Human Rights

GENDER EQUALITY

The United Nations View on Gender Equality

At conception we all start life as equals, but at birth we are immediately
treated differently based on whether we are a boy or a girl. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights acknowledges that men and women are not
the same but insists on their right to be equal before the law and
treated without discrimination. Gender equality is not a women's
issue' but refers to the equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of
women and men, girls and boys, and should concern and fully engage men as
well as women. However, after 60 years, it is clear that it is the human
rights of women that we see most widely ignored around the
world, from female infanticide, sexual slavery and rape as an act of war, to
exclusion from education, health and the right to compete equally for jobs.
The right to be free of discrimination on the grounds of sex is specifically
embodied in Article 2 of the declaration, but even a cursory reading of all 30
Articles is enough to remind us that in much of the world, the Declaration
has yet to fulfill its promise to women.
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/CrossCuttingThemes.aspx

Gender Inequality in the Workplace

Wage Discrimination
Workers of both genders are equally qualified but men are

paid more than women to do exactly the same job.

Occupational segregation
Distribution of people based upon their gender across jobs.

Statistical discrimination
Employers dont hire women for certain jobs because they are more
likely than men to leave their job when they become married or
pregnant.

Gender Inequality in Relationships

Gender Roles
Women tend to hide their intelligence and focus on their

appearance when seeking a potential partner, whereas men show

off their intelligence.

Household work
Men feel responsible to financially support their family.

Women are expected to put their career goals on hold in

order to raise children, while their husbands work.

Women who work outside the home an extra 18h/week doing
household chores as opposed to men.
Only 17% of the women who are full professors of engineering have
children, while 82% of the men do.

Police-reported Spousal Violence

Gender Inequality in Television and Films

In the top 500 films from 2007 to 2012:
Only 30.8% of women had speaking characters
28.8% of women who were written to wear provocative

clothing compared to only the 7% of men who did

26.2% of women wore little to no clothing as opposed to the
9.4% of men who did the same

Hollywood actresses get paid less than actors

In the 2013 Academy Awards:
140 men were nominated for an award as opposed to only 35
women who were nominated
77% of Academy Awards' voters are male

FEMINISM
The theory of the political, economic, and social
equality of the sexes
The belief that men and women should have
equal rights and opportunities

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feminism