goals
• The Future of Women in Leadership: Prospects for Gender Equality in the Corporate World
• Conclusion: Advancing Women's Leadership for a More Inclusive Future

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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.

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Gender equality, societies that protect equal rights for girls and boys create benefits for everyone..

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Gender disparities often start small in early childhood. Worldwide, girls and boys are just as likely to be registered at birth and immunized against life-threatening diseases. Many participate in preschool at similar rates. And as they grow, girls are equally – or slightly more – developmentally on track than boys.

But adolescence brings significant change. The onset of puberty can expose girls to discriminatory practices that result in severe physical and mental harm – even rights violations. Compared to boys their age, adolescent girls face higher burdens of domestic work, disproportionate risks of child marriage , and greater threats of gender-based violence .

They also face more severe consequences when cut off from critical care. Complications from pregnancy remain a leading cause of death and disability for adolescent girls in the least developed countries. This is especially the case for the hundreds of millions of girls who have been subjected to female genital mutilation , or for child brides, who often become pregnant young. Adolescent girls are more likely than anyone else to experience sexual violence. And among new HIV infections in adolescents, three quarters occur in girls.

Learning inequalities also widen as children grow. Girls typically receive less support than boys to pursue the studies they choose, like science and mathematics. During adolescence, those who have been married off or become pregnant may be forced to drop out of school entirely. And in low-income countries, many miss out because their schools can’t meet girls' safety and hygiene needs, or because families living in poverty tend to favour boys when investing in their children's futures.

As a result, twice as many girls than boys globally are not in any form of education, employment or training by the time they reach late adolescence.

When denied their most basic rights, girls have fewer chances to improve their circumstances and pass down opportunities to their own children – entrenching barriers to prosperity across generations.

In this way and others, boys also suffer from gender norms. Notions of masculinity can fuel child labour , gang violence and recruitment into armed groups . No matter where it prevails, or how it manifests, gender inequality harms every member of society.

Reducing inequality strengthens economies and builds stable, resilient societies that give everyone the chance to thrive.

UNICEF builds partnerships across the world to accelerate gender equality. In all areas of our work, we  integrate strategies that address gender-specific discrimination and disadvantages. This means partnering with national health sectors to expand quality maternal care and to support the professionalization of the mostly female community health workforce. It means promoting the role of women in the design and delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services. And it means working with the education sector to ensure girls and boys excel in their learning, and find pathways to meaningful employment.

For adolescent girls especially, UNICEF invests in skills building to further their economic empowerment as entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders. We focus on providing learning environments at a time and place that suit girls’ individual circumstances. And we work on assistive technologies for girls with disabilities, along with the expansion of digital platforms, vocational training and apprenticeships.

To keep girls safe from harm, UNICEF programmes focus on preventing gender-based violence , ending child marriage , eliminating female genital mutilation , supporting menstrual health management , delivering HIV and AIDS care, meeting girls' specific psychosocial needs , and more. We invest in innovative models that protect even the hardest-to-reach girls – like virtual safe spaces that allow them to report violence and connect to local resources for support.

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Gender Equality Essay

500+ words gender equality essay.

Every citizen has the right to live their life according to their wish without any discrimination. It can be achieved when all individuals are considered equal irrespective of caste, religion, language, colour, profession, status and sex. The most prominent discrimination that we observe is gender inequality. Even in many developed countries, we see several examples of gender bias, which need to be urgently addressed. Gender equality can only be achieved when both males and females are treated equally. With the help of this essay on Gender Equality, students will know what gender equality is and how it can be achieved in society. This essay will also provide an overview of the different types of problems women face due to gender discrimination.

Gender Equality

Gender equality refers to equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for both women and men. It implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men. Worldwide, women’s fundamental rights continue to be violated, and they face discrimination in access to education, work, social protection, inheritance, economic assets, productive resources, and participation in decision-making and society. Women spend two to ten times more time on unpaid work than men, which is one of the main obstacles to economic and political empowerment.

Persistent differences and disparities between men and women have negative implications for society as a whole. Women represent half the resources and half the potential in any society. This potential remains unrealized when women are constrained by inequality and discrimination. Many gender disparities emerge in early childhood and intensify in adolescence. Girls are deprived of access to health care or proper nutrition, leading to a higher mortality rate. As they move into the age of adolescence, gender disparities widen. Child marriage affects girls far more than boys. Globally, nearly 15 million girls under age 18 are married every year. It’s difficult for them to access education. Girls still face barriers to entry into primary and secondary school. The lack of education provided limits access to skills and jobs in good organisations and at reputed posts.

How to Achieve Gender Equality in India?

Women’s and girls’ education is a vital component that helps in gender equality. By obtaining proper education, the door to many new opportunities will open up for women. They get skilled and can easily find employment. Employment will empower them and give them financial independence, alternative sources of social identity, and exposure to power structures independent of kin networks. It will give them the independence to make decisions of their own choice. The path of gender equality can be further reduced at work by reducing the gender pay, earnings and pension gaps.

Another crucial step towards gender equality is eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls in public and private spheres. Apart from it, it is essential to eliminate all harmful practices by society, such as early and forced marriage, the dowry system, etc. We should try to make our environment and surroundings more safe and healthy for women and girls.

Women should try to come into power through leadership roles in all sectors. This will increase the presence of women in different fields and motivate other women and girls. Power in the hands of women will ensure their full and effective participation at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. Women’s equal rights to economic resources also promote gender rquality. They get access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, financial services, inheritance, and natural resources through this right.

India ranks 112 in the Global Gender Gap index among 153 countries. Due to this, the Government has also taken various steps to promote Gender Equality. They launch various women empowerment schemes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme, One Stop Centre Scheme, Women Helpline Scheme, UJJAWALA, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, National Mission for Empowerment of Women etc.

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Frequently Asked Questions on Gender Equality Essay

What are the main indexes to measure gender inequality.

According to the World Health Organization, the Gender Inequality Index indicates disparities in three main aspects as given below: 1. Reproductive health: The health dimension is measured by the maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate.

2. Empowerment: The empowerment dimension is measured by the share of parliamentary seats held by each gender, and by secondary and higher education attainment levels.

3. Labour market: The labour dimension is measured by women’s participation in the workforce.

How can we improve gender equality?

1. Educate girls: The government should take steps to ensure that girls get equal opportunities in the education system. This can be done by giving scholarships, sensitising parents, ensuring amenities like toilets, etc.

2. Allow women to have equal economic rights: Women should be given equal pay for equal work in the employment sector.

3. Avoid violence and sexual harassment against women: Laws should be enacted and strictly enforced to prevent violence and sexual harassment against women

4. Spread awareness about child marriage: Social evils like child marriage can be eradicated from society by raising awareness about their ill effects on the social, physical and emotional well-being of girls.

How to help children understand this issue?

Awareness programmes and campaigns can be organised to sensitise society about the negative effects of gender inequality. After all, no society can progress by ignoring the rights of half of its population, which is made up of women. Governments should ensure that boys and girls are treated equally in schools. Students must be taught how to mutually respect each other.

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Gender inequality as a barrier to economic growth: a review of the theoretical literature

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• Published: 15 January 2021
• Volume 19 , pages 581–614, ( 2021 )

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In this article, we survey the theoretical literature investigating the role of gender inequality in economic development. The vast majority of theories reviewed argue that gender inequality is a barrier to development, particularly over the long run. Among the many plausible mechanisms through which inequality between men and women affects the aggregate economy, the role of women for fertility decisions and human capital investments is particularly emphasized in the literature. Yet, we believe the body of theories could be expanded in several directions.

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1 Introduction

Theories of long-run economic development have increasingly relied on two central forces: population growth and human capital accumulation. Both forces depend on decisions made primarily within households: population growth is partially determined by households’ fertility choices (e.g., Becker & Barro 1988 ), while human capital accumulation is partially dependent on parental investments in child education and health (e.g., Lucas 1988 ).

In an earlier survey of the literature linking family decisions to economic growth, Grimm ( 2003 ) laments that “[m]ost models ignore the two-sex issue. Parents are modeled as a fictive asexual human being” (p. 154). Footnote 1 Since then, however, economists are increasingly recognizing that gender plays a fundamental role in how households reproduce and care for their children. As a result, many models of economic growth are now populated with men and women. The “fictive asexual human being” is a dying species. In this article, we survey this rich new landscape in theoretical macroeconomics, reviewing, in particular, micro-founded theories where gender inequality affects economic development.

For the purpose of this survey, gender inequality is defined as any exogenously imposed difference between male and female economic agents that, by shaping their behavior, has implications for aggregate economic growth. In practice, gender inequality is typically modeled as differences between men and women in endowments, constraints, or preferences.

Many articles review the literature on gender inequality and economic growth. Footnote 2 Typically, both the theoretical and empirical literature are discussed, but, in almost all cases, the vast empirical literature receives most of the attention. In addition, some of the surveys examine both sides of the two-way relationship between gender inequality and economic growth: gender equality as a cause of economic growth and economic growth as a cause of gender equality. As a result, most surveys end up only scratching the surface of each of these distinct strands of literature.

There is, by now, a large and insightful body of micro-founded theories exploring how gender equality affects economic growth. In our view, these theories merit a separate review. Moreover, they have not received sufficient attention in empirical work, which has largely developed independently (see also Cuberes & Teignier 2014 ). By reviewing the theoretical literature, we hope to motivate empirical researchers in finding new ways of putting these theories to test. In doing so, our work complements several existing surveys. Doepke & Tertilt ( 2016 ) review the theoretical literature that incorporates families in macroeconomic models, without focusing exclusively on models that include gender inequality, as we do. Greenwood, Guner and Vandenbroucke ( 2017 ), in turn, review the theoretical literature from the opposite direction; they study how macroeconomic models can explain changes in family outcomes. Doepke, Tertilt and Voena ( 2012 ) survey the political economy of women’s rights, but without focusing explicitly on their impact on economic development.

To be precise, the scope of this survey consists of micro-founded macroeconomic models where gender inequality (in endowments, constraints, preferences) affects economic growth—either by influencing the economy’s growth rate or shaping the transition paths between multiple income equilibria. As a result, this survey does not cover several upstream fields of partial-equilibrium micro models, where gender inequality affects several intermediate growth-related outcomes, such as labor supply, education, health. Additionally, by focusing on micro-founded macro models, we do not review studies in heterodox macroeconomics, including the feminist economics tradition using structuralist, demand-driven models. For recent overviews of this literature, see Kabeer ( 2016 ) and Seguino ( 2013 , 2020 ). Overall, we find very little dialogue between the neoclassical and feminist heterodox literatures. In this review, we will show that actually these two traditions have several points of contact and reach similar conclusions in many areas, albeit following distinct intellectual routes.

Although the incorporation of gender in macroeconomic models of economic growth is a recent development, the main gendered ingredients of those models are not new. They were developed in at least two strands of literature. First, since the 1960s, “new home economics” has applied the analytical toolbox of rational choice theory to decisions being made within the boundaries of the family (see, e.g., Becker 1960 , 1981 ). Footnote 3 A second literature strand, mostly based on empirical work at the micro level in developing countries, described clear patterns of gender-specific behavior within households that differed across regions of the developing world (see, e.g., Boserup 1970 ). Footnote 4 As we shall see, most of the (micro-founded) macroeconomic models reviewed in this article use several analytical mechanisms from "new home economics”; these mechanisms can typically rationalize several of the gender-specific regularities observed in early studies of developing countries. The growth theorist is then left to explore the aggregate implications for economic development.

The first models we present focus on gender discrimination in (or on access to) the labor market as a distortionary tax on talent. If talent is randomly distributed in the population, men and women are imperfect substitutes in aggregate production, and, as a consequence, gender inequality (as long as determined by non-market processes) will misallocate talent and lower incentives for female human capital formation. These theories do not rely on typical household functions such as reproduction and childrearing. Therefore, in these models, individuals are not organized into households. We review this literature in section 2 .

From there, we proceed to theories where the household is the unit of analysis. In sections 3 and 4 , we cover models that take the household as given and avoid marriage markets or other household formation institutions. This is a world where marriage (or cohabitation) is universal, consensual, and monogamous; families are nuclear, and spouses are matched randomly. The first articles in this tradition model the household as a unitary entity with joint preferences and interests, and with an efficient and centralized decision making process. Footnote 5 These theories posit how men and women specialize into different activities and how parents interact with their children. Section 3 reviews these theories. Over time, the literature has incorporated intra-household dynamics. Now, family members are allowed to have different preferences and interests; they bargain, either cooperatively or not, over family decisions. Now, the theorist recognizes power asymmetries between family members and analyzes how spouses bargain over decisions. Footnote 6 These articles are surveyed in section 4 .

The final set of articles we survey take into account how households are formed. These theories show how gender inequality can influence economic growth and long-run development through marriage market institutions and family formation patterns. Among other topics, this literature has studied ages at first marriage, relative supply of potential partners, monogamy and polygyny, arranged and consensual marriages, and divorce risk. Upon marriage, these models assume different bargaining processes between the spouses, or even unitary households, but they all recognize, in one way or another, that marriage, labor supply, consumption, and investment decisions are interdependent. We review these theories in section 5 .

Table 1 offers a schematic overview of the literature. To improve readability, the table only includes studies that we review in detail, with articles listed in order of appearance in the text. The table also abstracts from models’ extensions and sensitivity checks, and focuses exclusively on the causal pathways leading from gender inequality to economic growth.

The vast majority of theories reviewed argue that gender inequality is a barrier to economic development, particularly over the long run. The focus on long-run supply-side models reflects a recent effort by growth theorists to incorporate two stylized facts of economic development in the last two centuries: (i) a strong positive association between gender equality and income per capita (Fig. 1 ), and (ii) a strong association between the timing of the fertility transition and income per capita (Fig. 2 ). Footnote 7 Models that endogenize a fertility transition are able to generate a transition from a Malthusian regime of stagnation to a modern regime of sustained economic growth, thus replicating the development experience of human societies in the very long run (e.g., Galor 2005a , b ; Guinnane 2011 ). In contrast, demand-driven models in the heterodox and feminist traditions have often argued that gender wage discrimination and gendered sectoral and occupational segregation can be conducive to economic growth in semi-industrialized export-oriented economies. Footnote 8 In these settings—that fit well the experience of East and Southeast Asian economies—gender wage discrimination in female-intensive export industries reduces production costs and boosts exports, profits, and investment (Blecker & Seguino 2002 ; Seguino 2010 ).

