Let’s hear it for the for the girls - and women! Gender inequality is decreasing, sure, but when the global status of girls and women is taken into account, the picture looks a little less than rosy. But in the vein that knowledge is power, allow me to break down some of the facts about the status of girls and women around the world as we launch into a month of celebrating the AWESOMENESS of the female person!

1. Young girls and women make up a HUGE segment of the global population

Photo: Giphy | Bey knows the deal

There are 1.8 billion young people in the world - the majority of which live in developing countries - and approximately half of them are adolescent women or young girls. Yep, the kids are taking over - we currently have the largest generation of youth in global history.

2. Girls and women possess a huge amount of potential (duh!), but aren’t always afforded the opportunity to succeed

Photo: Giphy

We all know that girls and women are just as capable as their male counterparts, but the sad truth is that women are largely marginalized, and often not prioritized in many development programs, according to the UN. Many development programs tend to benefit older, urban-based young boys and men - at a time when rural women in particular are in desperate need of increased services. This bias has to change! Because investing in girls and women isn’t simply a human rights imperative - it is one that strengthens the entire world as a whole.

3. Women are disproportionately affected by hunger and poverty

Photo: Giphy | But seriously, where is my mac n' cheese?

Here’s a scary statistic, but it’s important to know. Gender inequality is a major cause and effect of hunger and poverty - it is estimated that 60 percent of chronically hungry people are girls and women.

4. When we think about land-ownership, we don’t necessarily think about gender inequality, BUT...

Photo: Giphy | Facepalm x 100000

Less than 20 percent of the world's landholders are women. Women represent fewer than FIVE percent of all agricultural landholders in North Africa and West Asia, while in sub-Saharan Africa they make up an average of 15 percent. When people say it’s a man’s world, I didn’t realize I should take the idiom so seriously.

5. Women are being disproportionately impacted by lack of schooling

Photo: Giphy | Frightening.

According to UNESCO, two-thirds of the 774 million illiterate people in the world are female. Again, a scary stat… education is so critical to the success and well-being of not only the individual, but families overall. Increased education is an absolute must for girls and women.

6. Education is critical in helping women to achieve higher wages and more autonomous lives

Photo: Giphy | Dollar, dollar bills, y'all

Education really has no downsides (well… maybe spelling tests...but I digress) - for every additional year of primary school, eventual wages of young girls are increased by 10-20 percent. It also encourages young women to marry later and have fewer children, and leaves them less vulnerable to violence.

7. Women’s education isn’t simply good for her smarts and job prospects, it’s good for her children too

Photo: Giphy | What's good for your mama, is good for you!

According to UN data taken from 68 countries, it was found that women’s education is critical in helping increase a child’s survival rate. When a woman has an education, she often marries later, has fewer children, and earns more money - making the prospects for her kin better over their lifetimes.

8. Progress is being made with women’s education, but we still haven’t come far enough

Photo: Giphy | Blah... really!?

Okay, so it’s important to recognize that it isn’t all bleak - progress has been made in reducing the gender gap in urban primary school enrollment for young girls. BUT (and it pains me to hit you with some more depressing facts) UN data from 42 countries shows that rural girls are twice as likely as urban girls to be out of school.

9. Think income inequality has been solved? Think again

Photo: Giphy | Just... no

Men's average wages are higher than women's in both rural and urban areas. Rural women typically work longer hours than men, due to additional reproductive, domestic and care responsibilities. A lot of income inequality surrounds social norms - and flat out discrimination. It’s time for EVERYONE to realize that NOBODY benefits from women being compensated less than men.

10. Yup, Hillary may be running, but it doesn’t mean that women aren’t still marginalized when it comes to holding leadership positions

Photo: Giphy | Lisa Simpson asks the tough questions

A large gender gap remains in women's access to decision-making and leadership. While things have been improving regarding the status of women in leadership roles - the gains have been slow. Only 22 per cent of all national parliamentarians were female as of January 2015, a slow increase from 11.3 per cent in 1995.

11. Improvements in maternal health is happening - but (you guessed it) not fast enough

Photo: Giphy | More medical attention, please!

Between 1990 and 2008, the proportion of rural women receiving prenatal care at least once during pregnancy grew from 55 to 66 percent. ...Okay, good to see the incremental increase - but we need to show the mamas some more love!

12. Women carry the burden of care for diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria

Photo: Giphy | Women save the day... once again

I will make a bit of a blanket statement - but the majority of the care I receive when I am sick comes from women - either from my mother, best friend, or female nurses. This trend is pretty global - with the burden of care largely taken on by women. Of the world’s AIDS caregivers, girls and women account for 66 to 90 percent of the careforce - which can mean their own increase in vulnerability to infection, particularly in rural areas.

13. Families rely on women to provide fuel

Photo: Giphy | Who? Me?

People in the least developed countries rely on open fires and traditional cooking stoves (for example, wood, crop waste and charcoal) to earn a living and feed their families. And the onus falls to girls and women to collect fuel and water for cooking, cleaning, and washing.

14. Natural disasters affect women in different ways than men

Photo: Giphy | Le sigh

Here’s a concept that I often forget - but natural disasters, climate change and conflict can undermine the health, education and livelihoods of women differently to men. Let me paint a picture - women in rural communities in developing countries usually manage the small plots of agricultural land in each family for income, BUT land titles are most likely to be held by the men. What this translates to, is that following a natural disaster, many women cannot claim state-offered reconstruction funds as the land is not in their names. And, to add insult-to-injury, women can also be more at risk of harm during flooding in countries where boys are taught to swim at an early age, but girls rarely are.

15. Women tend to be more environmentally conscientious when in leadership roles

Photo: Giphy | Oh yeah, saving the environment!

According to the UN, data from 25 developed and developing countries indicates that countries with higher female parliamentary representation are more likely to set aside protected land areas. Another bonus to empowering women.


While the data that I have presented may seem depressing - well, because it is - what is important to remember is this: progress is being made, albeit slowly. It’s our obligation as global citizens to fight-the-good-fight to make gender inequality a thing of the past. This month, Global Citizen will be focusing on girls and women - lauding their successes and also showcasing the vast injustices that all too many women face daily. It’s 2015, and it’s time to make all people equal, regardless of gender - because at the end of the day, we’re all human, and should all be respected and treated in the same way. Get involved in TAKE ACTION NOW and sign the petition to support Girls and Women. 

Header Image by Galyna Andrushko | Shutterstock.com

Editorial

Gerechtigkeit fordern

15 Facts About the Status of Girls & Women Around the World

Ein Beitrag von Former Global Citizen Staff Writer