Politics in Minutes (2016)

An unequal world

On a global level, according to United Nations statistics, women do two-thirds of the world’s work, yet receive only 10 per cent of the income, and own only 1 per cent of the means of production. Women also make up approximately two-thirds of the 1.4 million people worldwide living in extreme poverty. After nearly 200 years of women’s political movements there are still glaring instances of inequality between the sexes.

In the UK, in 2015, more than 40 years after the Equal Pay Act of 1970, the gap between men and women’s earnings stood at 19.1 per cent. American women earned around 80 per cent of their male counterparts. Despite challenges to gender stereotyping, women still do most of the unpaid work in the home, and when they return to employment are most likely to work in lower-paid, often part-time, jobs. The glass ceiling is very much in evidence with only a small percentage achieving top jobs. Research indicates that most women cite gender stereotyping as the major hurdle.