(VOVWORLD) - Since the UN designated March 8as International Women's Day in 1975, the important role of women has been affirmed in all political, economic, and social fields. However, women are still facing challenges in narrowing the gender gap.
 (Illustrative photo: Future Worlds) |
Celebrated since the early years of the 20th century and officially recognized by the UN in 1975, International Women's Day is an occasion for the world to recognize women’s great contributions and continue to promote gender equality.
Women’s important contributions
Women are playing an increasing role in all aspects of life in countries around the world. A report by credit rating agency Moody's last year said that globally, 23% of executive roles are held by women. In health care, social work, education, and similar fields, the percentage ranges from 61% to 67%. In the financial sector, the percentage of positions held by women (45%) has been approaching that of men.
Moody's report also said that in the US, the world's largest economy, the percentage of leaders who are female has increased over the past 10 years and is currently about 40%. In major European economies like Germany, France, and the UK 35 to 40% of leaders are female. In Japan, where men dominate companies, the percentage of female leaders increased from 10.4% in 2010 to 14.4% in 2019.
However, Moody's report also pointed out that progress in narrowing the gender gap has not been equal to women's contributions. Based on labor productivity calculations, Moody's estimates that if the world narrows the gender gap in the workforce and in management, the global economy could increase by 7 trillion USD.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published a report last April showing that narrowing the gender gap in the agriculture and food sector could add nearly 1 trillion USD to the global economy.
The World Bank’s 10th annual Women, Business, and Law report on March 5 showed that ending discriminatory laws and practices that prevent women from working or starting businesses could increase global GDP more than 20%.
 Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General in charge of peace operations (Photo: Quang Huy/Vietnamplus) |
Women are also increasing their participation in the political process, promoting dialogue, and maintaining global peace. Jean-Pierre Lacroix, UN Under-Secretary-General in charge of peace operations, said, “Having more women in this peacekeeping and having more empowerment of women in peacekeeping setting is critically important because you can not build sustainable peace without women.”
“Peacekeeping operations need to be reflecting the reality of the communities in which we serve. And this community is 50% women and 50% men. We have an obligation to work towards gender parity in our mission.”
Challenges to gender equality
Although the awareness of women’s importance has changed a lot in recent years, women still face a shortage of opportunities and suitable positions in society. Moody's report showed that the higher the level of management, the lower the proportion of women. In fields like digital technology that are experiencing breakthrough growth and look to be the drivers of the future global economy, the percentage of women is still low.
Women also suffer more disadvantages than men due to climate change, Lauren Philips, Deputy Director of the FAO's Inclusive Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division, said.
“Climate change is a major challenge to poor people, particularly women, because they can’t adapt as easily to climate change as men can. They don’t have enough access to resources, assets, and services to allow them to adapt to the challenges.”
New global challenges are forcing women to participate and play a greater role in science and technology. However, the gender gap in this field has not yet significantly narrowed.
“According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, a mere 33% of the world's researchers are women. This distressingly low figure is identical to the income gap across the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, where women earn about 33% less than their male counterparts – a disparity grossly exacerbated for women of color,” President of the UN General Assembly Dennis Francis said on the occasion of International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
To change that situation, the UN has called for gender equality in science, saying that the equal participation of women and girls in scientific discovery and innovation is the only way to sustainably respond to global challenges and achieve the UN’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030.