Income level and gender equality. Income is the natural log of per capita GDP (PPP-adjusted). The Gender Development Index is the ratio of gender-specific Human Development Indexes: female HDI/male HDI. Data are for the year 2000. Sources: UNDP

Income level and timing of the fertility transition. Income is the natural log of per capita GDP (PPP-adjusted) in 2000. Years since fertility transition are the number of years between 2000 and the onset year of the fertility decline. See Reher ( 2004 ) for details. Sources: UNDP and Reher ( 2004 )

In most long-run, supply-side models reviewed here, irrespectively of the underlying source of gender differences (e.g., biology, socialization, discrimination), the opportunity cost of women’s time in foregone labor market earnings is lower than that of men. This gender gap in the value of time affects economic growth through two main mechanisms. First, when the labor market value of women’s time is relatively low, women will be in charge of childrearing and domestic work in the family. A low value of female time means that children are cheap. Fertility will be high, and economic growth will be low, both because population growth has a direct negative impact on long-run economic performance and because human capital accumulates at a slower pace (through the quantity-quality trade-off). Second, if parents expect relatively low returns to female education, due to women specializing in domestic activities, they will invest relatively less in the education of girls. In the words of Harriet Martineau, one of the first to describe this mechanism, “as women have none of the objects in life for which an enlarged education is considered requisite, the education is not given” (Martineau 1837 , p. 107). In the long run, lower human capital investments (on girls) lead to slower economic development.

Overall, gender inequality can be conceptualized as a source of inefficiency, to the extent that it results in the misallocation of productive factors, such as talent or labor, and as a source of negative externalities, when it leads to higher fertility, skewed sex ratios, or lower human capital accumulation.

We conclude, in section 6 , by examining the limitations of the current literature and pointing ways forward. Among them, we suggest deeper investigations of the role of (endogenous) technological change on gender inequality, as well as greater attention to the role and interests of men in affecting gender inequality and its impact on growth.

2 Gender discrimination and misallocation of talent

Perhaps the single most intuitive argument for why gender discrimination leads to aggregate inefficiency and hampers economic growth concerns the allocation of talent. Assume that talent is randomly distributed in the population. Then, an economy that curbs women’s access to education, market employment, or certain occupations draws talent from a smaller pool than an economy without such restrictions. Gender inequality can thus be viewed as a distortionary tax on talent. Indeed, occupational choice models with heterogeneous talent (as in Roy 1951 ) show that exogenous barriers to women’s participation in the labor market or access to certain occupations reduce aggregate productivity and per capita output (Cuberes & Teignier 2016 , 2017 ; Esteve-Volart 2009 ; Hsieh, Hurst, Jones and Klenow 2019 ).

Hsieh et al. ( 2019 ) represent the US economy with a model where individuals sort into occupations based on innate ability. Footnote 9 Gender and race identity, however, are a source of discrimination, with three forces preventing women and black men from choosing the occupations best fitting their comparative advantage. First, these groups face labor market discrimination, which is modeled as a tax on wages and can vary by occupation. Second, there is discrimination in human capital formation, with the costs of occupation-specific human capital being higher for certain groups. This cost penalty is a composite term encompassing discrimination or quality differentials in private or public inputs into children’s human capital. The third force are group-specific social norms that generate utility premia or penalties across occupations. Footnote 10

Assuming that the distribution of innate ability across race and gender is constant over time, Hsieh et al. ( 2019 ) investigate and quantify how declines in labor market discrimination, barriers to human capital formation, and changing social norms affect aggregate output and productivity in the United States, between 1960 and 2010. Over that period, their general equilibrium model suggests that around 40 percent of growth in per capita GDP and 90 percent of growth in labor force participation can be attributed to reductions in the misallocation of talent across occupations. Declining in barriers to human capital formation account for most of these effects, followed by declining labor market discrimination. Changing social norms, on the other hand, explain only a residual share of aggregate changes.

Two main mechanisms drive these results. First, falling discrimination improves efficiency through a better match between individual ability and occupation. Second, because discrimination is higher in high-skill occupations, when discrimination decreases, high-ability women and black men invest more in human capital and supply more labor to the market. Overall, better allocation of talent, rising labor supply, and faster human capital accumulation raise aggregate growth and productivity.

Other occupational choice models assuming gender inequality in access to the labor market or certain occupations reach similar conclusions. In addition to the mechanisms in Hsieh et al. ( 2019 ), barriers to women’s work in managerial or entrepreneurial occupations reduce average talent in these positions, resulting in aggregate losses in innovation, technology adoption, and productivity (Cuberes & Teignier 2016 , 2017 ; Esteve-Volart 2009 ). The argument can be readily applied to talent misallocation across sectors (Lee 2020 ). In Lee’s model, female workers face discrimination in the non-agricultural sector. As a result, talented women end up sorting into ill-suited agricultural activities. This distortion reduces aggregate productivity in agriculture. Footnote 11

To sum up, when talent is randomly distributed in the population, barriers to women’s education, employment, or occupational choice effectively reduce the pool of talent in the economy. According to these models, dismantling these gendered barriers can have an immediate positive effect on economic growth.

3 Unitary households: parents and children

In this section, we review models built upon unitary households. A unitary household maximizes a joint utility function subject to pooled household resources. Intra-household decision making is assumed away; the household is effectively a black-box. In this class of models, gender inequality stems from a variety of sources. It is rooted in differences in physical strength (Galor & Weil 1996 ; Hiller 2014 ; Kimura & Yasui 2010 ) or health (Bloom et al. 2015 ); it is embedded in social norms (Hiller 2014 ; Lagerlöf 2003 ), labor market discrimination (Cavalcanti & Tavares 2016 ), or son preference (Zhang, Zhang and Li 1999 ). In all these models, gender inequality is a barrier to long-run economic development.

Galor & Weil ( 1996 ) model an economy with three factors of production: capital, physical labor (“brawn”), and mental labor (“brain”). Men and women are equally endowed with brains, but men have more brawn. In economies starting with very low levels of capital per worker, women fully specialize in childrearing because their opportunity cost in terms of foregone market earnings is lower than men’s. Over time, the stock of capital per worker builds up due to exogenous technological progress. The degree of complementarity between capital and mental labor is higher than that between capital and physical labor; as the economy accumulates capital per worker, the returns to brain rise relative to the returns to brawn. As a result, the relative wages of women rise, increasing the opportunity cost of childrearing. This negative substitution effect dominates the positive income effect on the demand for children and fertility falls. Footnote 12 As fertility falls, capital per worker accumulates faster creating a positive feedback loop that generates a fertility transition and kick starts a process of sustained economic growth.

The model has multiple stable equilibria. An economy starting from a low level of capital per worker is caught in a Malthusian poverty trap of high fertility, low income per capita, and low relative wages for women. In contrast, an economy starting from a sufficiently high level of capital per worker will converge to a virtuous equilibrium of low fertility, high income per capita, and high relative wages for women. Through exogenous technological progress, the economy can move from the low to the high equilibrium.

Gender inequality in labor market access or returns to brain can slow down or even prevent the escape from the Malthusian equilibrium. Wage discrimination or barriers to employment would work against the rise of relative female wages and, therefore, slow down the takeoff to modern economic growth.

The Galor and Weil model predicts how female labor supply and fertility evolve in the course of development. First, (married) women start participating in market work and only afterwards does fertility start declining. Historically, however, in the US and Western Europe, the decline in fertility occurred before women’s participation rates in the labor market started their dramatic increase. In addition, these regions experienced a mid-twentieth century baby boom which seems at odds with Galor and Weil’s theory.

Both these stylized facts can be addressed by adding home production to the modeling, as do Kimura & Yasui ( 2010 ). In their article, as capital per worker accumulates, the market wage for brains rises and the economy moves through four stages of development. In the first stage, with a sufficiently low market wage, both husband and wife are fully dedicated to home production and childrearing. The household does not supply labor to the market; fertility is high and constant. In the second stage, as the wage rate increases, men enter the labor market (supplying both brawn and brain), whereas women remain fully engaged in home production and childrearing. But as men partially withdraw from home production, women have to replace them. As a result, their time cost of childrearing goes up. At this stage of development, the negative substitution effect of rising wages on fertility dominates the positive income effect. Fertility starts declining, even though women have not yet entered the labor market. The third stage arrives when men stop working in home production. There is complete specialization of labor by gender; men only do market work, and women only do home production and childrearing. As the market wage rises for men, the positive income effect becomes dominant and fertility increases; this mimics the baby-boom period of the mid-twentieth century. In the fourth and final stage, once sufficient capital is accumulated, women enter the market sector as wage-earners. The negative substitution effect of rising female opportunity costs dominates once again, and fertility declines. The economy moves from a “breadwinner model” to a “dual-earnings model”.

Another important form of gender inequality is discrimination against women in the form of lower wages, holding male and female productivity constant. Cavalcanti & Tavares ( 2016 ) estimate the aggregate effects of wage discrimination using a model-based general equilibrium representation of the US economy. In their model, women are assumed to be more productive in childrearing than men, so they pay the full time cost of this activity. In the labor market, even though men and women are equally productive, women receive only a fraction of the male wage rate—this is the wage discrimination assumption. Wage discrimination works as a tax on female labor supply. Because women work less than they would without discrimination, there is a negative level effect on per capita output. In addition, there is a second negative effect of wage discrimination operating through endogenous fertility. Since lower wages reduce women’s opportunity costs of childrearing, fertility is relatively high, and output per capita is relatively low. The authors calibrate the model to US steady state parameters and estimate large negative output costs of the gender wage gap. Reducing wage discrimination against women by 50 percent would raise per capita income by 35 percent, in the long run.

Human capital accumulation plays no role in Galor & Weil ( 1996 ), Kimura & Yasui ( 2010 ), and Cavalcanti & Tavares ( 2016 ). Each person is exogenously endowed with a unit of brains. The fundamental trade-off in the these models is between the income and substitution effects of rising wages on the demand for children. When Lagerlöf ( 2003 ) adds education investments to a gender-based model, an additional trade-off emerges: that between the quantity and the quality of children.

Lagerlöf ( 2003 ) models gender inequality as a social norm: on average, men have higher human capital than women. Confronted with this fact, parents play a coordination game in which it is optimal for them to reproduce the inequality in the next generation. The reason is that parents expect the future husbands of their daughters to be, on average, relatively more educated than the future wives of their sons. Because, in the model, parents care for the total income of their children’s future households, they respond by investing relatively less in daughters’ human capital. Here, gender inequality does not arise from some intrinsic difference between men and women. It is instead the result of a coordination failure: “[i]f everyone else behaves in a discriminatory manner, it is optimal for the atomistic player to do the same” (Lagerlöf 2003 , p. 404).

With lower human capital, women earn lower wages than men and are therefore solely responsible for the time cost of childrearing. But if, exogenously, the social norm becomes more gender egalitarian over time, the gender gap in parental educational investment decreases. As better educated girls grow up and become mothers, their opportunity costs of childrearing are higher. Parents trade-off the quantity of children by their quality; fertility falls and human capital accumulates. However, rising wages have an offsetting positive income effect on fertility because parents pay a (fixed) “goods cost” per child. The goods cost is proportionally more important in poor societies than in richer ones. As a result, in poor economies, growth takes off slowly because the positive income effect offsets a large chunk of the negative substitution effect. As economies grow richer, the positive income effect vanishes (as a share of total income), and fertility declines faster. That is, growth accelerates over time even if gender equality increases only linearly.

The natural next step is to model how the social norm on gender roles evolves endogenously during the course of development. Hiller ( 2014 ) develops such a model by combining two main ingredients: a gender gap in the endowments of brawn (as in Galor & Weil 1996 ) generates a social norm, which each parental couple takes as given (as in Lagerlöf 2003 ). The social norm evolves endogenously, but slowly; it tracks the gender ratio of labor supply in the market, but with a small elasticity. When the male-female ratio in labor supply decreases, stereotypes adjust and the norm becomes less discriminatory against women.

The model generates a U-shaped relationship between economic development and female labor force participation. Footnote 13 In the preindustrial stage, there is no education and all labor activities are unskilled, i.e., produced with brawn. Because men have a comparative advantage in brawn, they supply more labor to the market than women, who specialize in home production. This gender gap in labor supply creates a social norm that favors boys over girls. Over time, exogenous skill-biased technological progress raises the relative returns to brains, inducing parents to invest in their children’s education. At the beginning, however, because of the social norm, only boys become educated. The economy accumulates human capital and grows, generating a positive income effect that, in isolation, would eventually drive up parental investments in girls’ education. Footnote 14 But endogenous social norms move in the opposite direction. When only boys receive education, the gender gap in returns to market work increases, and women withdraw to home production. As female relative labor supply in the market drops, the social norm becomes more discriminatory against women. As a result, parents want to invest relatively less in their daughters’ education.

In the end, initial conditions determine which of the forces dominates, thereby shaping long-term outcomes. If, initially, the social norm is very discriminatory, its effect is stronger than the income effect; the economy becomes trapped in an equilibrium with high gender inequality and low per capita income. If, on the other hand, social norms are relatively egalitarian to begin with, then the income effect dominates, and the economy converges to an equilibrium with gender equality and high income per capita.

In the models reviewed so far, human capital or brain endowments can be understood as combining both education and health. Bloom et al. ( 2015 ) explicitly distinguish these two dimensions. Health affects labor market earnings because sick people are out of work more often (participation effect) and are less productive per hour of work (productivity effect). Female health is assumed to be worse than male health, implying that women’s effective wages are lower than men’s. As a result, women are solely responsible for childrearing. Footnote 15

The model produces two growth regimes: a Malthusian trap with high fertility and no educational investments; and a regime of sustained growth, declining fertility, and rising educational investments. Once wages reach a certain threshold, the economy goes through a fertility transition and education expansion, taking off from the Malthusian regime to the sustained growth regime.

