Why Is It Important to Stand-Up for and Support our Girls and Women
( The Girl Child)
Here are some basic global stats around gender inequalities and challenges faced by females, hope it will allow you to read further and think deeper. We hope it will allow you to empathize with our girls and women, referred to as ‘The Girl Child’ and work towards a more fair and supportive future.
“Remember each intention and each action counts. Only when we as a collective society join hands, men, women, and all others alike, will we see real transformations in our World.”– Sonali S. Namiranian
The Peace Warrior wholehearted supports The Girl Child, and it is our sincere effort to spread awareness about disparities in this population. It is out humble attempt to help close some of the disparities and take up projects that will help support and uplift The Girl Child.
Ways you can help:
- Become aware of disparities around women and spread the awareness.
- Stand up for The Girl Child – at home, in the community and at the workplace.
- Support projects for The Girl Child.
Gender Inequality and Gender Inequality Index
- Gender Inequality Index or GII is the measurement of gender disparity in an area and is primarily measured in countries. Norway for example is ranked 1 and has been consistent over the years. (Table above is for illustration purposes only)
- Higher GII indicates more inequality while a lower GII indicates less inequality; measurement range between 0 and 1.
- Human Development Index or HDI is measured in both social and economic dimensions and overall quality of life in a country; it measures variables such as education, life expectancy, income per capita/person.
- Higher HDI indicates more development while lower HDI indicates less development; measurement ranges between 0 and 1.
- When looking at both graphs, there was a noticeably clear correlation where countries with a higher HDI had a lower GII and vice-versa. Therefore, women in high HDI and lower GII countries are better off J.
Gender Inequality and Gender Inequality Index with Educations and Jobs:
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7 billion women worldwide do not have the same job opportunities as men.
- 18 countries have laws set in place that let the husband prevent wife in the family from working.
- 104 economies with labor laws restrict women from getting certain jobs.
- Women in countries with no laws establishing protection from sexual harassment are less likely confirm doing business.
Gender Pay Gap:
- Women in general are put at a disadvantage, but it is most common to see a significant difference in women of color.
- Women on average for all races made 82 cents for every dollar a man earned.
- Transgender and immigrant women experience compounding negative effects.
- Gender-based discrimination regarding pay has been made illegal since 1963 but is still common and can thrive in even more cutthroat workplaces.
Poverty and Hunger:
Discrimination increases inequality and poverty for women.
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- 60 percent of people who are deprived of food are female.
- Half a billion women and girls do not have access to proper nutritious food.
- In US, year-round female workers get paid $10,000 less than male workers.
- Gender pay gap contributes to poverty in many countries as women are getting paid less than men, and in many cases, they are primarily the ones taking care of children under 18 years of age.
Job Inequality:
- 2.7 billion women worldwide do not have the same job opportunities as men.
- 18 countries have laws set in place that let the husband prevent wife in the family from working.
- 104 economies with labor laws restrict women from getting certain jobs.
- Women in countries with no laws establishing protection from sexual harassment are less likely confirm doing business.
Women of Color:
- Women in general are put at a disadvantage, but it is most common to see a significant difference in women of color.
- https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/reports/2020/03/24/482141/quick-facts-gender-wage-gap/
Colored Women Representation:
- Colored women are underrepresented in the media.
- 47% of directors are white males, 27% are colored males, 17% are white females, and 8% are colored females.
- Increasing number of women of color is crucial to expand inclusion.
- Women make up only 17% of congress, and of the 90 women serving, 27% are colored.
- There are currently no women of the color in the senate.
LGBTQ Women Discrimination:
- Findings showed that employers were 30% less likely to call back a woman with the LGBT indicator than women who were perceived as heterosexual.
- LGBT women are more likely to be discriminated against when it comes to substandard care in aspects such as being touched, harsh language, being blamed, refuse in needed care, unawareness of health needs, etc.
- 58% of Transgender or Non-Conforming women reported that medical professionals were unaware of their specific needs and were treated differently compared to other patients.
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Female Infanticide:
- Female infanticide is most prevalent in Asian countries such as China, India, and Pakistan
- Female infants get thrown into rivers, dumped in trash bins, tossed onto the road, suffocated, etc.
- Over 200 million women are missing today because of female infanticide.
- This is practiced because in these countries, women are only viewed as homemakers and men are seen as workers which makes females seem much less valuable than men.
- Female infanticide was especially common in China during the one-child policy as most families wanted the one child, they have to be a male.
- https://www.dressember.org/blog/what-is-female-infanticide
Female Genital Mutilation:
- Female genital mutilation is the practice of cutting, removing, or sewing closed of a female’s genital organs (similar to a circumcision) and can be very painful and harmful to the female
- Most commonly practiced in the Middle East and North Africa
- Short term effects include health complications, death, shock, infection, extreme pain, urine retention
- Long term effects include complications regarding childbirth, chronic infections
Sexual Harassment, Assault, and Rape:
- Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances, request for sexual favors, verbal or physical harassment, offensive remarks about someone’s sex, etc.
- Nearly 1 in 5 women have reported to have been raped
- 81% or women have reported to have experienced some form of sexual harassment
- 7 million American women have admitted to be sexually assaulted and/or raped
- https://www.nsvrc.org/statistics
- http://www.stopstreetharassment.org/our-work/nationalstudy/2019study/
- https://www.rainn.org/statistics/victims-sexual-violence
Body Image:
- 91% of women are unhappy with their bodies and have resort to dieting.
- 42% of girls in grades 1-3 wish to be thinner.
- Seven million girls under the age of 25 suffer with an eating disorder, usually resulting from seeing other women’s bodies in the media.
- Most photos in the media are PhotoShopped in some way, shape, or form in order to make the subject in the photo look “better.”
- https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-body-image#:~:text=Approximately%2091%25%20of%20women%20are,achieve%20their%20ideal%20body%20shape.&text=In%20a%20survey%2C%20more%20than,%2C%20marital%20status%2C%20and%20race.
- https://sites.psu.edu/grmertman/2015/10/22/photoshop-in-advertising/
*Stats/Research credits & **Illustrations by – Anika Bahri
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