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What are the critical steps towards achieving gender equality -

•Equal Access to Education and Employment Opportunities

• Empowerment of Women in Leadership Roles

• Elimination of Gender-based Discrimination

1. Equal Access to Education and Employment Opportunities

• Equal access to education and employment ensures that women and men have the same opportunities to develop skills, earn income, and contribute to economic growth. 
• Education empowers women by improving literacy, awareness, decision-making, and career prospects.
• Employment opportunities help women achieve financial independence and reduce poverty.

• Globally, 46.4% of working-age women are employed compared to 69.5% of men, showing a major employment gap✅.
•   Women’s labour force participation rate is around 47% compared to 73% for men, highlighting structural barriers such as social norms, unpaid care work, and discrimination. ✅ 
• Despite women graduating from higher education at higher rates in many countries, they are still less represented in the workforce. ✅ 
• Reports suggest that enabling full female workforce participation could increase global GDP by more than 20%, proving that gender equality benefits economic growth. ✅

• Women’s participation in leadership positions ensures inclusive decision-making in politics, business, and governance.
•  Diverse leadership improves policies related to social welfare, education, and community development.
  

• Women represent about 42% of the global workforce but only 31.7% of senior leadership positions, showing a significant leadership gap. 
• Women hold only 27.2% of parliamentary seats worldwide, and about 30% of management roles globally.
• Even among highly educated women, only about 29.5% reach top leadership roles, demonstrating systemic barriers such as bias and lack of opportunities. 
• Organisations that promote gender parity show strong improvement; for example, one global institution increased women’s leadership representation from 21% to over 53% through focused gender policies. 
  

3. Elimination of Gender-Based Discrimination and Violence

• Gender equality cannot be achieved without ensuring safety, dignity, and equal legal rights for women.
• Discrimination and violence restrict women’s freedom, education, employment, and participation in society.
  

• Nearly 1 in 3 women globally (about 840 million) experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime. 
•  Around 263 million women have experienced sexual violence by non-partners, and the decline in such violence has been extremely slow globally. 
• Many countries still lack adequate laws:  46 countries do not criminalise domestic violence.  70 countries lack consent-based rape laws.  48 countries do not criminalise sexual harassment. 
• Women often receive only 64% of legal protections available to men globally, showing persistent structural discrimination. 
  

Conclusion🏅
Achieving gender equality requires a multi-dimensional approach focusing on education and employment access, leadership empowerment, and elimination of discrimination and violence. Although global progress has improved, it remains slow. Strengthening laws, promoting social awareness, and ensuring equal opportunities are essential to create a fair and inclusive society.