Female health promotes growth in both regimes, and it affects the timing of the takeoff. The healthier women are, the earlier the economy takes off. The reason is that a healthier woman earns a higher effective wage and, consequently, faces higher opportunity costs of raising children. When female health improves, the rising opportunity costs of children reduce the wage threshold at which educational investments become attractive; the fertility transition and mass education periods occur earlier.

In contrast, improved male health slows down economic growth and delays the fertility transition. When men become healthier, there is only a income effect on the demand for children, without the negative substitution effect (because male childrearing time is already zero). The policy conclusion would be to redistribute health from men to women. However, the policy would impose a static utility cost on the household. Because women’s time allocation to market work is constrained by childrearing responsibilities (whereas men work full-time), the marginal effect of health on household income is larger for men than for women. From the household’s point of view, reducing the gender gap in health produces a trade-off between short-term income maximization and long-term economic development.

In an extension of the model, the authors endogeneize health investments, while keeping the assumption that women pay the full time cost of childrearing. Because women participate less in the labor market (due to childrearing duties), it is optimal for households to invest more in male health. A health gender gap emerges from rational household behavior that takes into account how time-constraints differ by gender; assuming taste-based discrimination against girls or gender-specific preferences is not necessary.

In the models reviewed so far, parents invest in their children’s human capital for purely altruistic reasons. This is captured in the models by assuming that parents derive utility directly from the quantity and quality of children. This is the classical representation of children as durable consumption goods (e.g., Becker 1960 ). In reality, of course, parents may also have egoistic motivations for investing in child quantity and quality. A typical example is that, when parents get old and retire, they receive support from their children. The quantity and quality of children will affect the size of old-age transfers and parents internalize this in their fertility and childcare behavior. According to this view, children are best understood as investment goods.

Zhang et al. ( 1999 ) build an endogenous growth model that incorporates the old-age support mechanism in parental decisions. Another innovative element of their model is that parents can choose the gender of their children. The implicit assumption is that sex selection technologies are freely available to all parents.

At birth, there is a gender gap in human capital endowment, favoring boys over girls. Footnote 16 In adulthood, a child’s human capital depends on the initial endowment and on the parents’ human capital. In addition, the probability that a child survives to adulthood is exogenous and can differ by gender.

Parents receive old-age support from children that survive until adulthood. The more human capital children have, the more old-age support they provide to their parents. Beyond this egoistic motive, parents also enjoy the quantity and the quality of children (altruistic motive). Son preference is modeled by boys having a higher relative weight in the altruistic-component of the parental utility function. In other words, in their enjoyment of children as consumer goods, parents enjoy “consuming” a son more than “consuming” a girl. Parents who prefer sons want more boys than girls. A larger preference for sons, a higher relative survival probability of boys, and a higher human capital endowment of boys positively affect the sex ratio at birth, because, in the parents’ perspective, all these forces increase the marginal utility of boys relative to girls.

Zhang et al. ( 1999 ) show that, if human capital transmission from parents to children is efficient enough, the economy grows endogenously. When boys have a higher human capital endowment than girls, and the survival probability of sons is not smaller than the survival probability of daughters, then only sons provide old-age support. Anticipating this, parents invest more in the human capital of their sons than on the human capital of their daughters. As a result, the gender gap in human capital at birth widens endogenously.

When only boys provide old-age support, an exogenous increase in son preference harms long-run economic growth. The reason is that, when son preference increases, parents enjoy each son relatively more and demand less old-age support from him. Other things equal, parents want to “consume” more sons now and less old-age support later. Because parents want more sons, the sex ratio at birth increases; but because each son provides less old-age support, human capital investments per son decrease (such that the gender gap in human capital narrows). At the aggregate level, the pace of human capital accumulation slows down and, in the long run, economic growth is lower. Thus, an exogenous increase in son preference increases the sex ratio at birth, and reduces human capital accumulation and long-run growth (although it narrows the gender gap in education).

In summary, in growth models with unitary households, gender inequality is closely linked to the division of labor between family members. If women earn relatively less in market activities, they specialize in childrearing and home production, while men specialize in market work. And precisely due to this division of labor, the returns to female educational investments are relatively low. These household behaviors translate into higher fertility and lower human capital and thus pose a barrier to long-run development.

4 Intra-household bargaining: husbands and wives

In this section, we review models populated with non-unitary households, where decisions are the result of bargaining between the spouses. There are two broad types of bargaining processes: non-cooperative, where spouses act independently or interact in a non-cooperative game that often leads to inefficient outcomes (e.g., Doepke & Tertilt 2019 , Heath & Tan 2020 ); and cooperative, where the spouses are assumed to achieve an efficient outcome (e.g., De la Croix & Vander Donckt 2010 ; Diebolt & Perrin 2013 ). As in the previous section, all of these non-unitary models take the household as given, thereby abstracting from marriage markets or other household formation institutions, which will be discussed separately in section 5 . When preferences differ by gender, bargaining between the spouses matters for economic growth. If women care more about child quality than men do and human capital accumulation is the main engine of growth, then empowering women leads to faster economic growth (Prettner & Strulik 2017 ). If, however, men and women have similar preferences but are imperfect substitutes in the production of household public goods, then empowering women has an ambiguous effect on economic growth (Doepke & Tertilt 2019 ).

A separate channel concerns the intergenerational transmission of human capital and woman’s role as the main caregiver of children. If the education of the mother matters more than the education of the father in the production of children’s human capital, then empowering women will be conducive to growth (Agénor 2017 ; Diebolt & Perrin 2013 ), with the returns to education playing a crucial role in the political economy of female empowerment (Doepke & Tertilt 2009 ).

However, different dimensions of gender inequality have different growth impacts along the development process (De la Croix & Vander Donckt 2010 ). Policies that improve gender equality across many dimensions can be particularly effective for economic growth by reaping complementarities and positive externalities (Agénor 2017 ).

The idea that women might have stronger preferences for child-related expenditures than men can be easily incorporated in a Beckerian model of fertility. The necessary assumption is that women place a higher weight on child quality (relative to child quantity) than men do. Prettner & Strulik ( 2017 ) build a unified growth theory model with collective households. Men and women have different preferences, but they achieve efficient cooperation based on (reduced-form) bargaining parameters. The authors study the effect of two types of preferences: (i) women are assumed to have a relative preference for child quality, while men have a relative preference for child quantity; and (ii) parents are assumed to have a relative preference for the education of sons over the education of daughters. In addition, it is assumed that the time cost of childcare borne by men cannot be above that borne by women (but it could be the same).

When women have a relative preference for child quality, increasing female empowerment speeds up the economy’s escape from a Malthusian trap of high fertility, low education, and low income per capita. When female empowerment increases (exogenously), a woman’s relative preference for child quality has a higher impact on household’s decisions. As a consequence, fertility falls, human capital accumulates, and the economy starts growing. The model also predicts that the more preferences for child quality differ between husband and wife, the more effective is female empowerment in raising long-run per capita income, because the sooner the economy escapes the Malthusian trap. This effect is not affected by whether parents have a preference for the education of boys relative to that of girls. If, however, men and women have similar preferences with respect to the quantity and quality of their children, then female empowerment does not affect the timing of the transition to the sustained growth regime.

Strulik ( 2019 ) goes one step further and endogeneizes why men seem to prefer having more children than women. The reason is a different preference for sexual activity: other things equal, men enjoy having sex more than women. Footnote 17 When cheap and effective contraception is not available, a higher male desire for sexual activity explains why men also prefer to have more children than women. In a traditional economy, where no contraception is available, fertility is high, while human capital and economic growth are low. When female bargaining power increases, couples reduce their sexual activity, fertility declines, and human capital accumulates faster. Faster human capital accumulation increases household income and, as a consequence, the demand for contraception goes up. As contraception use increases, fertility declines further. Eventually, the economy undergoes a fertility transition and moves to a modern regime with low fertility, widespread use of contraception, high human capital, and high economic growth. In the modern regime, because contraception is widely used, men’s desire for sex is decoupled from fertility. Both sex and children cost time and money. When the two are decoupled, men prefer to have more sex at the expense of the number of children. There is a reversal in the gender gap in desired fertility. When contraceptives are not available, men desire more children than women; once contraceptives are widely used, men desire fewer children than women. If women are more empowered, the transition from the traditional equilibrium to the modern equilibrium occurs faster.

Both Prettner & Strulik ( 2017 ) and Strulik ( 2019 ) rely on gender-specific preferences. In contrast, Doepke & Tertilt ( 2019 ) are able to explain gender-specific expenditure patterns without having to assume that men and women have different preferences. They set up a non-cooperative model of household decision making and ask whether more female control of household resources leads to higher child expenditures and, thus, to economic development. Footnote 18

In their model, household public goods are produced with two inputs: time and goods. Instead of a single home-produced good (as in most models), there is a continuum of household public goods whose production technologies differ. Some public goods are more time-intensive to produce, while others are more goods-intensive. Each specific public good can only be produced by one spouse—i.e., time and good inputs are not separable. Women face wage discrimination in the labor market, so their opportunity cost of time is lower than men’s. As a result, women specialize in the production of the most time-intensive household public goods (e.g., childrearing activities), while men specialize in the production of goods-intensive household public goods (e.g., housing infrastructure). Notice that, because the household is non-cooperative, there is not only a division of labor between husband and wife, but also a division of decision making, since ultimately each spouse decides how much to provide of his or her public goods.

When household resources are redistributed from men to women (i.e., from the high-wage spouse to the low-wage spouse), women provide more public goods, in relative terms. It is ambiguous, however, whether the total provision of public goods increases with the re-distributive transfer. In a classic model of gender-specific preferences, a wife increases child expenditures and her own private consumption at the expense of the husband’s private consumption. In Doepke & Tertilt ( 2019 ), however, the rise in child expenditures (and time-intensive public goods in general) comes at the expense of male consumption and male-provided public goods.

Parents contribute to the welfare of the next generation in two ways: via human capital investments (time-intensive, typically done by the mother) and bequests of physical capital (goods-intensive, typically done by the father). Transferring resources to women increases human capital, but reduces the stock of physical capital. The effect of such transfers on economic growth depends on whether the aggregate production function is relatively intensive in human capital or in physical capital. If aggregate production is relatively human capital intensive, then transfers to women boost economic growth; if it is relatively intensive in physical capital, then transfers to women may reduce economic growth.

There is an interesting paradox here. On the one hand, transfers to women will be growth-enhancing in economies where production is intensive in human capital. These would be more developed, knowledge intensive, service economies. On the other hand, the positive growth effect of transfers to women increases with the size of the gender wage gap, that is, decreases with female empowerment. But the more advanced, human capital intensive economies are also the ones with more female empowerment (i.e., lower gender wage gaps). In other words, in settings where human capital investments are relatively beneficial, the contribution of female empowerment to human capital accumulation is reduced. Overall, Doepke and Tertilt’s ( 2019 ) model predicts that female empowerment has at best a limited positive effect and at worst a negative effect on economic growth.

Heath & Tan ( 2020 ) argue that, in a non-cooperative household model, income transfers to women may increase female labor supply. Footnote 19 This result may appear counter-intuitive at first, because in collective household models unearned income unambiguously reduces labor supply through a negative income effect. In Heath and Tan’s model, husband and wife derive utility from leisure, consuming private goods, and consuming a household public good. The spouses decide separately on labor supply and monetary contributions to the household public good. Men and women are identical in preferences and behavior, but women have limited control over resources, with a share of their income being captured by the husband. Female control over resources (i.e., autonomy) depends positively on the wife’s relative contribution to household income. Thus, an income transfer to the wife, keeping husband unearned income constant, raises the fraction of her own income that she privately controls. This autonomy effect unambiguously increases women’s labor supply, because the wife can now reap an additional share of her wage bill. Whenever the autonomy effect dominates the (negative) income effect, female labor supply increases. The net effect will be heterogeneous over the wage distribution, but the authors show that aggregate female labor supply is always weakly larger after the income transfer.

Diebolt & Perrin ( 2013 ) assume cooperative bargaining between husband and wife, but do not rely on sex-specific preferences or differences in ability. Men and women are only distinguished by different uses of their time endowments, with females in charge of all childrearing activities. In line with this labor division, the authors further assume that only the mother’s human capital is inherited by the child at birth. On top of the inherited maternal endowment, individuals can accumulate human capital during adulthood, through schooling. The higher the initial human capital endowment, the more effective is the accumulation of human capital via schooling.

A woman’s bargaining power in marriage determines her share in total household consumption and is a function of the relative female human capital of the previous generation. An increase in the human capital of mothers relative to that of fathers has two effects. First, it raises the incentives for human capital accumulation of the next generation, because inherited maternal human capital makes schooling more effective. Second, it raises the bargaining power of the next generation of women and, because women’s consumption share increases, boosts the returns on women’s education. The second effect is not internalized in women’s time allocation decisions; it is an intergenerational externality. Thus, an exogenous increase in women’s bargaining power would promote economic growth by speeding up the accumulation of human capital across overlapping generations.

De la Croix & Vander Donckt ( 2010 ) contribute to the literature by clearly distinguishing between different gender gaps: a gap in the probability of survival, a wage gap, a social and institutional gap, and a gender education gap. The first three are exogenously given, while the fourth is determined within the model.

By assumption, men and women have identical preferences and ability, but women pay the full time cost of childrearing. As in a typical collective household model, bargaining power is partially determined by the spouses’ earnings potential (i.e., their levels of human capital and their wage rates). But there is also a component of bargaining power that is exogenous and captures social norms that discriminate against women—this is the social and institutional gender gap.

Husbands and wives bargain over fertility and human capital investments for their children. A standard Beckerian result emerges: parents invest relatively less in the education of girls, because girls will be more time-constrained than boys and, therefore, the female returns to education are lower in relative terms.

