OECD: 40% of women and girls live in countries with high social discrimination

Although recent years have seen some progress in the fight against laws and social norms that prevent women from developing and enjoying their rights, 40% of women and girls still live in countries where this discrimination is high or very high, said today the Center for the Development of OECD.

“Progress and challenges are not homogeneous. While many countries have implemented legal reforms to protect the rights of women and guarantee them equal opportunities, the change in social norms shows an uneven balance.indicates the new edition of the Social Institutions and Gender Equality Index (SIGI), prepared by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

“Practices such as child marriage of girls, inequality in unpaid care and domestic work, and intimate partner violence have improved, but at a very limited pace”according to the study, presented this Tuesday in Rwanda, within the framework of the Women Deliver 2023 Conference (WD2023), which is held until next Thursday.

The SIGI, prepared this year with information on 179 countries, points out that, although the global south is narrowing the gap with developed countries – a Four. Five% of those with low levels of discrimination do not belong to the OECD-, Africa and Asia continue to be more affected by this problem.

Although the data shows positive cultural advances, such as the reduction of a 12% Between 2014 and 2021 of the number of people who believe it is acceptable for a man to hit his wife, the OECD also noted worrying trends, such as an increase in 4% in the same period of those who consider that a man should have more right to a job than a woman when jobs are scarce.

sexist violence

According to the report, the greatest discrimination occurs at home, where women spend 2.6 times more time on unpaid care work than men.

“By confining women to their reproductive and caregiving roles, these norms have lasting consequences for women’s labor inclusion”with a gender gap in labor participation that remains in the 25%warns the OECD.

In addition, gender violence continues to have effects “devastating” in the lives of women and girls: close to one in three (28%) between the ages of 15 and 49 claim to have suffered violence from a partner at least once in their lives, while one in ten experienced it in the last twelve months.

However, according to the SIGI, in 2023 only 12 countries had “comprehensive laws” to combat all forms of violence against women, while 46 still do not criminalize “domestic violence” and 48 do not criminalize sexual harassment.

In the political sphere, the representation and participation of women is improving, but “slowly”, detailed the OECD, with a 27% of parliamentary seats in the world occupied by them in 2023, above the 24.1% of 2019.

However, at the current rate, “it is expected that forty more years will be necessary to achieve parity in parliaments,” warned the agency, detailing that, currently, women represent only a eleven% of heads of state and a 10% of heads of government around the world.

The OECD also requested that the gender perspective be included in policies to combat the consequences of climate change, since its effects “can substantially exacerbate women’s vulnerabilities.”

Source: EFE