Study: Kenya, India, S. Africa top the world in gender bias – Women Deliver

Study: Kenya, India, S. Africa top the world in gender bias

By Leon Lidigo | Nation | 29 January 2021

What you need to know:

  • Survey by Women Deliver show the highest rates of discrimination were are reported in Kenya at 83 per cent, India 81 per cent and South Africa 72 per cent.
  • The global public perception survey  includes 17 countries across six continents whose inhabitants represent half of the world’s population.
  • A majority of respondents want their governments to devote more resources and attention to supporting gender equality.
  • Survey indicates Covid-19 has taken a disproportionate toll on women compared to men, in terms of mental health and household obligations.

More than half (57 per cent) of women report experiencing some form of gender-based discrimination in their lifetime, a new survey shows.

The highest rates of discrimination are reported in Kenya (83 per cent), India (81 per cent) and South Africa (72 per cent), according to the survey.

This means 83 per cent of female respondents indicated they have faced at least one of the forms of gender discrimination in their life.

Interestingly, 46 per cent “have not or will not receive the same inheritance as their male relatives”, 36 per cent have had their “freedom of movement restricted against their will by a family member or a partner” (54 per cent of those aged 18 to 24), and 31 per cent “did not have the same access to promotion opportunities in their job as their male peers.”

In addition, 29 per cent of female respondents reported they are “not paid as much as their male counterparts” and 17 per cent “have had difficulty accessing education and professional training”, compared with their male peers or relatives.

The global public perception survey, whose findings were released in a report by Women Deliver and Focus 2030, includes 17 countries across six continents whose inhabitants represent half of the world’s population.

 

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