There are at least two regimes in the economy: a corner regime and an interior regime. The corner regime consists of maximum fertility, full gender specialization (no women in the labor market), and large gender gaps in education (no education for girls). Reducing the wage gap or the social and institutional gap does not help the economy escaping this regime. Women are not in labor force, so the wage gap is meaningless. The social and institutional gap will determine women’s share in household consumption, but does not affect fertility and growth. At this stage, the only effective instruments for escaping the corner regime are reducing the gender survival gap or reducing child mortality. Reducing the gender survival gap increases women’s lifespan, which increases their time budget and attracts them to the labor market. Reducing child mortality decreases the time costs of kids, therefore drawing women into the labor market. In both cases, fertility decreases.

In the interior regime, fertility is below the maximum, women’s labor supply is above zero, and both boys and girls receive education. In this regime, with endogenous bargaining power, reducing all gender gaps will boost economic growth. Footnote 20 Thus, depending on the growth regime, some gender gaps affect economic growth, while others do not. Accordingly, the policy-maker should tackle different dimensions of gender inequality at different stages of the development process.

Agénor ( 2017 ) presents a computable general equilibrium that includes many of the elements of gender inequality reviewed so far. An important contribution of the model is to explicitly add the government as an agent whose policies interact with family decisions and, therefore, will impact women’s time allocation. Workers produce a market good and a home good and are organized in collective households. Bargaining power depends on the spouses’ relative human capital levels. By assumption, there is gender discrimination in market wages against women. On top, mothers are exclusively responsible for home production and childrearing, which takes the form of time spent improving children’s health and education. But public investments in education and health also improve these outcomes during childhood. Likewise, public investment in public infrastructure contributes positively to home production. In particular, the ratio of public infrastructure capital stock to private capital stock is a substitute for women’s time in home production. The underlying idea is that improving sanitation, transportation, and other infrastructure reduces time spent in home production. Health status in adulthood depends on health status in childhood, which, in turn, relates positively to mother’s health, her time inputs into childrearing, and government spending. Children’s human capital depends on similar factors, except that mother’s human capital replaces her health as an input. Additionally, women are assumed to derive less utility from current consumption and more utility from children’s health relative to men. Wives are also assumed to live longer than their husbands, which further down-weights female’s emphasis on current consumption. The final gendered assumption is that mother’s time use is biased towards boys. This bias alone creates a gender gap in education and health. As adults, women’s relative lower health and human capital are translated into relative lower bargaining power in household decisions.

Agénor ( 2017 ) calibrates this rich setup for Benin, a low income country, and runs a series of policy experiments on different dimensions of gender inequality: a fall in childrearing costs, a fall in gender pay discrimination, a fall in son bias in mother’s time allocation, and an exogenous increase in female bargaining power. Footnote 21 Interestingly, despite all policies improving gender equality in separate dimensions, not all unambiguously stimulate economic growth. For example, falling childrearing costs raise savings and private investments, which are growth-enhancing, but increase fertility (as children become ‘cheaper’) and reduce maternal time investment per child, thus reducing growth. In contrast, a fall in gender pay discrimination always leads to higher growth, through higher household income that, in turn, boosts savings, tax revenues, and public spending. Higher public spending further contributes to improved health and education of the next generation. Lastly, Agénor ( 2017 ) simulates the effect of a combined policy that improves gender equality in all domains simultaneously. Due to complementarities and positive externalities across dimensions, the combined policy generates more economic growth than the sum of the individual policies. Footnote 22

In the models reviewed so far, men are passive observers of women’s empowerment. Doepke & Tertilt ( 2009 ) set up an interesting political economy model of women’s rights, where men make the decisive choice. Their model is motivated by the fact that, historically, the economic rights of women were expanded before their political rights. Because the granting of economic rights empowers women in the household, and this was done before women were allowed to participate in the political process, the relevant question is why did men willingly share their power with their wives?

Doepke & Tertilt ( 2009 ) answer this question by arguing that men face a fundamental trade-off. On the one hand, husbands would vote for their wives to have no rights whatsoever, because husbands prefer as much intra-household bargaining power as possible. But, on the other hand, fathers would vote for their daughters to have economic rights in their future households. In addition, fathers want their children to marry highly educated spouses, and grandfathers want their grandchildren to be highly educated. By assumption, men and women have different preferences, with women having a relative preference for child quality over quantity. Accordingly, men internalize that, when women become empowered, human capital investments increase, making their children and grandchildren better-off.

Skill-biased (exogenous) technological progress that raises the returns to education over time can shift male incentives along this trade-off. When the returns to education are low, men prefer to make all decisions on their own and deny all rights to women. But once the returns to education are sufficiently high, men voluntarily share their power with women by granting them economic rights. As a result, human capital investments increase and the economy grows faster.

In summary, gender inequality in labor market earnings often implies power asymmetries within the household, with men having more bargaining power than women. If preferences differ by gender and female preferences are more conducive to development, then empowering women is beneficial for growth. When preferences are the same and the bargaining process is non-cooperative, the implications are less clear-cut, and more context-specific. If, in addition, women’s empowerment is curtailed by law (e.g., restrictions on women’s economic rights), then it is important to understand the political economy of women’s rights, in which men are crucial actors.

5 Marriage markets and household formation

Two-sex models of economic growth have largely ignored how households are formed. The marriage market is not explicitly modeled: spouses are matched randomly, marriage is universal and monogamous, and families are nuclear. In reality, however, household formation patterns vary substantially across societies, with some of these differences extending far back in history. For example, Hajnal ( 1965 , 1982 ) described a distinct household formation pattern in preindustrial Northwestern Europe (often referred to as the “European Marriage Pattern”) characterized by: (i) late ages at first marriage for women, (ii) most marriages done under individual consent, and (iii) neolocality (i.e., upon marriage, the bride and the groom leave their parental households to form a new household). In contrast, marriage systems in China and India consisted of: (i) very early female ages at first marriage, (ii) arranged marriages, and (iii) patrilocality (i.e., the bride joins the parental household of the groom).

Economic historians argue that the “European Marriage Pattern” empowered women, encouraging their participation in market activities and reducing fertility levels. While some view this as one of the deep-rooted factors explaining Northwestern Europe’s earlier takeoff to sustained economic growth (e.g., Carmichael, de Pleijt, van Zanden and De Moor 2016 ; De Moor & Van Zanden 2010 ; Hartman 2004 ), others have downplayed the long-run significance of this marriage pattern (e.g., Dennison & Ogilvie 2014 ; Ruggles 2009 ). Despite this lively debate, the topic has been largely ignored by growth theorists. The few exceptions are Voigtländer and Voth ( 2013 ), Edlund and Lagerlöf ( 2006 ), and Tertilt ( 2005 , 2006 ).

After exploring different marriage institutions, we zoom in on contemporary monogamous and consensual marriage and review models where gender inequality affects economic growth through marriage markets that facilitate household formation (Du & Wei 2013 ; Grossbard & Pereira 2015 ; Grossbard-Shechtman 1984 ; Guvenen & Rendall 2015 ). In contrast with the previous two sections, where the household is the starting point of the analysis, the literature on marriage markets and household formation recognizes that marriage, labor supply, and investment decisions are interlinked. The analysis of these interlinkages is sometimes done with unitary households (upon marriage) (Du & Wei 2013 ; Guvenen & Rendall 2015 ), or with non-cooperative models of individual decision-making within households (Grossbard & Pereira 2015 ; Grossbard-Shechtman 1984 ).

Voigtländer and Voth ( 2013 ) argue that the emergence of the “European Marriage Pattern” is a direct consequence of the mid-fourteen century Black Death. They set up a two-sector agricultural economy consisting of physically demanding cereal farming, and less physically demanding pastoral production. The economy is populated by many male and female peasants and by a class of idle, rent-maximizing landlords. Female peasants are heterogeneous with respect to physical strength, but, on average, are assumed to have less brawn relative to male peasants and, thus, have a comparative advantage in the pastoral sector. Both sectors use land as a production input, although the pastoral sector is more land-intensive than cereal production. All land is owned by the landlords, who can rent it out for peasant cereal farming, or use it for large-scale livestock farming, for which they hire female workers. Crucially, women can only work and earn wages in the pastoral sector as long as they are unmarried. Footnote 23 Peasant women decide when to marry and, upon marriage, a peasant couple forms a new household, where husband and wife both work on cereal farming, and have children at a given time frequency. Thus, the only contraceptive method available is delaying marriage. Because women derive utility from consumption and children, they face a trade-off between earned income and marriage.

Initially, the economy rests in a Malthusian regime, where land-labor ratios are relatively low, making the land-intensive pastoral sector unattractive and depressing relative female wages. As a result, women marry early and fertility is high. The initial regime ends in 1348–1350, when the Black Death kills between one third and half of Europe’s population, exogenously generating land abundance and, therefore, raising the relative wages of female labor in pastoral production. Women postpone marriage to reap higher wages, and fertility decreases—moving the economy to a regime of late marriages and low fertility.

In addition to late marital ages and reduced fertility, another important feature of the “European Marriage Pattern” was individual consent for marriage. Edlund and Lagerlöf ( 2006 ) study how rules of consent for marriage influence long-run economic development. In their model, marriages can be formed according to two types of consent rules: individual consent or parental consent. Under individual consent, young people are free to marry whomever they wish, while, under parental consent, their parents are in charge of arranging the marriage. Depending on the prevailing rule, the recipient of the bride-price differs. Under individual consent, a woman receives the bride-price from her husband, whereas, under parental consent, her father receives the bride-price from the father of the groom. Footnote 24 In both situations, the father of the groom owns the labor income of his son and, therefore, pays the bride-price, either directly, under parental consent, or indirectly, under individual consent. Under individual consent, the father needs to transfer resources to his son to nudge him into marrying. Thus, individual consent implies a transfer of resources from the old to the young and from men to women, relative to the rule of parental consent. Redistributing resources from the old to the young boosts long-run economic growth. Because the young have a longer timespan to extract income from their children’s labor, they invest relatively more in the human capital of the next generation. In addition, under individual consent, the reallocation of resources from men to women can have additional positive effects on growth, by increasing women’s bargaining power (see section 4 ), although this channel is not explicitly modeled in Edlund and Lagerlöf ( 2006 ).

Tertilt ( 2005 ) explores the effects of polygyny on long-run development through its impact on savings and fertility. In her model, parental consent applies to women, while individual consent applies to men. There is a competitive marriage market where fathers sell their daughters and men buy their wives. As each man is allowed (and wants) to marry several wives, a positive bride-price emerges in equilibrium. Footnote 25 Upon marriage, the reproductive rights of the bride are transferred from her father to her husband, who makes all fertility decisions on his own and, in turn, owns the reproductive rights of his daughters. From a father’s perspective, daughters are investments goods; they can be sold in the marriage market, at any time. This feature generates additional demand for daughters, which increases overall fertility, and reduces the incentives to save, which decreases the stock of physical capital. Under monogamy, in contrast, the equilibrium bride-price is negative (i.e., a dowry). The reason is that maintaining unmarried daughters is costly for their fathers, so they are better-off paying a (small enough) dowry to their future husbands. In this setting, the economic returns to daughters are lower and, consequently, so is the demand for children. Fertility decreases and savings increase. Thus, moving from polygny to monogamy lowers population growth and raises the capital stock in the long run, which translates into higher output per capita in the steady state.

Instead of enforcing monogamy in a traditionally polygynous setting, an alternative policy is to transfer marriage consent from fathers to daughters. Tertilt ( 2006 ) shows that when individual consent is extended to daughters, such that fathers do not receive the bride-price anymore, the consequences are qualitatively similar to a ban on polygyny. If fathers stop receiving the bride-price, they save more physical capital. In the long run, per capita output is higher when consent is transferred to daughters.

Grossbard-Shechtman ( 1984 ) develops the first non-cooperative model where (monogamous) marriage, home production, and labor supply decisions are interdependent. Footnote 26 Spouses are modeled as separate agents deciding over production and consumption. Marriage becomes an implicit contract for ‘work-in-household’ (WiHo), defined as “an activity that benefits another household member [typically a spouse] who could potentially compensate the individual for these efforts” (Grossbard 2015 , p. 21). Footnote 27 In particular, each spouse decides how much labor to supply to market work and WiHo, and how much labor to demand from the other spouse for WiHo. Through this lens, spousal decisions over the intra-marriage distribution of consumption and WiHo are akin to well-known principal-agent problems faced between firms and workers. In the marriage market equilibrium, a spouse benefiting from WiHo (the principal) must compensate the spouse producing it (the agent) via intra-household transfers (of goods or leisure). Footnote 28 Grossbard-Shechtman ( 1984 ) and Grossbard ( 2015 ) show that, under these conditions, the ratio of men to women (i.e., the sex ratio) in the marriage market is inversely related to female labor supply to the market. The reason is that, as the pool of potential wives shrinks, prospective husbands have to increase compensation for female WiHo. From the potential wife’s point of view, as the equilibrium price for her WiHo increases, market work becomes less attractive. Conversely, when sex ratios are lower, female labor supply outside the home increases. Although the model does not explicit derive growth implications, the relative increase in female labor supply is expected to be beneficial for economic growth, as argued by many of the theories reviewed so far.

In an extension of this framework, Grossbard & Pereira ( 2015 ) analyze how sex ratios affect gendered savings over the marital life-cycle. Assuming that women supply a disproportionate amount of labor for WiHo (due, for example, to traditional gender norms), the authors show that men and women will have very distinct saving trajectories. A higher sex ratio increases savings by single men, who anticipate higher compensation transfers for their wives’ WiHo, whereas it decreases savings by single women, who anticipate receiving those transfers upon marriage. But the pattern flips after marriage: precautionary savings raise among married women, because the possibility of marriage dissolution entails a loss of income from WiHo. The opposite effect happens for married men: marriage dissolution would imply less expenditures in the future. The higher the sex ratio, the higher will be the equilibrium compensation paid by husbands for their wives’ WiHo. Therefore, the sex ratio will positively affect savings among single men and married women, but negatively affect savings among single women and married men. The net effect on the aggregate savings rate and on economic growth will depend on the relative size of these demographic groups.

