<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">There has been no progress in the level of bias against women over the previous ten years, with nearly nine out of ten men and women still believing such prejudices globally, according to a new UN report released on Monday.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">UN Development Programme (UNDP) in its most recent Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) says , "Half of people worldwide still believe men make better political leaders than women, and more than 40% believe men make better business executives than women."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Social norms that impair women’s rights are detrimental to society more broadly, dampening the expansion of human development,” said Pedro Conceição, head of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A staggering 25 per cent of people believe it is justified for a man to beat his wife, according to the report, reflecting the latest data from the World Values Survey.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The report said that these biases are to blame for the obstacles women encounter, which have taken the form of the denial of women's rights in many regions of the world, the growth of movements opposing gender equality, and an increase in human rights abuses in some countries.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The stark underrepresentation of women in leadership positions is another example of bias in action. Since 1995, the percentage of women serving as heads of State or governments has generally hovered around 10%, and in the job market, they make up less than one-third of executive posts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The report also sheds light on a broken link between women’s progress in education and economic empowerment.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Women are more skilled and educated than ever before, yet even in the 59 countries where women are now more educated than men, the average gender income gap remains a 39 per cent in favour of men.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Lack of progress on gender social norms is unfolding against a human development crisis,”&nbsp; Conceição said, noting that the global Human Development Index (HDI) declined in 2020 for the first time on record and again the following year.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Everyone stands to gain from ensuring freedom and agency for women,” he added.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The UNDP report emphasized that governments have a crucial role in shifting gender social norms, from adopting parental leave policies, that have changed perceptions around care work responsibilities, to labour market reforms that have led to a change in beliefs around women in the workforce.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“An important place to start is recognizing the economic value of unpaid care work,” said Raquel Lagunas, Director of UNDP’s gender team.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The report emphasized that despite the continued prevalence of bias against women, the data shows change can happen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An increase in the share of people with no bias in any indicator was evident in 27 of the 38 countries surveyed. The report authors said that to drive change towards greater gender equality, the focus needs to be on expanding human development through investment, insurance, and innovation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This includes investing in laws and policy measures that promote women’s equality in political participation, scaling up insurance mechanisms, such as strengthening social protection and care systems, and encouraging innovative interventions that could be particularly effective in challenging harmful social norms, patriarchal attitudes, and gender stereotypes.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">For example, combatting online hate speech and gender disinformation can help to shift pervasive gender norms towards greater acceptance and equality, according to the report.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The report recommended directly addressing social norms through education to change people’s views, policies and legal changes that recognize the rights of women in all spheres of life, and more representation in decision-making and political processes. 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