According to a United Nations report, women and girls perform 12 billion hours of unpaid care work around the world every day – three times more than men. In some communities, women spend 14 hours a day cooking, cleaning, fetching wood and water and caring for children and the elderly.
Gross Domestic Product does not value this work. Only 41 percent of mothers around the world receive paid maternity leave.
“This flawed metric (GDP) is the baseline for economic decision-making, distorting policies and denying women opportunities. Women who do have an income are more likely than men to invest in their families and communities, strengthening economies and making them more resilient”, said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his speech about Women and Power, this past February 27, at The New School University, in New York.
“Women are more likely to seek cross-party consensus and common ground. Women in politics are redefining and redistributing power. It is simple math — women’s participation improves institutions.” –
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres
Today, on International Women’s Day, Equity for Children wants to note the valuable work women do that goes unrecognized. We will continue to push for gender equality as it has enormous benefits for both women and men from an early age. Equal rights and opportunities for girls and boys help all children fulfill their potential and will ensure more just societies. Men also benefit from gender equality, a study found that men who share caregiving and spend more time with their families are happier and have happier children.
On a larger scale, transforming the balance of power is essential, not only as a question of human rights, personal development, health, and wellbeing.