In a related article, Du & Wei ( 2013 ) propose a model where higher sex ratios worsen marriage markets prospects for young men and their families, who react by increasing savings. Women in turn reduce savings. However, because sex ratios shift the composition of the population in favor of men (high saving type) relative to women (low saving type) and men save additionally to compensate for women’s dis-saving, aggregate savings increase unambiguously with sex ratios.

In Guvenen & Rendall ( 2015 ), female education is, in part, demanded as insurance against divorce risk. The reason is that divorce laws often protect spouses’ future labor market earnings (i.e., returns to human capital), but force them to share their physical assets. Because, in the model, women are more likely to gain custody of their children after divorce, they face higher costs from divorce relative to their husbands. Therefore, the higher the risk of divorce, the more women invest in human capital, as insurance against a future vulnerable economic position. Guvenen & Rendall ( 2015 ) shows that, over time, divorce risk has increased (for example, consensual divorce became replaced by unilateral divorce in most US states in the 1970s). In the aggregate, higher divorce risk boosted female education and female labor supply.

In summary, the rules regulating marriage and household formation carry relevant theoretical consequences for economic development. While the few studies on this topic have focused on age at marriage, consent rules and polygyny, and the interaction between sex ratios, marriage, and labor supply, other features of the marriage market remain largely unexplored (Borella, De Nardi and Yang 2018 ). Growth theorists would benefit from further incorporating theories of household formation in gendered macro models. Footnote 29

6 Conclusion

In this article, we surveyed micro-founded theories linking gender inequality to economic development. This literature offers many plausible mechanisms through which inequality between men and women affects the aggregate economy (see Table 1 ). Yet, we believe the body of theories could be expanded in several directions. We discuss them below and highlight lessons for policy.

The first direction for future research concerns control over fertility. In models where fertility is endogenous, households are always able to achieve their preferred number of children (see Strulik 2019 , for an exception). The implicit assumption is that there is a free and infallible method of fertility control available for all households—a view rejected by most demographers. The gap between desired fertility and achieved fertility can be endogeneized at three levels. First, at the societal level, the diffusion of particular contraceptive methods may be influenced by cultural and religious norms. Second, at the household level, fertility control may be object of non-cooperative bargaining between the spouses, in particular, for contraceptive methods that only women perfectly observe (Ashraf, Field and Lee 2014 ; Doepke & Kindermann 2019 ). More generally, the role of asymmetric information within the household is not yet explored (Walther 2017 ). Third, if parents have preferences over the gender composition of their offspring, fertility is better modeled as a sequential and uncertain process, where household size is likely endogenous to the sex of the last born child (Hazan & Zoabi 2015 ).

A second direction worth exploring concerns gender inequality in a historical perspective. In models with multiple equilibria, an economy’s path is often determined by its initial level of gender equality. Therefore, it would be useful to develop theories explaining why initial conditions varied across societies. In particular, there is a large literature on economic and demographic history documenting how systems of marriage and household formation differed substantially across preindustrial societies (e.g., De Moor & Van Zanden 2010 ; Hajnal 1965 , 1982 ; Hartman 2004 ; Ruggles 2009 ). In our view, more theoretical work is needed to explain both the origins and the consequences of these historical systems.

A third avenue for future research concerns the role of technological change. In several models, technological change is the exogenous force that ultimately erodes gender gaps in education or labor supply (e.g., Bloom et al. 2015 ; Doepke & Tertilt 2009 ; Galor & Weil 1996 ). For that to happen, technological progress is assumed to be skill-biased, thus raising the returns to education—or, in other words, favoring brain over brawn. As such, new technologies make male advantage in physical strength ever more irrelevant, while making female time spent on childrearing and housework ever more expensive. Moreover, recent technological progress increased the efficiency of domestic activities, thereby relaxing women’s time constraints (e.g., Cavalcanti & Tavares 2008 ; Greenwood, Seshadri and Yorukoglu 2005 ). These mechanisms are plausible, but other aspects of technological change need not be equally favorable for women. In many countries, for example, the booming science, technology, and engineering sectors tend to be particularly male-intensive. And Tejani & Milberg ( 2016 ) provide evidence for developing countries that as manufacturing industries become more capital intensive, their female employment share decreases.

Even if current technological progress is assumed to weaken gender gaps, historically, technology may have played exactly the opposite role. If technology today is more complementary to brain, in the past it could have been more complementary to brawn. An example is the plow that, relative to alternative technologies for field preparation (e.g., hoe, digging stick), requires upper body strength, on which men have a comparative advantage over women (Alesina, Giuliano and Nunn 2013 ; Boserup 1970 ). Another, even more striking example, is the invention of agriculture itself—the Neolithic Revolution. The transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to sedentary agriculture involved a relative loss of status for women (Dyble et al. 2015 ; Hansen, Jensen and Skovsgaard 2015 ). One explanation is that property rights on land were captured by men, who had an advantage on physical strength and, consequently, on physical violence. Thus, in the long view of human history, technological change appears to have shifted from being male-biased towards being female-biased. Endogeneizing technological progress and its interaction with gender inequality is a promising avenue for future research.

Fourth, open economy issues are still almost entirely absent. An exception is Rees & Riezman ( 2012 ), who model the effect of globalization on economic growth. Whether global capital flows generate jobs primarily in female or male intensive sectors matters for long-run growth. If globalization creates job opportunities for women, their bargaining power increases and households trade off child quantity by child quality. Fertility falls, human capital accumulates, and long-run per capita output is high. If, on the other hand, globalization creates jobs for men, their intra-household power increases; fertility increases, human capital decreases, and steady-state income per capita is low. The literature would benefit from engaging with open economy demand-driven models of the feminist tradition, such as Blecker & Seguino ( 2002 ), Seguino ( 2010 ). Other fruitful avenues for future research on open economy macro concern gender analysis of global value chains (Barrientos 2019 ), gendered patterns of international migration (Cortes 2015 ; Cortes & Tessada 2011 ), and the diffusion of gender norms through globalization (Beine, Docquier and Schiff 2013 ; Klasen 2020 ; Tuccio & Wahba 2018 ).

A final point concerns the role of men in this literature. In most theoretical models, gender inequality is not the result of an active male project that seeks the domination of women. Instead, inequality emerges as a rational best response to some underlying gender gap in endowments or constraints. Then, as the underlying gap becomes less relevant—for example, due to skill-biased technological change—, men passively relinquish their power (see Doepke & Tertilt 2009 , for an exception). There is never a male backlash against the short-term power loss that necessarily comes with female empowerment. In reality, it is more likely that men actively oppose losing power and resources towards women (Folbre 2020 ; Kabeer 2016 ; Klasen 2020 ). This possibility has not yet been explored in formal models, even though it could threaten the typical virtuous cycle between gender equality and growth. If men are forward-looking, and the short-run losses outweigh the dynamic gains from higher growth, they might ensure that women never get empowered to begin with. Power asymmetries tend to be sticky, because “any group that is able to claim a disproportionate share of the gains from cooperation can develop social institutions to fortify their position” (Folbre 2020 , p. 199). For example, Eswaran & Malhotra ( 2011 ) set up a household decision model where men use domestic violence against their wives as a tool to enhance male bargaining power. Thus, future theories should recognize more often that men have a vested interest on the process of female empowerment.

More generally, policymakers should pay attention to the possibility of a male backlash as an unintended consequence of female empowerment policies (Erten & Keskin 2018 ; Eswaran & Malhotra 2011 ). Likewise, whereas most theories reviewed here link lower fertility to higher economic growth, the relationship is non-monotonic. Fertility levels below the replacement rate will eventually generate aggregate social costs in the form of smaller future workforces, rapidly ageing societies, and increased pressure on welfare systems, to name a few.

Many theories presented in this survey make another important practical point: public policies should recognize that gender gaps in separate dimensions complement and reinforce one another and, therefore, have to be dealt with simultaneously. A naïve policy targeting a single gap in isolation is unlikely to have substantial growth effects in the short run. Typically, inequalities in separate dimensions are not independent from each other (Agénor 2017 ; Bandiera & Does 2013 ; Duflo 2012 ; Kabeer 2016 ). For example, if credit-constrained women face weak property rights, are unable to access certain markets, and have mobility and time constraints, then the marginal return to capital may nevertheless be larger for men. Similarly, the return to male education may well be above the female return if demand for female labor is low or concentrated in sectors with low productivity. In sum, “the fact that women face multiple constraints means that relaxing just one may not improve outcomes” (Duflo 2012 , p. 1076).

Promising policy directions that would benefit from further macroeconomic research are the role of public investments in physical infrastructure and care provision (Agénor 2017 ; Braunstein, Bouhia and Seguino 2020 ), gender-based taxation (Guner, Kaygusuz and Ventura 2012 ; Meier & Rainer 2015 ), and linkages between gender equality and pro-environmental agendas (Matsumoto 2014 ).

See Echevarria & Moe ( 2000 ) for a similar complaint that “theories of economic growth and development have consistently neglected to include gender as a variable” (p. 77).

A non-exhaustive list includes Bandiera & Does ( 2013 ), Braunstein ( 2013 ), Cuberes & Teignier ( 2014 ), Duflo ( 2012 ), Kabeer ( 2016 ), Kabeer & Natali ( 2013 ), Klasen ( 2018 ), Seguino ( 2013 , 2020 ), Sinha et al. ( 2007 ), Stotsky ( 2006 ), World Bank ( 2001 , 2011 ).

For an in-depth history of “new home economics” see Grossbard-Shechtman ( 2001 ) and Grossbard ( 2010 , 2011 ).

For recent empirical reviews see Duflo ( 2012 ) and Doss ( 2013 ).

Although the unitary approach has being rejected on theoretical (e.g., Echevarria & Moe 2000 ; Folbre 1986 ; Knowles 2013 ; Sen 1989 ) and empirical grounds (e.g., Doss 2013 ; Duflo 2003 ; Lundberg et al. 1997 ), these early models are foundational to the subsequent literature. As it turns out, some of the key mechanisms survive in non-unitary theories of the household.

For nice conceptual perspectives on conflict and cooperation in households see Sen ( 1989 ), Grossbard ( 2011 ), and Folbre ( 2020 ).

The relationship depicted in Fig. 1 is robust to using other composite measures of gender equality (e.g., UNDP’s Gender Inequality Index or OECD’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) (see Branisa, Klasen and Ziegler 2013 )), and other years besides 2000. In Fig. 2 , the linear prediction explains 56 percent of the cross-country variation in per capita income.

See Seguino ( 2013 , 2020 ) for a review of this literature.

The model allows for sorting on ability (“some people are better teachers”) or sorting on occupation-specific preferences (“others derive more utility from working as a teacher”) (Hsieh et al. 2019 , p. 1441). Here, we restrict our presentation to the case where sorting occurs primarily on ability. The authors find little empirical support for sorting on preferences.

Because the home sector is treated as any other occupation, the model can capture, in a reduced-form fashion, social norms on women’s labor force participation. For example, a social norm on traditional gender roles can be represented as a utility premium obtained by all women working on the home sector.

Note, however, that discrimination against women raises productivity in the non-agricultural sector. The reason is that the few women who end up working outside agriculture are positively selected on talent. Lee ( 2020 ) shows that this countervailing effect is modest and dominated by the loss of productivity in agriculture.

This is not the classic Beckerian quantity-quality trade-off because parents cannot invest in the quality of their children. Instead, the mechanism is built by assumption in the household’s utility function. When women’s wages increase relative to male wages, the substitution effect dominates the income effect.

The hypothesis that female labor force participation and economic development have a U-shaped relationship—known as the feminization-U hypothesis—goes back to Boserup ( 1970 ). See also Goldin ( 1995 ). Recently, Gaddis & Klasen ( 2014 ) find only limited empirical support for the feminization-U.

The model does not consider fertility decisions. Parents derive utility from their children’s human capital (social status utility). When household income increases, parents want to “consume” more social status by investing in their children’s education—this is the positive income effect.

Bloom et al. ( 2015 ) build their main model with unitary households, but show that the key conclusions are robust to a collective representation of the household.

This assumption does not necessarily mean that boys are more talented than girls. It can be also interpreted as a reduced-form way of capturing labor market discrimination against women.

Many empirical studies are in line with this assumption, which is rooted in evolutionary psychology. See Strulik ( 2019 ) for references. There are several other evolutionary arguments for men wanting more children (including with different women). See, among others, Mulder & Rauch ( 2009 ), Penn & Smith ( 2007 ), von Rueden & Jaeggi ( 2016 ). However, for a different view, see Fine ( 2017 ).

They do not model fertility decisions. So there is no quantity-quality trade-off.

In their empirical application, Heath & Tan ( 2020 ) study the Hindu Succession Act, which, through improved female inheritance rights, increased the lifetime unearned income of Indian women. Other policies consistent with the model are, for example, unconditional cash transfers to women.

De la Croix & Vander Donckt ( 2010 ) show this with numerical simulations, because the interior regime becomes analytically intractable.

We focus on gender-related policies in our presentation, but the article simulates additional public policies.

Agénor and Agénor ( 2014 ) develop a similar model, but with unitary households, and Agénor and Canuto ( 2015 ) have a similar model of collective households for Brazil, where adult women can also invest time in human capital formation. Since public infrastructure substitutes for women’s time in home production, more (or better) infrastructure can free up time for female human capital accumulation and, thus, endogenously increase wives’ bargaining power.

Voigtländer and Voth ( 2013 ) justify this assumption arguing that, in England, employment contracts for farm servants working in animal husbandry were conditional on celibacy. However, see Edwards & Ogilvie ( 2018 ) for a critique of this assumption.

The bride-price under individual consent need not be paid explicitly as a lump-sum transfer. It could, instead, be paid to the bride implicitly in the form of higher lifetime consumption.

