One of the most pressing issues of today is gender inequality. Across the world, women have far fewer economic opportunities than men, less access to education, greater health and safety risks, and significantly less political representation. This presents an immense issue that needs to be addressed. As a result of this inequality, two thirds of the world’s illiterate are women, women’s participation in the labor market falls far behind men regardless of education and skills, and one in three women worldwide will experience sexual assault in her lifetime.
Achieving gender equality is crucial to creating a better functioning world. Ideally, achieving gender equality would mean that men and women have equal power and opportunities, and are equally capable of achieving financial independence, personal development, and attaining a quality education. This goal necessitates empowering and guaranteeing basic rights for women worldwide.
Gender Inequality
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Across the world, countless women are incapable of reaching their full potential because of obstacles created by the prejudices of gender inequalities. This starts from the moment they are born, keeping them at a disadvantage consistently throughout their lives. Empowering women and breaking down these obstacles has a beneficial ripple effect that ultimately benefits the world as a whole. Once empowered, women and girls positively contribute to the well-being of their families, communities, countries, and so on.
The most effective way for students to combat this issue is simply advocacy and education. Raising awareness amongst peers and communities about the issue of gender equality is a great start. As citizens of the United States, we are at a great advantage that few others in the world have. We have a much wider range of resources at our disposal; thus, we have a responsibility to take advantage of our privileged standpoint to advocate for and raise awareness about pressing global issues such as gender inequalities. The inequalities experienced globally tower in size compared to those faced in the U.S., which needs to be brought to light. Advocating, educating, and motivating people to make a change is an extremely effective and easy way to work towards solving pressing global issues such as gender inequality.
This post was written by NGC Team Mentor Kirstyn Rowen.
New Global Citizens 