Context: The United Nations’ report on women’s empowerment and gender parity reveals a concerning reality where only 1% of women worldwide live in countries that have achieved both high women’s empowerment and gender parity.
About :
The report, jointly created by UN Women and UN Development Programme, emphasizes the importance of the Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) and the Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI) as essential tools to assess the progress made in promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Key Findings
- None of the 114 countries analyzed achieved full women’s empowerment or complete gender parity.
- Of the 114 countries analyzed,85 have low or middle women’s empowerment and low or middle performance in achieving gender parity. More than half the countries in this group are in the high (21 countries) or very high human development group (26 countries).
- Only 1 percent of women across the world live in countries that have managed to achieve both high women empowerment and gender parity.While more than 90 percent of the global population of women live in countries with low or middle women’s empowerment and low or middle performance in achieving gender parity.
- WEI showed that, on an average, women are empowered to achieve only 60 percent of their full potential. They achieve, on average, 72 percent of what men achieve across key human development dimensions, as measured by the GPPI, reflecting a 28 percent of gender gap.
- However leadership roles and decision-making still mostly lie with men and are unavailable to women.
Indian Status
Women’s empowerment and gender parity in the country were categorized as ‘low’, despite being assessed as ‘medium’ in human development.
Comprehensive Policy action required
- Health policies: Support and promote long and healthy lives for all, with a focus on universal access to sexual and reproductive health.
- Equality in education: Address gaps in skills and quality of education, especially in fields such as STEM, to empower women and girls in the digital age
- Work-life balance and support for families: Invest in work-life balance policies like affordable childcare, parental leave, and flexible work arrangements.
- Women’s equal participation: Set targets and action plans for achieving gender parity in all spheres of public life and eliminate discriminatory laws and regulations that hold women back
- Violence against women: Implement measures for prevention, changing norms, and eliminating discriminatory laws and policies.
Conclusion
Use twin indices to track progress, assess gaps, and take informed action for an equitable and inclusive world.
UN Women:
- UN Women is the United Nations entity, dedicated to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women.
- Headquarter: New York
- Established in: 2010 by the United Nations General Assembly to accelerate the progress on meeting women’s needs worldwide.
- UN Women formed by merging the four previously distinct parts of the UN system which are:
- Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)
- International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW)
- Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues and Advancement of Women (OSAGI)
- United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)
- Objectives of UN Women:
- To support inter-governmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women in their formulation of policies, global standards, and norms.
- To help the Member States to implement these standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it, and to forge effective partnerships with civil society.
- Furthermore, to hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality. It includes regular monitoring of system-wide progress.
- Headquarters: New York, United States
FAQs Related with Women Empowerment
Ques 1: What is women’s empowerment?
Answer: Women’s empowerment refers to the process of granting women equal rights, opportunities, and decision-making power in society.
Ques 2: Why is women’s empowerment important?
Answer: Women’s empowerment is crucial for achieving gender equality, promoting social progress, and enhancing economic development.
Ques 3: How can we promote women’s empowerment?
Answer: Promoting women’s education, providing equal job opportunities, and eliminating gender-based discrimination are key ways to foster women’s empowerment.
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