In Tertilt ( 2005 ), all men are similar (except in age). Widespread polygyny is possible because older men marry younger women and population growth is high. This setup reflects stylized facts for Sub-Saharan Africa. It differs from models that assume male heterogeneity in endowments, where polygyny emerges because a rich male elite owns several wives, while poor men remain single (e.g., Gould, Moav and Simhon 2008 ; Lagerlöf 2005 , 2010 ).

See Grossbard ( 2015 ) for more details and extensions of this model and Grossbard ( 2018 ) for a non-technical overview of the related literature. For an earlier application, see Grossbard ( 1976 ).

The concept of WiHo is closely related but not equivalent to the ‘black-box’ term home production used by much of the literature. It also relates to feminist perspectives on care and social reproduction labor (c.f. Folbre 1994 ).

In the general setup, the model need not lead to a corner solution where only one spouse specializes in WiHo.

For promising approaches, see, among others, Cubeddu and Ríos-Rull ( 2003 ), Goussé, Jacquemet and Robin ( 2017 ), Greenwood, Guner, Kocharkov and Santos ( 2016 ), Guler, Guvenen and Violante ( 2012 ), Walther ( 2017 ), Wong ( 2016 ).

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Editor, Shoshana Grossbard, and three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Growth and Economic Opportunities for Women (GrOW) initiative, a multi-funder partnership between the UK’s Department for International Development, the Hewlett Foundation and the International Development Research Centre. All views expressed here and remaining errors are our own. Manuel dedicates this article to Stephan Klasen, in loving memory.

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Santos Silva, M., Klasen, S. Gender inequality as a barrier to economic growth: a review of the theoretical literature. Rev Econ Household 19 , 581–614 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-020-09535-6

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Facts about Gender inequality

Manifestation of gender inequality.

Gender inequality is a complex phenomenon that does not seem to have a conclusive argument. According to Rives and Yousefi (1997), the statement above is right in its articulation that the problem is prevalent and widely spread all over the world (p. 90).

This has prompted scholars to critically debate about the issue with varying opinions among those that support it and those that oppose it.

The argument supporting gender inequality derives its support from the belief that there is injustice that stems from unequal access to resources and opportunities based on gender or sex.

Rhode (1997) says that as a result, gender equality movements have sprang up allover the world from the beginning of the last century culminating to passage of various acts by different governments allowing inheritance of property by people of both genders and criminalizing any act that is contrary to those (p.102).

Despite the strides made by society in stemming gender inequality, it will be naive to assume that gender equality has been achieved in the world today.

Rhodes (1997) further says that Even the most advanced societies that boast of constitutions that guarantee universal freedoms and human rights experience different forms of discrimination based on sex (p. 114).

Rhode (1997) concludes that gender inequality nowadays has become synonymous with the struggle of women fighting for the same treatment as men (p.76). It is not correct however to assume that only women are negatively affected by gender inequality.

Historically however, traditions of different peoples who inhabit the earth have been biased against women often showing open prejudice against them compared to men REFERENCE (own words).

Women have since time immemorial been subjected to restrictions that have ensured they are treated as sub humans. All cultures from European, Asian, and African have considered women to be subordinates to their men.

These discrimination has been passed on to successful generations through socialization and has over time been accepted a way of life REFERENCE (own words).

Rives and Yousefi (1997) say that little boys are taught from a young age to behave in a superior manner while girls are taught to respect men and look upon them as the providers and ultimate destiny deciders (p.106).

Men are regarded as the heads of the family and major decision makers. Women are traditionally not allowed to inherit property as it is assumed that they will get married and would have access to the husband’s property. Even then, few have a major say on the how family property should be managed REFERENCE (own words).

Rhode (1997, p. 28) says that besides general cultural traditions, religion has played a major role on propagating gender inequality and sex discrimination. For instance, the world’s two major religions; Christianity and Islam have openly shown preference of the men folk to women.

Women are not allowed to hold high positions in these religions because they were not considered full human beings. Only men went out to talk to God, wrote the holy books, and up to date, carry out religious functions.

The language itself used in these books makes no effort to hide its prejudice against women as human beings are referred to as men.

While some sections of Christianity have undergone reforms and accommodated women in their ranks, many have not. Islam on its part is more or less, what it used to be since its inception as far as women issues are concerned (Rhode 1997 p. 28).

According Ridgeway (1992, p.86), it may not be correct per se to say that its only women who are aggrieved by the gender imbalance but majority of the cases that depict gender inequalities involve women on the receiving end

According to Oxfam (2011, p 1), quoting UN (2005, pp 2), gender inequality that has resulted in the discrimination of women through denial of basic human rights is a leading cause of poverty in the world today.

Oxfam (2011, p 2) adds that majority of women in the world have little or no control on matters of sexuality, reproduction and marital choices.

Oxfam (2011 p 2) further adds that women have diminished recourse to legal and political protection and recognition. Women also rank poorly in terms of access to public knowledge, and decision-making power compared to their male counterparts.

According to Robeyns (2002, p.457), positions like the above mean women have reduced participation in public affairs hence increasing their vulnerability to abuse and subordination.

Many organizations have carried out research to paint the clear picture of the problem. This paper will focus on some of the studies carried out so far, the sectors that have been hardest hit by gender discrimination and some of the forms through which gender inequality has manifested itself in the society.

Oxfam (2011, p 3) referring to IPU (2009) estimated in 2009 that only 18.4% of women made up composition of parliaments in the world. Far less women contributed to major decision making in the world. It therefore means few women participated in making laws and decisions that directly affect them

UNESCO estimates that there are almost 780 million illiterate people in the world (United Nations 2005, pp 2). Furthermore, there are over 75 million school drops out in the world according to the UN body.

Two thirds of the illiterate population is women while over 55% of the school dropouts are girls (United Nations 2005, pp 2). The blatant lack of access to information as shown above clearly puts women at a disadvantage in terms of access to information and knowledge REFERENCE(own words).

Statistics about wage earnings too paint a grim picture about the position of women. According ITUC, women make an average of 84% of what men mage in income.

This is besides the fact that they are largely concentrated in the informal sector and exposed to dangerous working conditions. Ridgeway, (2011, p 326) says that the instability associated with this work and the low earnings have compounded the problem leading to income disparities between men and women.

By virtue of giving birth, women are exposed to more risk than men are.

The world health organization estimates that over half a million women die from complications related to pregnancy while millions ranging from 8-20 million suffer irreversible injuries and permanent disabilities from pregnancy related complications (United Nations 2005, pp 3).

Factors cited earlier as low pay and lack of education contribute greatly to this situation. Further highlighting the poor treatment of women in healthcare, the UN estimates that more than half of the people living with HIV in the world are women (United Nations 2005, pp 3).

According to Ridgeway (2011), both men and women are exposed to the same risk of contracting the virus.

However, lack of access to health care by women in equal measure as men, coupled with low pay, minimal rights to decide sexual matters and lack of adequate information due to illiteracy have contributed o the high cases of HIV in women (p.127).

Though both men and women experience domestic and sexual violence, the problem is more prevalent in women than men are. Systematic rape is common in many countries that leave women traumatized, pregnant, or infected hence living disjointed lives.

The UN estimates that between 10-68% of women experience domestic violence and abuse from their sexual partners. The high cases show trend where culprits are not brought to book due to weak institutions or laws that are biased against women or not updated to deal with delicate women issues (United Nations 2005, pp 4).

While men suffer as causalities in conflicts, women and children make up over 85% of refuges in the camps. The women are usually not well looked after and the men who survive the conflicts often flee their families.

Laws to address the situation that is highly disadvantageous to women are almost non-existent (United Nations 2005, pp 4).

The above statistics depict a precarious situation for women and do not at all reinforce a notion that gender inequality may be a two-way phenomenon where men are also negatively affected. Even if there is a situation like that, women are clearly more affected than men are REFERENCE (own words.)

Gender inequality has manifested itself through many ways in society. In most of these cases, its women who bear the brunt of the injustices that are as a result of the inequalities.

According to Jacobs (1995) there are numerous practices carried out all over the world that amount to gender discrimination, the Asian and Middle East region has some of the most disturbing cultural practices that do not favor women (p. 68).

Miller et al (2009, p. 257) says that in western cultures, divorce is accessed by either partner who feels aggrieved hence cannot continue to stay in the arrangement.

However, some cultures like in Lebanon the divorce process is extremely punitive to women until many prefer to stay in their dysfunctional marriages to divorce. The laws governing such places have heaped both legal and financial obstacles on the part of women who would like to divorce effectively locking them out of the process.

Egyptian women are allowed to initiate divorce if they wish. However, the law makes it difficult for them to be granted their wish since it requires them or their families to repay dowries. The law further demends that they give up all the rights on the couple’s finances.

In Lebanon, women who experience domestic violence must produce an eyewitness for them to be granted divorce proceedings, a requirement that is quite stringent and difficult to fulfill.

The situation is no different in Israel. The right to divorce can only be given by the husband and never the wife. On the other hand, men in the above territories can do as they please as far as divorce is concerned Miller et al (2009, p. 305).

According to Spade, and Valentine (2008, p. 203), access to education by girls is lower compared to that of boys. Everywhere in the world with the exception of a few countries, the enrollment of boys is always higher than that of girls.

In Afghanistan for instance, the Taliban regime that aggressively enforced fundamental Islamic practices banned enrolment of girls to school. Still the literacy rate of women in the country is low owing to the fact that there is a shortage of female teachers, who must teach girls from a certain age.

The most discriminative practice in the country involves taking girls to school at puberty, effectively ensuring lack of uniform education among women from an early age.

Some communities in the Middle East and Africa demand that women walk accompanied by a male relative, even if the male companion is the age of a child. In other countries of the Middle East, husbands have the right to restrict their wife’s movements by filling papers at the airport that ban their women from traveling.

In other countries like Libya, married women must have a written permission from the husband authorizing her travel abroad. The practices are quite discriminative to women especially considering the demand places women at par with children Miller et al (2009, p. 310).

Women in such communities cannot decide what is right for them. Jacobs (1995) says that religious and selfish interests reign supreme and women are the losers at the end of it all (p. 56).

In the Middle East there are no laid down judicial procedures combating violence against women, especially sexual violence. Men have absolute control over women and battering is always treated as a domestic matter outside the state’s jurisdiction.

The system is not favorable at all to women who experience violence of any kind. Police stations do not allow reporting of cases of abuse nor do they take actions when actual cases are reported (Jacobs 1995, p 80).

Female infant discrimination

Blau (2006, p.308) says that there is a traditional believe that boys are better than girls are. Preference for boys over girls has led to increased infanticide, neglect, and abandonment of girls by parents who are desperate for boys.

In China and India, for instance there are high abortion rates of female fetuses by parents in search of boys. Such cases show the level of discrimination and outdated thinking that people have towards women.

Sectors hardest him by gender inequality

According to Tischler (2007, p.48), effects of gender inequality are universal. Many systems through which human beings operate have had negative impacts of gender inequality.

Education, the economy and labor markets and politics are some of the sectors that have experienced gender inequality and the negative consequences that are associated with it.

According to UNFPA, education for girls ensures long-term economic benefits for the entire society, access to more economic opportunities by girls and engagement in public life (United Nations 2005, pp 5). Educated women tend to make wise choices about health by bearing fewer children.

On the other hand, education increases girls bargaining power in sexual matters resulting in reduced chances of infection by HIV. The agency however casts some doubt about the achievement of millennium development goals on gender balance in the enrollment of girls into school.

According to the organization, there has been some progress but regions like south western Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa still lag behind in the enrollment of girls to school.

Blau (2006, p.308) adds that in countries that fall in these regions, choices about sending children to school are made and more often than not boys are sent to school while girls are left out (p.198).

Some of the issues that discourage girls from going to school include provision of safe transport, construction of separate amenities from both genders and discouragement of gender stereotyping in classrooms.

The above are very prevalent and greatly contribute in to the gender inequality that is witnessed in the education sector. The same situation is witnessed in the secondary school level where enrolment of girls is same as that in primary school. In some cases its lower (United Nations 2005, pp 5)

Labor Market

Bruckner (2004) says that, to ensure economic security for women and sustainable development and growth of economies, gender inequality must be done a way with in the labor sectors (p.84).

According to the UN, gender inequality in the Labor market is manifested through occupational discrimination, wage gaps based on gender and the uneven representation in informal employment, unpaid work, and high rates of unemployment (United Nations 2005, pp 5).

The UN further says that the majority of the working poor in the world are women. The working number up to 500 million and out of that, women comprise 60%.

The undervaluation of women’s work and the potential of clashing of their careers and other obligations like giving birth and raising families, contributes to the situation above (United Nations 2005, pp 5).

Kendall (2007, p. 248) says that some countries have even gone further and placed restrictions on the type of work that women should do and the earnings they should make.

Further more women earn less even when they do the same kind of work as men. Bruckner (2004, p.157) asserts that far less women own businesses compared to men and over 60% of all women who work in household businesses are not paid for their services.

National assemblies

There has been significant increase in the number of women elected to their national assemblies over the last decade. Despite the progress, national parliaments are yet to achieve the gender parity that they are supposed to have.

Lie & Brym, (2006, p. 69) assert that some of the factors that have ensured limited women participation include traditions about the role of a woman in different cultures. Women traditionally were not expected to live a public life. The tradition is still existent and greatly hinders women’s ascension to politics.

According to Bruckner (2004 ), another factor that has hindered their full participation is their economic status is that many belong to the low cadre class and cannot afford the resources necessary to join politics (p. 58).

Owners of such resources are mostly men. Finally the role of women in society as care givers and major raisers of families have complicated their chances of joining politics and vis avis the national assemblies (United Nations 2005, pp 6)

Towards gender equality

The 19 th century Suffragette movement gave rise to the struggle for gender equality. Since then much has been achieved though more needs to be done. A number of countries now have laws that criminalize discrimination on the basis of sex.

However, considering the fact that subordination of women is ages old, it will take an extremely long time to undo the negatives that womenfolk have gone through for them to be in the same level as men.

Blau, D. F. (2006) The Declining Significance of Gender ? New York: Russell sage foundation.

Bruckner, H. (2004) Gender inequality in the life course: social change and stability in West Germany . New York: Walter de Gruyter.

