2023-06-13 13:31:26
The ‘chain of prejudice’ against women has not only not been broken, but has remained just as strong for the past ten years, with nearly 9 out of 10 citizens worldwide still holding such stereotypes today. This is demonstrated by the GSNI report, presented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and reflecting the latest data from the Global Values Survey.
The most disturbing element that emerges is the views on violence against women, as the 25% of the respondents expresses the opinion that it is justified for a man to strike his wife. Indeed, according to the report, those who are in favor of violence against women actually become abusers, with 26% of women over 15 years of age to have suffered violence by their partner.
The research confirms that violence between a couple tends to increase in crisis situations, while most incidents of rape and sexual harassment are committed when there is some dispute between the partners.
In addition, social taboos may prevent women experiencing violence from reporting it, either for fear of being “invalidated” by their social environment or due to internalized self-blame. Especially in environments where women do not have access to positions of power and influence, it is a challenge, even today, to see themselves as agents of change.
However, it appears that even social norms not directly linked to violence may lead to abuse against women. For example, social norms that support men’s social or physical power and control over women, including their property, can increase the risk of intimate partner violence or the risk of sexual abuse.
No progress in the last decade
How deep-rooted fundamental prejudices remain in society is also demonstrated by the fact that there has been no change in the last ten years in terms of limiting gender stereotypes, while gender biases are strong even in countries with a higher Human Index Development (HDI).
More specifically, of the 80 countries examined, half of the world’s population (49%) still believe that men are better political leaders than women, and only 27% consider it important for democracy that women have the same rights as men. 46% of the world’s population believes that men have more right to work, while 43% that men are better business leaders. Also, 28% believe that a university education is more important for men.
Income gap
The maintenance and reproduction of prejudices against women and by extension the impossibility of changing the social norms of the tribes results in the woman being directly affected in her daily life. Economic gap, barriers to professional advancement, but also more hours dedicated to household chores are some factors caused as a result of gender stereotypes.
According to the research, women worldwide hold only 28% of managerial positions, while, even when they reach leadership positions, gender bias leads to unequal treatment and judgment. An indicative example of social prejudices is that, while women make up 70% of the healthcare workforce and social care worldwide, they hold only 25% of the senior positions and 5% of leadership positions in Health organizations.
The UN also points out that the lack of progress in reducing the income gap between the two sexes is now a global phenomenon. It also emphasizes that women still have a lower income than men because of gender stereotypes and because of their educational level, as was justified in previous years. Specifically, in 59 countries where adult women were more educated than men, they still earned significantly more.
The research further states that the time spent by women on housework is largely responsible for the gender income gap. In fact, in countries where gender stereotypes were more pronounced, women spent twice as much time on housework and child care as men.
Prejudices in Greece
Regarding the perpetuation of prejudices in Greece, the report showed that stereotypical beliefs “hold well” in our country. However, it should be noted that the measurements for each sector (politics, economy, etc.) were presented as a whole and percentages were not given separately for each question asked to the respondents.
Regarding the chapter of physical freedom and security, 27.2% of women and 34.36% of men still maintain some prejudice in matters of abortion, but also physical violence.
In the professional sector, 57.65% of men and 36.7% of women they still believe that men make better business executives than women and that they have a greater right to work.
In the field of politics, where the issue of women’s equality is analyzed as a necessary condition for democracy, as well as the ability of women as leaders40% of men maintain some level of prejudice, while in women this percentage stands at 20%.
Prejudices in relation to education seem to be disappearing increasingly over the years, as only 9.4% of men and 6.51% of women still believe that university is more important for men.
Commenting on the results of the survey, the gender specialist at UNDP, Aroa Santiago, pointed out that “we have to change gender stereotypes, social norms, while the final goal is to change the power relations between women and men”. He also added that these prejudices are “obstacles” for women and lead to “violations” of their rights.
“Societal norms that restrict women’s rights negatively affect society as a whole, delaying the progress of human development,” he stressed for his part. Pedro Conceição director of UNDP.
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