Why is Gender Equality Important? by ChiYoWo
Every single one of us wants a peaceful, prosperous world so why is it that gender equality is still a struggle for us to achieve? Not only is gender equality a basic human right, but it lays a foundation for a more sustainable world. That is why gender equality is the 5th goal on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Why is gender equality so important? Well, about half of our world’s population is represented by women and girls (about 3.52 billion) which mean they make up half of its potential. When issues like gender inequality persist it causes social progress to become stagnate, promotes poverty, and leaves our young girls and women without access to healthcare, education, and proper nutrition.
Quick gender equality facts provided by the UN :
- Women in Northern Africa hold less than one in five paid jobs in the non-agricultural sector. The proportion of women in paid employment outside the agriculture sector has increased from 35 percent in 1990 to 41 percent in 2015.
- In sub-Saharan Africa, girls still face barriers to entering both primary and secondary school.
- Globally, nearly 15 million girls under age 18 are married every year—or 37,000 each day.
- Worldwide, 35 percent of women have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.
For our world to keep progressing, gender equality has to happen. We must harness and use the potential of our girls and women. Providing our girls and women with equal access to education, healthcare, and work will not only fuel sustainable economies, but it will also benefit all societies economically.
Some of the targets for goal five on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals list are:
- To end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
- Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
- Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.
- Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences.
Please, join us in raising awareness of the importance of gender equality. Our girls and women around the world need our help.
For more information on the Sustainable Development Goals please visit: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/
Sources:
[1.] UN – http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/ [2.] UN – http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/5_Why-it-Matters_GenderEquality_2p.pdf