Jacobs, J. A. (1995) Gender inequality at work. Philadelphia: Sage Publications, the University of Michigan

Kendall, D. (2007) Sociology in Our Times: The Essentials . Belmont: Wadsworth- Cengage Learning.

Lie, J. & Brym, J. R. (2006) Sociology: your compass for a new world . Belmont: Thomson Learning.

Miller et al. (2009) Gender Inequality . New York, VDM Publishing House Ltd.

Oxfam. (2011) Gender inequality: key facts. Web.

Rhode, L. D. (1997) Speaking of Sex: The Denial of Gender Inequality . New York: New York Law and Publishing Company.

Ridgeway, L. C. (1992) Gender, interaction, and inequality . London, Springer Verlag New York Inc.

Ridgeway, L. C. (2011) Framed by Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World . Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Rives, M. J, and Yousefi, M. (1997) Economic dimensions of gender inequality: a global perspective. United States, Greenwood Publishing Group.

Robeyns, I. (2002) Gender inequality: a capability perspective . Cambridge: University of Cambridge, Faculty of Economics and Politics.

Spade, J. Z. and Valentine, G. C. (2008) The kaleidoscope of gender: prisms, patterns, and possibilities . London: Sage Publications.

Tischler, L. H. (2007) Introduction to Sociology . Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage learning.

United Nations. (2005) State of the World Population: Gender Equality Fact Sheet. UN. Nd

• Gender Stereotypes About Women Still Exist
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• Gender Equality: Male Dominance
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IvyPanda. (2019, June 27). How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World? https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-inequality-2/

"How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World?" IvyPanda , 27 June 2019, ivypanda.com/essays/gender-inequality-2/.

IvyPanda . (2019) 'How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World'. 27 June.

IvyPanda . 2019. "How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World?" June 27, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-inequality-2/.

1. IvyPanda . "How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World?" June 27, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-inequality-2/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World?" June 27, 2019. https://ivypanda.com/essays/gender-inequality-2/.

Yale Economic Growth Center

Agte et al.: "Gender Gaps and Economic Growth: Why Haven't Women Won Globally (Yet)?"

EGC Discussion Paper No. 1105, May, 2024, by members of the Gender and Growth Gaps project team: Patrick Agte, Orazio Attanasio, Pinelopi K. Goldberg, Aishwarya Lakshmi Ratan, Rohini Pande, Michael Peters, Charity Troyer Moore, and Fabrizio Zilibotti.

Does economic growth close labor market-linked gender gaps that disadvantage women? Conversely, do gender inequalities in the labor market impede growth? To inform these questions, we conduct two analyses. First, we estimate regressions using data on gender gaps in a range of labor market outcomes from 153 countries spanning two decades (1998-2018). Second, we conduct a systematic review of the recent economics literature on gender gaps in labor markets, examining 16 journals over 21 years. Our empirical analysis demonstrates that growth is not a panacea. While economic gender gaps have narrowed and growth is associated with gender gap closures specifically in incidence of paid work, the relationship between growth and labor market gaps is otherwise mixed, and results vary by specification. This result reflects, in part, the gendered nature of structural transformation, in which growth leads men to transition from agriculture to industry and services while many women exit the labor force. Disparities in hours worked and wages persist despite growth, and heterogeneity in trends and levels between regions highlight the importance of local institutions. To better understand whether gender inequalities impeded growth, we explore a nascent literature that shows that reducing gender gaps in labor markets increases aggregate productivity. Our broader review highlights how traditional explanations for gender differences do not adequately explain existing gaps and how policy responses need to be sensitive to the changing nature of economic growth. We conclude by posing open questions for future research.

P. Agte, O. Attanasio, P. Goldberg, A. Lakshmi Ratan, R. Pande, M. Peters, C. Troyer Moore, and F. Zilibotti. "Gender Gaps and Economic Growth: Why Haven't Women Won Globally (Yet)?" EGC Discussion Paper No. 1105. 

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The benefits of gender diversity are well known – it increases effectiveness and efficiency and strengthens decision-making. Yet, the IMF Executive Board continues to fall short of reaching gender balance, with women constituting a small minority of the Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors. There is a clear need for change. The IMFC has called on the membership to take action, including by introducing voluntary medium-term objectives to raise the number of women holding leadership positions at the Board. This report summarizes the Executive Board’s recommendations for these targets and lays out proposals for concerted actions that can be taken by individual countries and constituencies

Gender Diversity in the Executive Board—2024 Report to the Board of Governors

The benefits of gender diversity are well known – it increases effectiveness and efficiency and strengthens decision-making. Yet, the IMF Executive Board continues to fall short of reaching gender balance, with women constituting a small minority of the Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors. There is a clear need for change. The IMFC has called on the membership to take action, including by introducing voluntary medium-term objectives to raise the number of women holding leadership positions at the Board. This report summarizes the Executive Board’s recommendations for these targets and lays out proposals for concerted actions that can be taken by individual countries and constituencies .

• A Mandate from the IMFC

1. Following repeated calls from the IMFC to improve the gender diversity profile of the IMF Executive Board, there is a pressing need for action to increase the number of women holding the position of Executive Director or Alternate Executive Director on the Board. The dearth of women at the Executive Board is particularly striking given the IMF’s good progress in strengthening the diversity of its leadership at the level of Managing Director, First Deputy Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director and Department Director.

2. To achieve progress by increasing the number of women at the Board, the Executive Board should move swiftly to take forward the mandate given by the IMFC through the Fall 2023 Chair’s Statement where it called for voluntary objectives to increase the representation of women at the IMF Executive Board.

3. The current share of women holding the position of Executive Director (3 out of 24) and Alternate Executive Director (4 out of 31) on the IMF Executive Board is low. A recent working paper by the Center for Global Development shows that the gender diversity of the IMF Executive Board is also below that of several comparator international financial institutions (IFIs), including the World Bank, OECD, WTO, EBRD, EIB, and AfDB (see Figure 1 ). Some of them have made more progress on improving gender diversity than the IMF, although women are not yet equally represented on their executive boards.

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4. The stronger performance of other IFIs in appointing women to leadership positions suggests that focused commitment to the increased representation of women in senior roles in government and public sector yields results. The Board places high priority on matching the progress made by other comparators institutions.

5. Many member countries have already engaged within their central banks and ministries to work on improving gender diversity. While change takes time, the number of women in leadership positions in G20 central bank bodies responsible for monetary policy indicates strong progress is being made in many countries.

6. It is particularly striking that the Fund continues to lag behind its closest comparator organization, the World Bank. The Bank continues to have more women in these positions, especially at the Alternate Executive Director level. The Bank also continues to demonstrate higher percentages of women appointed to Senior Advisor and Advisor positions, for which voluntary collective employment targets have been established.

Gender Diversity in International Financial Insitutions Boards (percent women)

Citation: Policy Papers 2024, 006; 10.5089/9798400273933.007.A001

G20 Central Banks: Monetary Policy Decision Making Bodies (percent women)

• Proposal for Collective Voluntary Objectives

7. The Executive Board is taking forward the direction provided by the IMFC to define collective voluntary objectives for increasing the number of women Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors on the Board and to advocate for their achievement. When developing the proposed objectives, due consideration has been given to different processes among member countries and constituencies for appointing Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors.

8. The Executive Board agrees that voluntary collective objectives should be ambitious yet realistic. Given the low number of women represented at the Board throughout the Fund’s history and the slow progress made in recent years, an ambitious objective is important to signal the critical need to make progress. The different selection processes for Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director in each country or constituency will, however, require bespoke methods for achieving the objectives .

9. The Executive Board has agreed to establish collective voluntary medium-term objectives for the appointment of women as Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director combined of at least 30–40 percent over three election cycles, starting with the 2024 regular election of Executive Directors. This is a concrete first step towards the aspiration to reach parity.

10. A combined target of 30–40 percent women as Executive Director or Alternate Executive Director would imply 16–22 women in these positions. Currently, the Board comprises 7 women in these positions. A strong push will be required.

11. Given the turnover of Board members, which also takes place outside of the regular election cycles, it is inevitable that the share of women at Executive Director and/or Alternate Executive Director will vary from year to year, even month to month. Of the 24 Offices of Executive Directors, six have never had a woman appointed in the position of Executive Director or Alternate Executive Director. It is encouraging that one of these constituencies has advised its commitment to elect its first women Executive Director in the next rotation. Recently one constituency has selected a woman to serve as its next Alternate Executive Director, which will increase the number of women at the Board in the position of Executive Director or Alternate Executive Director to 8 women, or 15 percent. These are very positive developments. The aim with the voluntary objective is to ensure a steady and sustainable upward trend in the representation of women in leadership positions at the Board.

Offices of Executive Directors History of Women’s Employment: Executive Directors and Alternate Executive Directors (number of women)

• Actions to Help Move the Needle

12. Gender diversity objectives can be helpful to maintain progress, but they need to go hand in hand with intentional action, including during merit-based recruitment and appointment processes, to be effective. While a lack of pipeline can be an issue to differing extent in different countries, there is also evidence that setting targets can be effective in reducing gender biases in merit-based appointments, generating different outcomes in recruitment from the same talent pool.

13. Building on the different experiences of countries’ and constituencies’ selection processes, the Executive Board will work with authorities to leverage an array of ways to gain the support of decision-makers in reaching the objectives, including:

Outreach . Recognizing the importance of up-to-date and easy-to-digest information and data, the Executive Board will continue to provide updated statistics – most notably the factsheet “Gender Diversity in the IMF Executive Board” -with country authorities ahead of the IMF Spring and Annual Meetings. Other options for Executive Board members to conduct outreach include: leveraging IMF management’s stature and visibility and access to key-decision makers, including through written communication to Governors; as well as written communication from Executive Directors/Alternate Executive Directors to their constituencies.

Gender champions . Executive Directors and other Board members play a key role in raising awareness with their authorities, advocating for change, and acting as champions for gender diversity. Continuous communication, including during missions, on the need to improve the IMF Executive Board gender diversity will be helpful. Raising the issue at the highest level will also be important to ensure that the information reaches those with direct influence over appointments to the Board, which varies across countries and constituencies.

Influencing recruitment processes . Setting gender targets/objectives has become a common practice in several member country government authorities. Extending such gender objectives to appointments in international organizations should be encouraged. Constituencies could also incorporate gender objectives and expectations formally in their agreements on rotation arrangements; for example, some constituencies have adopted regular rotations of male and female candidates at the Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director level to ensure at least one member of the country’s/constituency’s leadership is a woman at all times. While this example showcases an effective approach, it is recognized that it may not be applicable to all.

Strengthen pipelines . Executive Board members should work with authorities to help develop strategies to build pipelines of women in senior positions that could be considered for leadership positions at the IMF Executive Board, including through mentoring, proactive identification and recruitment, and by highlighting the work of the IMF Executive Board.

Recognition of positive progress . Acknowledging the importance of positive recognition, the WGGD will, in addition to highlighting countries/constituencies with current female representation at the highest level, consider further ways to shine light on the progress being made, including in the progress reports to the Board of Governors.

• Accountability and Measuring Progress

14. The proposed objective is a collective goal to increase the number of women on the Board, while the decisions to select candidates for the roles of Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director rests with individual member country authorities. These individual decisions should, however, pursue the shared goal of improving the governance of the Fund through greater gender diversity on the Executive Board.

15. Reporting and accountability is important for enacting change and monitoring progress through time. In addition to its regular reporting to the Board of Governors on the gender diversity profile of the Executive Board, data on each chair’s/constituency’s representation of women in leadership positions over the last ten years with the Executive Board will be published on IMFConnect on a regular basis. Selected data on the gender composition of Offices of Executive Director will also be shared with the Board of Governors and included in the Fund’s Annual Report.

16. The WGGD will continue its work to raise awareness about the need for improved gender diversity in the Executive Board at all levels and garner support for the need for action, including through the following actions:

i) Consider ways to support the implementation of the collective voluntary objectives for the appointment of women as Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director as well as regular reporting on the progress made in the determined timeframe.

ii) Continue to report on the progress made towards meeting the voluntary targets introduced in 2016 for Senior Advisor (35% – 45%) and Advisor (40% – 50%) level over time.

Senior Advisors: Status of Voluntary Targets35%-45%

iii) Share best practices to help members to develop a pipeline of candidates for Executive Director and Alternative Executive Director positions to help meet the voluntary objectives.

iv) Consider other ways to engage member country authorities and ensure their support and participation towards reaching the objectives, to be reviewed and agreed by the Executive Board.

v) Continue to support activities to build a supportive work environment for women working in the Executive Board, including through the OED Women’s Network, and continue engaging with other IFIs to exchange experiences and best practices on how to improve Board gender diversity.

17. To support this initiative and ongoing conversation, the Executive Board commits to raise this issue with relevant decision makers to garner their support and participation towards reaching the objectives. To this end, Executive Directors will share the attached fact sheet with their authorities.

• Annex I. Spring 2024 Factsheet

Gender Diversity in the IMF Executive Board—Spring 2024

Other IMF Content

• Gender Diversity in The Executive Board—Interim Report of The Executive Board to The Board of Governors
• Gender Diversity In The Executive Board—Report Of The Executive Board To The Board Of Governors
• Gender Diversity in the Executive Board—Draft Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors
• IMF Executive Board’s First Report to the Board of Governors on Gender Diversity in the Executive Board
• Invested in Gender Diversity
• Gender Diversity at the Executive Board and its Shared Benefits
• IMF Strategy Toward Mainstreaming Gender
• Board Gender Diversity in ASEAN
• Since the time of the last report of the Executive Board on its gender diversity, profound changes have taken place globally, exposing wide social and economic disparities.
• Interim Guidance Note on Mainstreaming Gender at The IMF

Other Publishers

Asian development bank.

