12 Gender Issues Affecting Women Around the World

By The Culture-ist

• Lack of Access to Education

  By The Culture-ist

  A quarter of girls aged 15-24 (116 million) in developing countries have never completed primary school. Of the 774 million illiterate people in the world, two-thirds are female.

• Equal Pay

  By The Culture-ist

  Women experience a pay gap compared to men's wages for the same work. In America, a woman earns 81 cents to a man's dollar. For African-American and Latin American women, the difference is greater.

• Genocide

  By The Culture-ist

  Women make up 80% of all refugees and displaced people. Instruments of genocide, such as sexual violence and rape, are often directed at women and girls.

• Early Marriage

  By The Culture-ist

  More than 64 million girls worldwide are child brides. 46% of women aged 20–24 in South Asia and 41% of women in West and Central Africa report that they married before the age of 18.

• Early Pregnancy

  By The Culture-ist

  Each year, 1 in 5 girls under 18 in developing countries give birth. In these countries, pregnancy-related complications result in 70,000 deaths each year.

• Poverty

  By The Culture-ist

  Women account for 70% of the population living in absolute poverty (on less than $1.00 a day).

• Sex Trafficking

  By The Culture-ist

  Trafficking people for sexual exploitation is the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world. Women and girls make up 98% of the victims.

• Domestic Violence

  By The Culture-ist

  35% of women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence committed by their partner in relationships. That's 700 million women—close to the total population of Sub-Saharan Africa. 

• Depression

  By The Culture-ist

  Depression is the leading mental health issue for women in both high-income and low-and-middle-income countries. Following childbirth, it affects 20% of mothers in low-and-middle-income countries.

• Women and Politics

  By The Culture-ist

  Women make up more than 50% of the global population but fill less than 20% of all parliamentary seats.

• Women and the Media

  By The Culture-ist

  Issues of objectification, exploitation and misrepresentation of  women exisist in many media forms.

• Stigma Against Feminism

  By The Culture-ist

  Negative connotations surrounding feminism are turning women away from identifying as feminists. Conversations have begun to define it more clearly so the fight for gender equality can forge ahead.