10 examples of gender inequality impacting global communities today

Instances of gender inequality abound. Gender-based violence, the wage gap, and sexual and reproductive health rights violations are just a few.

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own. And I am not free as long as one person of Color remains chained. Nor is anyone of you!”

These words were said in 1981 by American writer and professor Audre Lorde, in a keynote presentation at the National Women’s Studies Association Conference, in Storrs, Connecticut. 

Her call for gender equality still rings true. 

Discover the major areas of inequality facing women today and what some advocates are doing to make positive change.

What is gender inequality?

Gender inequality means women and people of other gender minorities do not enjoy equal rights, responsibilities, and opportunities as men do in the world. 

This imbalance affects multiple layers of society, but it’s important to stress that within gender inequality, overlapping identities such as race, class and sexuality play a role. To create a more equal world, intersectionality is key.

The impact of gender inequality is ever-reaching. For instance, research shows that it weakens innovation and international trade, while improving education and employment opportunities for women “boosts the productivity and competitiveness of trade sectors, leading to innovation activities for sustainable growth.”

Research also shows that gender inequality affects peace. For example, countries with a higher level of violence against women have worse nation-state relations with their neighboring countries.

Gender inequality examples today

Here are 10 examples of gender inequality that remain prevalent around the globe. 

Gender-based violence

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around one in three women worldwide have experienced some form of physica lor sexual violence in their lifetime. Most of this violence is at the hands of intimate partners. 

The WHO points out that “almost one-third (27%) of women aged 15-49 who have been in a relationship report that they have been subjected to some form of physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner.”

According to the latest report by the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons, 42% of trafficking victims are women, while a further 18% are girls. Their analysis also found girls and women are three times more likely to suffer explicit or extreme violence during trafficking compared to boys and men.

In 2018, a then 15-year-old New York State student started a petition on Change.org urging then-Governor Andrew Cuomo to sign a New York State Legislature requiring private schools to report sexual assault to legal authorities. Public schools were already required to do so.

With over 11,800 signatures, the petition sped things up and Cuomo signed it into law in December 2018.

Gender wage gap

Over the year 2023, women in the U.S. were paid roughly 22% less than men. Globally, this stands at 20%, according to the UN. 

A Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2022 showed that half of U.S. adults point to women being treated differently by employers as a major reason for the wage gap.

Family life also seems to affect men and women differently. Research shows that while becoming a mother can translate into lower earnings for women, fatherhood can lead to the opposite and men tend to make more money after becoming fathers.

Gender education gap

More than two-thirds of countries have reached gender parity in enrolment in primary education. But in countries that haven’t reached parity — particularly in developing countries in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia — girls are more likely to be disadvantaged than boys. 

In the U.S., the gender education gap is less linked to access to education, but to disparities in certain fields. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in the period between 2014 to 2020, the graduation rate was 60% for men and 67% for women. 

However, a gender gap persists in certain science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, with men continuing to dominate areas like engineering and computer science, while women are more represented in health sciences and education. 

In 2023, the gender gap in STEM remains significant, with women making up only 24% of the STEM workforce in the U.S.

Sexual and reproductive health rights violations and female genital mutilation

Women and girls worldwide face violations of their sexual and reproductive rights every day, such as lack of access to contraception and safe abortion, female genital mutilation, and sexual violence. 

In the U.S., Roe v Wade’s overturn and subsequent abortion bans and restrictions have affected low-income women, Black women, and other vulnerable populations disproportionately, according to Amnesty International.

In 2016, the CDC’s indirect estimates showed that as many as 513,000 girls and women could have experienced FGM or be at risk of experiencing it in the future.

Healthcare inequality

More than five million women die of preventable health conditions each year. Research by University College London (UCL) showed that women’s pain has been systematically ignored over the centuries. 

“The suspicion that gender stereotypes could lead doctors to underestimate women’s pain has been confirmed by research which found healthcare staff, both men and women, often discount women’s pain”, said Professor Amanda Williams from UCL.

At the same time, research and treatment into female-only conditions still fall short. The CDC found that more than 80% of pregnancy-related deaths were preventable, according to 2017-2019 data from Maternal Mortality Review Committees. 

At the same time, Black women are nearly three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.

In June 2024, a petition was started on Change.org pushing to improve U.S. maternal health policies. As of November 2024, it stands with a little over 860 signatures.

Sports inclusion

On the eve of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, UNESCO published a report revealing that “women and girls are still far from having equal access to sport at any level, professional or amateur.” 

The three main priorities in the report were ending gender-based violence in sports, reducing teenage girls’ dropout from sports (49% do), and gaining more women in sports leadership roles.

In July 2021, the Norwegian Women’s Handball team was fined for wearing shorts instead of bikini bottoms during a match. At the time, the International Handball Federation (IHF) required women to wear bikini bottoms “with a close fit and cut on an upward angle toward the top of the leg,” while men were allowed to wear shorts.