• CAREC Gender Assessment: Supplementary Documentary for the CAREC Gender Strategy 2030
• CAREC Gender Strategy 2030
• Gender Gaps in Ownership of Nonagricultural Enterprises in Georgia, Mongolia, and the Philippines
• Greater Mekong Subregion Gender Strategy
• Impact of Gender Inequality on Long-Term Economic Growth in Mongolia
• Gender-Responsive Procurement in Asia and the Pacific: An Opportunity for an Equitable Economic Future
• Enhancing Gender Equality in Infrastructure Development: Theories of Change, Indicators, and Sector Strategies
• Accelerating Gender Equality in the Agribusiness Sector
• Barriers to Entry: Decomposing the Gender Gap in Job Search in Urban Pakistan
• Exploring the Gender Dimensions of Unpaid Care Work in the Lao People's Democratic Republic

Food and Agriculture Organization

• Gender, water and agriculture: Assessing the nexus in Egypt
• Good practices for promoting gender equality through rural advisory services: Case studies from Ethiopia, India and Peru

Inter-American Development Bank

• Executive Summary: Evaluation of the Bank's Support for Gender and Diversity
• Evaluation of the Bank's Support for Gender and Diversity
• Approach Paper: Evaluation of the Bank's Support for Gender and Diversity
• Gender Mainstreaming at the IDB: A Report to the Board of Executive Directors on the Implementation of the WID Action Plan 1998-2001
• An Integrated Analysis of the Impact of Gender Diversity on Innovation and Productivity in Manufacturing Firms
• Social, Racial and Gender Profile of the 500 largest Brazilian Companies: Executive Summary
• The Public Sector Premium and the Gender Gap in Latin America: Evidence from the 1980s and 1990s
• Women in the Americas: Bridging the Gender Gap
• Working Within Confines: Occupational Segregation by Gender in Three Latin American Countries
• Gender Gaps in Entrepreneurship and their Macroeconomic Effects in Latin America

International Labour Organization

• Gender equality and decent work: Selected ILO Conventions and Recommendations that promote gender equality as of 2012. Third revised edition 2012

The World Bank

• Gender Diversity in Ghanaian Boardrooms: An Abridged Report on Women on Boards of Corporate and Public Institutions in Ghana.
• Gender Diversity in Jordan: Research on the Impact of Gender Diversity on the Economic Performance of Companies in Jordan.
• Exploring the Diversity of Young People Not in Employment, Education or Training: The Gender Profile of NEETs in Georgia and Armenia
• Closing the Gender Gaps among Marginalized Roma in the Western Balkans: A Summary of Findings and Policy Recommendations
• Colombia Gender Assessment
• Compensation, Diversity and Inclusion at the World Bank Group
• Women in the Pipeline: A Dynamic Decomposition of Firm Pay Gaps
• Women and Trade: The Role of Trade in Promoting Gender Equality
• Gender and Investment Climate Reform Assessment: Pacific Regional Executive Summary.

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• Gender Diversity in The Executive Board
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Review of “the making of lawyers’ careers: inequality and opportunity in the american legal profession”.

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Sida Liu, Review of “The Making of Lawyers’ Careers: Inequality and Opportunity in the American Legal Profession”, Social Forces , 2024;, soae086, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soae086

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At the turn of the 21st century, the American Bar Foundation (ABF) embarked on an ambitious research project, After the JD (AJD), with a team of top-notch sociolegal researchers. Building on the foundation of the ABF’s previous Chicago Lawyers surveys from 1975 and 1995, the AJD Project went a step further by longitudinally tracking a cohort of lawyers who entered the American legal profession in 2000 over two decades. A survey was conducted on a national sample of 4,538 respondents between 2002 and 2003, followed by two additional surveys on the same sample of lawyers in 2007 and 2012. In total, 2,035 respondents participated in all three survey waves. Moreover, 219 in-depth interviews were conducted with survey respondents, intentionally overrepresenting lawyers of color, public interest lawyers, and small-firm or solo practitioners. This mixed-methods study yielded the most comprehensive longitudinal data on lawyers’ careers to date.

The culmination of this project is the book, The Making of Lawyers’ Careers: Inequality and Opportunity in the American Legal Profession . It takes a village to complete this large-scale project. Some coauthors were graduate students when the AJD Project began and became full professors by the time the book was published in 2023. Others may have retired, but they never stopped contributing to the project. In the end, their relentless collective effort and dedication paid off. This impressive book sets a new gold standard for studying legal careers by seamlessly blending sophisticated statistical analysis with engaging and touching stories of lawyers’ lives. It explores not only private practice but also alternative careers in business, government, non-profit, and public interest sectors, addressing challenging questions about gender, racial, and class inequalities in the legal profession and beyond.

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The Struggle for Survival: Understanding why the Red Panda is Endangered

This essay is about the reasons behind the red panda’s endangered status. The red panda, native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, faces several threats, including habitat loss due to deforestation, poaching for fur and the illegal pet trade, and the impacts of climate change on their bamboo food source. Human-wildlife conflict, such as competition with livestock and accidental trapping, also contributes to their decline. Conservation efforts, including habitat preservation, anti-poaching measures, and community education, are essential to protect this species. The essay emphasizes the need for a comprehensive approach involving governments, organizations, and local communities to secure the red panda’s future.

How it works

The red panda, a diminutive mammal indigenous to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China, has perpetually ensnared the affections of those who chance upon it. Adorned with its tawny coat, luxuriant tail, and distinctive facial adornments, the red panda stands as a captivating emblem of ecological diversity. Despite its allure, the red panda confronts a precarious predicament. Categorized as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), this species confronts the specter of extinction. To fathom the reasons behind the red panda’s peril, we must delve into the multifarious factors that contribute to its descent.

One of the foremost perils to the red panda is habitat degradation. The red panda’s native habitat comprises temperate woodlands abundant with dense bamboo thickets, a pivotal constituent of their sustenance. However, the rampant deforestation for agricultural pursuits, logging activities, and human habitation has markedly diminished these woodlands. In locales such as Nepal, the red panda’s habitat has undergone a precipitous reduction owing to the proliferation of arable land and infrastructural expansion. This habitat loss not only diminishes the expanse available for red pandas to inhabit and forage but also fractures their populations, rendering the quest for mates and procreation arduous. Furthermore, habitat fragmentation augments the peril of consanguinity, precipitating a decline in genetic heterogeneity and, by extension, the overall vitality of the populace.

In tandem with habitat loss, poaching poses a significant menace to the red panda. Despite the illegality of red panda hunting across much of their range, the enforcement of such statutes is frequently lackadaisical. Crimson pandas fall prey to poaching for their pelts, coveted for the fabrication of headwear and attire, and for their luxuriant tails, deemed auspicious talismans. Moreover, red pandas are occasionally ensnared for illicit trade as pets. The capture and demise of red pandas for these objectives have been contributory to their diminishment, directly attenuating their numbers and disrupting their societal fabric.

Another factor underpinning the red panda’s imperiled status is climate perturbation. The red panda’s habitat evinces a pronounced susceptibility to alterations in temperature and precipitation. As climatic warming ensues, the distribution of bamboo, their principal sustenance, is imperiled. Bamboo varieties evince specific growth requisites, and climatic vicissitudes can precipitate the extirpation of bamboo groves. Deprived of adequate bamboo, red pandas grapple with the procurement of sustenance, resulting in malnourishment and diminished reproductive fecundity. Furthermore, climate variation can exacerbate the ramifications of habitat fragmentation by engendering impediments to mobility and isolating populations with greater acuity.

Human-wildlife discord represents yet another conundrum confronting red pandas. With burgeoning human populations encroaching upon red panda habitats, interactions between humans and red pandas burgeon. The grazing of livestock within red panda territories foments competition for resources, culminating in the potential subjugation or displacement of red pandas. Furthermore, red pandas occasionally fall victim to traps set for other fauna, occasioning injury or demise. These conflicts commonly ensue from the burgeoning intersection of human enterprises and red panda habitats.

Initiatives for conservation are presently underway to counteract these perils and safeguard the red panda. Entities such as the Red Panda Network and WWF are striving to conserve and rehabilitate red panda habitats, advocate for sustainable forestry practices, and mitigate human-wildlife discord. Measures targeting poaching, community enlightenment, and the establishment of sanctuaries are integral constituents of these endeavors. Additionally, research into red panda ecology and conduct is imperative to inform conservation stratagems and secure their efficacy.

Notwithstanding these endeavors, the future of the red panda remains tenuous. The amalgamation of habitat loss, poaching, climate perturbation, and human-wildlife discord poses a convoluted and persistent quandary. Preserving the red panda necessitates a multifaceted approach that addresses both the proximate perils and the fundamental catalysts of their descent. The engagement of local communities in conservation initiatives is imperative, as their involvement and advocacy are indispensable for the enduring success of these undertakings.

In summation, the red panda faces endangerment due to the confluence of habitat loss, poaching, climate perturbation, and human-wildlife discord. These factors have precipitated a marked dwindling in their populace and persist in imperiling their perpetuation. Conservation endeavors are imperative for preserving this distinctive and cherished species, albeit they must be all-encompassing and enlist the collaboration of governments, entities, and local communities. By redressing the root causes of the red panda’s diminishment and implementing efficacious conservation stratagems, we may aspire to secure a future for the red panda, ensuring that this extraordinary creature endures to grace our planet for generations to come. Remember, this dissertation serves as a springboard for contemplation and further inquiry. For tailored guidance and to ascertain the adherence of your dissertation to all academic norms, consider availing the services of professionals at EduBirdie.

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Income inequality is greater among Chinese Americans than any other Asian origin group in the U.S.

In 2022, Chinese American households near the top of the income ladder earned over 19 times as much as Chinese American households near the bottom of the ladder. This gap was the largest across Asian American households of different origins, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data.

Income inequality is a measure of the income gap between highest- and lowest-earning households. It has long been a public concern in the United States , especially after the economic upheaval brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic .

A 2018 analysis by the Center found that income inequality is greater among Asian Americans than any other U.S. racial or ethnic group . In this new analysis, we explore income inequality within the origin groups that make up the Asian American population .

Related: The State of the American Middle Class

Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to better understand levels of income inequality across and within Asian origin groups using the 90/10 ratio . This is the ratio of the income at the 90th percentile of the income distribution to the income at the 10th percentile. It provides a simple measure of the distance between the top and the bottom of the income distribution.

In this analysis, household “income” refers to the combined resources of all members of a household, whether a household member had personal earnings or not. Thus, people’s incomes are represented by their household’s income adjusted for household size .

The main sources used are the 2022 American Community Survey and the 1980 decennial census (1% metro sample), both obtained through Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS).

Income inequality differs widely across Asian origin groups

One of the most common measures of income inequality is the “90/10 ratio .” This metric reflects the ratio of household income of those at the 90th percentile (the top 10% of earners) to those in the 10th percentile (the bottom 10% of earners).

Among all Asian origin groups in the U.S., Chinese American households had the highest income inequality in 2022, with a 90/10 ratio of 19.2. In other words, Chinese households in the 90th percentile of the income distribution earned 19.2 times as much as their counterparts in 10th percentile.

Sri Lankan, Korean and Pakistani American households also had high levels of income inequality in 2022. Within each of these origin groups, households in the top 10% had more than 13 times the income of those in the bottom 10%. Laotian and Vietnamese households also had 90/10 ratios above 11, indicating a high degree of income inequality.

By contrast, Burmese, Filipino, Nepalese and Hmong households had the lowest income gaps among U.S. Asians in 2022, all with 90/10 ratios lower than 8. Still, even among Hmong households, those in the top 10% earned 7.3 times that of those in the lowest 10%.

Income inequality has increased among most of the largest Asian origin groups

Income inequality has risen among nearly all of the largest Asian origin groups in the U.S. since 1980.

The biggest increase occurred among Chinese American households. Their 90/10 income ratio rose from 8.3 in 1980 to 19.2 in 2022. Korean, Japanese, Filipino and Indian households also experienced increases in income inequality over this time period.

Vietnamese Americans are the exception to this pattern. Since 1980, the income inequality ratio among Vietnamese households has declined by over 17 points in the 90/10 income ratio. It’s not clear what is behind this trend, but many Vietnamese Americans in 1980 were new immigrants who entered the U.S. following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 .

Among Asian Americans, Chinese households are among the lowest – and highest – earners

Indian Americans are frequently the highest-earning Asian origin group when looking at different steps on the income ladder. For example, they top the list when looking at those who belong to the lowest 10% of households and the top 10% of households by earning levels.

The story is different for Chinese Americans. At the lower end of the income distribution – the 10th percentile – Chinese Americans who belong to the lowest-earning households were among the poorest Asian origin groups in 2022, with annual earnings of $10,500. At the 50th percentile of the income distribution – the median – Chinese American households were among the Asian origin groups with the highest incomes, with earnings of $65,800. And at the 90th percentile, Chinese households earned $200,000 in 2022 – second only to Indian Americans. (Incomes are adjusted for household size and expressed in 2022 dollars.)

The lowest- and highest-earning Asian households differ demographically

Across the six largest Asian origin groups in the U.S., there are some key demographic differences between those at the lowest and highest ends of the income distribution.

Among most of the largest Asian origin groups, those in the bottom 10% of earners are more likely than those in the top 10% to be immigrants. However, Filipino and Japanese Americans at both ends of the income ladder are about as likely to be U.S. born as foreign born.

Length of time in the U.S.

For five of the six largest Asian origin groups – all but Japanese Americans – immigrants in the highest-earning households have higher or similar shares that have lived in the U.S. for more than 10 years when compared with those in the lowest-earning households.

For example, 71% of the highest-earning Indian American immigrants have resided in the U.S. for more than 10 years. A much smaller share of Indian American immigrants in the lowest-earning households (53%) have lived in the U.S. for that long.

Educational attainment

The top 10% of Asian Americans by earnings are far more likely than those in the bottom 10% to have a bachelor’s degree or more education. This trend holds true for all six major Asian American origin groups.

• Asian Americans
• Economic Inequality
• Income & Wages

Abby Budiman is a temporary research associate focusing on race and ethnicity research at Pew Research Center .

The State of the Asian American Middle Class

Asian americans, charitable giving and remittances, key facts about asian americans living in poverty, methodology: 2023 focus groups of asian americans, 1 in 10: redefining the asian american dream (short film), most popular.

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