Gender equality
Christine de Pizan wrote The Book of the City of Ladies in 1405. Her words challenged the idea that women were naturally inferior to men. She argued that oppression stemmed from irrational prejudice rather than biological fact. De Pizan pointed out many advances in society that were likely created by women. This early text laid a foundation for future arguments about gender equality.
Centuries later, the Shakers put these ideas into practice. Joseph Meacham had a revelation in 1788 that the sexes should be equal. He brought Lucy Wright into the ministry as his female counterpart. Together they restructured their society to balance rights between men and women. Each elder who dealt with men's spiritual welfare was paired with an eldress handling women's affairs. Men oversaw men while women oversaw women. Women lived with other women without being controlled or owned by any man.
Frederick Evans spoke forcefully on behalf of the Shakers in 1859. He declared them the first group to disenthrall woman from vassalage. Antoinette Doolittle served as his counterpart during the 1870s. They joined other advocates on speakers' platforms throughout the northeastern United States. A visitor noted in 1875 that the Shakers demonstrated how achievable gender equality truly was.
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women came into force on the 3rd of September 1981. The United Nations General Assembly adopted this convention in 1979. It serves as an international bill of rights for women. This legal instrument defines global standards for women's rights across all spheres of life.
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action appeared on the 25th of June 1993 at a World Conference on Human Rights in Austria. Para 18 addressed women's rights within this human rights declaration. The Cairo Programme of Action followed in 1994 at the International Conference on Population and Development. This non-binding program asserted government responsibility to meet reproductive needs rather than demographic targets.
The Beijing Declaration arrived on the 15th of September 1995 after the Fourth World Conference on Women. It promulgated principles concerning gender equality globally. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 came later on the 31st of October 2000. This resolution dealt specifically with rights during armed conflicts. The Maputo Protocol entered into force in 2005 guaranteeing comprehensive rights including political participation.
Across the European Union, women earn 13% less than men on average according to Eurostat data from 2014. Adult men work an average of 23 hours per week while women work 15 hours. Despite working more hours, women continue to earn around 25% less than males. Almost a billion women cannot obtain loans to establish companies or create bank accounts.
Studies found that women pay about $1,400 annually more than men due to gendered pricing known as the Pink Tax. Companies sell almost identical units of products at different prices based on target markets. This phenomenon results in higher costs for commodities related to feminine body image. The European Investment Bank established SheInvest in 2020 raising €1 billion to assist women obtaining loans across Africa.
Increasing women's equality in banking and the workplace might boost the global economy by up to $28 trillion by 2025. Funding has become available through programs like the Finance in Common Summit which funded an additional €2 billion in gender-lens investment. These efforts aim to help women run enterprises across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
UNICEF estimated in 2016 that 200 million women have undergone female genital mutilation. This practice involves ritual cutting or removal of external female genitalia. It persists in Africa, Asia, Middle East, Indonesia, and among immigrant communities in Europe. About half of these cases occur in Egypt and Ethiopia alone.
Maternal mortality remains a major problem globally according to World Health Organization data. Countries have obligations to protect women's right to health but many fail to do so. Adolescent girls face the highest risk of sexual coercion and negative reproductive outcomes. Their risks exceed those of boys and men due partly to gender inequity and biological factors.
The Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing recognized control over reproduction as crucial for gender equality. The UN International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action emphasized family planning central to empowerment. Some governments implemented aggressive natalist policies during the 20th century including communist Romania and Albania. China enforced its one-child policy from 1979 until 2015 with punishments for families exceeding limits.
In 2020, a record 350 transgender individuals were murdered worldwide using methods like suffocation and burning alive. The Human Rights Campaign tracked over 128 fatal cases against transgender people in the US between 2013 and 2018. Eighty percent included trans women of color. These killings highlight rising violence targeting specific groups within society.
Domestic violence has received significant legal attention only in recent decades across most countries. In Iraq paragraph 41 of the criminal code states no crime exists if an act is committed while exercising a legal right. The United Arab Emirates Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that men have rights to physically discipline wives without leaving marks. Such laws create environments where violence continues legally acceptable in some regions.
Payback rape occurs particularly in Pacific Islands cultures as revenge for acts committed by male relatives. This form involves group rape meant to humiliate fathers or brothers rather than punish the victim directly. Historically many societies viewed rape as depriving family honor rather than violating self-determination. Victims often face violence including honor killings from their own family members.
Girls' primary completion rates increased from 8% in 2000 to 56% in 2020 within Afghanistan despite bans on secondary education. A 20 percentage point gender gap remains in access to upper secondary education globally. Sub-Saharan African countries like Chad and Guinea show similar exclusion patterns. Extreme exclusion still characterizes certain pockets worldwide according to UNESCO reports.
Only 22 percent of parliamentarians globally are women according to UN General Assembly data. Rwanda achieved 61.3% female representation in its Lower House of Parliament in 2015 representing the highest proportion anywhere. Bolivia's Lower House also reached majority female status during this period. Women continue occupying most positions of political and legal authority worldwide.
Switzerland established gender equality in marriage only in 1988 when reforms abolished husband's legal authority. The Netherlands achieved full legal equality between spouses in 1984 after decades of restrictions. Until 1983 Australian husbands had to authorize passport applications for married women. These examples illustrate how recently many nations addressed marital subordination legally.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When did Christine de Pizan write The Book of the City of Ladies?
Christine de Pizan wrote The Book of the City of Ladies in 1405. Her words challenged the idea that women were naturally inferior to men and argued that oppression stemmed from irrational prejudice rather than biological fact.
What year did the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women come into force?
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women came into force on the 3rd of September 1981. The United Nations General Assembly adopted this convention in 1979 to serve as an international bill of rights for women.
How much less do women earn than men according to Eurostat data from 2014?
Across the European Union, women earn 13% less than men on average according to Eurostat data from 2014. Adult men work an average of 23 hours per week while women work 15 hours yet continue to earn around 25% less than males.
When was the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action issued at a World Conference on Human Rights in Austria?
The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action appeared on the 25th of June 1993 at a World Conference on Human Rights in Austria. Para 18 addressed women's rights within this human rights declaration.
Which country achieved the highest proportion of female representation in its Lower House of Parliament in 2015?
Rwanda achieved 61.3% female representation in its Lower House of Parliament in 2015 representing the highest proportion anywhere. Bolivia's Lower House also reached majority female status during this period.