Women have made significant progress over the years, but we’re still #NotThere yet on issues of gender equality. Data from No Ceilings: The Full Participation Report (2015) shows that more must be done to achieve the full and equal participation of girls and women worldwide.
This International Women’s Day — know and share the facts about gender equality in the United States and around the globe.
Every day, 800 women die from preventable complications during pregnancy or childbirth
More mothers survive childbearing today than ever before. While mothers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia have made the most progress, too many women remain at risk worldwide. Additionally, although demand for modern contraception has increased worldwide, the percentage of women with an unmet need for family planning remains the same. More than 200 million women still lack the access, freedom, or means to decide if, when, and how often they will have children. Learn more at www.noceilings.org/family-planning
Women spend up to 5 more hours on unpaid domestic work than men each day
Women spend significantly more time than men each day on unpaid domestic work, such as household tasks and taking care of children, sick family members, and aging parents. As a result, they more frequently risk their jobs or work at a reduced level and salary to provide care at home. Learn more at www.noceilings.org/unpaid
One in four girls around the world was married before her 18th birthday
An estimated 140 million girls will marry before her 18th birthday between 2011 and 2020. Child marriage is a violation of human rights, and denies girls control over their health, education, and futures. Although many laws prohibit the practice, child marriage is still widespread in many developing nations. Learn more at www.noceilings.org/child-marriage
Women earn the majority of bachelor’s degrees, but only a fraction of computer science degrees
Although testing data show that girls and boys in the United States and around the world perform at comparable levels in math and science, female students are much less likely to graduate from college with a STEM degree than their male counterparts. Learn more at www.noceilings.org/stem
200 million fewer women than men have access to the Internet worldwide
With increased access to technology, women can advance their economic participation, digital citizenship, access to jobs and health care, and more. When women in the developing world get online, 30 percent use the connection to earn additional income, 45 percent use it to search for jobs, and 80 percent use it to improve their education. Learn more at www.noceilings.org/internet
Women in most countries face legal barriers that restrict their economic opportunity
Female entrepreneurs are on the rise. Particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, women are making large contributions to the surge of entrepreneurial activity in their countries. However, as women are influencing development of the larger economy, they are most often receiving financial support from family and friends, rather than financial institutions. Women continue to face restrictions on the types of work they can do, their ability to own property, and the age they can retire. Recent data from the World Bank show that legal gender differences are widespread; 155 of the 173 economies reviewed have at least one law impeding women’s economic opportunities. Learn more at www.noceilings.org/entrepreneurs
The U.S. is one of nine countries worldwide that doesn’t provide for paid maternity leave
One in three women has experienced physical or sexual violence worldwide
In some countries, wife beating can be considered culturally acceptable — even among women. While perceptions have improved in the last decade, cultural acceptance of wife beating is still pervasive among women and men of all ages. Particularly in Africa and South Asia, roughly half of women between ages 15–49 believe spousal abuse is justified when women refuse sex, burn food, argue, or leave home without notice. Learn more at www.noceilings.org/wife-beating
Women have made significant progress, but we’re #NotThere yet. Follow along with the Clinton Foundation throughout Women’s History Month to learn more about our data and our efforts to advance full participation for girls and women worldwide.
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