Around the world, the achievements of women are being celebrated on International Women’s Day, which began back in 1911. But the day also highlights the work that remains to be done in order to achieve gender parity.
The theme for this year is #BalanceforBetter - encapsulating the idea that a gender-balanced world benefits everyone, economically and socially. And it’s up to everyone, men and women, to make it happen.
As the following statistics show, there are huge differences in the types of inequality faced by women in different parts of the world - from cultural representation, to domestic burdens and child marriage. But through collective action and shared ownership, change is possible.
- Women are 47% more likely to suffer severe injuries in car crashes because safety features are designed for men
In their 2011 study of more than 45,000 crash victims over 11 years, researchers from the University of Virginia found women drivers were much more likely to be injured in a crash than men.
They said this was because car safety features had been designed for men. The positioning of head restraints, as well as women’s shorter height, different neck strength and musculature, as well as their preferred seating position, meant they were more susceptible to injury.
- 33,000 girls become child brides every day
Globally, 12 million girls each year get married before the age of 18 - roughly 33,000 every day, or one every two seconds. There are some 650 million women alive today who were child brides.
The reasons behind it vary between communities, but it’s often because girls are not valued as highly as boys and marrying them off at a young age transfers the ‘economic burden’ to another family.
Link Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/03/surprising-stats-about-gender-inequality/