Following a petition on Change.org that gathered over 24,400 signatures, the IHF returned the fines and changed the uniform requirements.

Child marriage

According to UNICEF, approximately one in five girls are pushed in forced childhood marriages across the world. Every year, at least 12 million girls are married before they reach the age of 18. This is the equivalent of 28 girls every minute.

In the U.S. child marriage remains legal in 37 states and is still taking place. Research from non-profit Unchained At Last, revealed that more than 300,000 children as young as 10 were married in the U.S. since 2000 – mostly girls wed to adult men.

As of 2017, it was legal in all 50 U.S. states. Since then and thanks to organizations such as Unchained At Last, 13 states – and American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands – have put an end to it. 

In December 2018, a petition by the Naila Amin Foundation reached over 431,000 signatures, adding to the efforts pushing for the end of child marriage in the state of New York later on in 2021.

Foundations such as Unchained At Last and the Naila Amin Foundation aren’t just working to see child marriage rates decline in the U.S., but to eradicate gender inequalities altogether.

Unpaid domestic work and care

Globally, women spend 2.8 more hours than men on unpaid care and domestic work. The UN estimates that this gap will “narrow slightly” in upcoming years but by 2050, women will spend 9.5% more time than men on unpaid care. 

In the U.S., forecasting by the UN shows that while women in 2023 spent 15.4 hours in a 24-hour day in unpaid care and domestic work, men only spent 9.8 hours. 

At the same time, the UN model showed that by 2030, women’s hours could go down to 15.1 hours and to 14.3 hours by 2050. Meanwhile, for men it is projected to stay at 9.8 hours per 24-hour day by 2030 and decrease to 9.7 hours by 2050.

Gender discrimination laws

Over 150 countries have laws which discriminate against women economically, including 18 countries where husbands can legally prevent their wives from working. 

In 2018, The World Bank found that in at least 104 economies, women are “barred from working at night or in certain jobs in many areas, including manufacturing, construction, energy, agriculture, water and transportation.” 

This affects the work choices of more than 2.7 billion women. There are also laws and policies that restrict women from an equal access to land, property and housing.

Unequal nationality laws 

In 24 countries, nationality laws stop women from passing their nationality to their children equally, as men can. In over 40 countries, women don’t have the same rights as men to give nationality to their spouse, or to get, change, or keep their own nationality.

Such gender-discriminatory laws impact millions, often leaving women and their families vulnerable to legal and social challenges. 

During a summit in 2023 to tackle gender discriminatory nationality laws, Adriana Quiñones, UN Women’s Head of Human Rights and Development in Geneva, expressed the importance of fixing this problem. 

“When a state allows gender discrimination in its nationality laws, it is implicitly endorsing the notion of women as inferior and possessing second-class citizenship. Laws that discriminate and deny women equal rights with men betray their trust in society and signal that gender discrimination is acceptable, normal, and expected,” said Quiñones.

Petitions calling for gender equality

As in the examples above, petitions can be a useful tool to promote gender equality. The following petitions on Change.org are additional instances where people have leveraged the power of collective outrage to help end gender inequality.

Equality for Maine female wrestling 

Started in 2018, this petition created by a student at Morse High School in Maine called for the names of women’s wrestling state champions to be included on a board on the wall of the wrestling room, just like men’s do. The student – and a state champion herself – gathered over 2,000 signatures and got the school to add a board for female champions.

Take SWMRS out of the Riot Fest 2021 lineup

This petition, started in July 2020, called for the Riot Fest festival in Chicago to drop one of the bands in their 2021 lineup.

On July 20 2020, The Regrettes’ frontwoman Lydia Night shared her experience with Joey Armstrong, the drummer of SWMRS. When he was 22, he allegedly abused and sexually coerced Lydia when she was only 16. 

With over 1,600 signatures, the petition was updated only a few days later to share the news that Riot Fest had posted on Instagram a picture of the first wave lineup for 2021, and SWMRS wasn’t on it anymore.

End gender inequality in clinical pharmacy

Started in December 2020, this petition calls on U.S. national pharmacy organizations to put an end to the sexism in the field of clinical pharmacy. The petition explains that certain people in leadership roles use their “professional status to undermine, intimidate, and sexually harass our female students, trainees, and peers.”

In November 2024, it had gathered over 3,800 signatures.

Human trafficking should be taught in schools

This petition, started in December 2023, calls for mandatory human trafficking education in schools to protect children, who are often targeted by traffickers. 

It states that traffickers target marginalized groups, including homeless youth, undocumented individuals, and racial minorities. The petition argues that educating students and teachers can help prevent trafficking by identifying risks and supporting affected youth. 

In November 2024, it had gathered over 5,600 signatures.

Gender equality benefits everyone

Promoting gender equality is a goal that can bring about positive outcomes for everyone. Activists all over the world are fighting to create a fair society free of issues such as domestic and sexual violence, child marriage, and healthcare inequality. 

Many are getting involved in women’s rights through petitions on Change.org, which provides a simple way to get started as an activist. You can, too.