What is Gender Equality?

Gender equality is about fairness and respect. It’s about giving everyone an equal chance to be who they want to be, regardless of their gender or background. It’s about making sure that both men and women have the same rights and opportunities.
In order to achieve gender equality we need to address both direct and indirect discrimination against women as well as promote positive action measures to support women’s advancement in all areas of life that they have been historically disadvantaged in.
If you don’t have enough men or women involved in making decisions about something important, it’s likely that you won’t make good decisions because they won’t represent all perspectives on an issue.
Gender equality is not just about women – it is about men too. Men and boys are also negatively affected by gender inequality. Gender stereotypes affect both women and men, but in different ways.
The benefits of gender equality are not just for women or girls but for everyone: boys benefit from having strong female role models; fathers benefit from sharing childcare responsibilities with mothers; employers benefit from a more productive workforce; economies benefit when women have equal access to employment opportunities; communities benefit when all people have access to education and healthcare services; human rights are promoted when all people enjoy their basic freedoms without fear of discrimination or abuse. Businesses that support gender equality do better financially than those that don’t. Gender diversity helps!