30 Years of Women's Struggle for Equality | Why Is the Economy Still Male-Dominated?

Three decades after the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action to advance women's rights, girls in many countries have more educational opportunities, and women have gained a larger share of management and economic positions. However, the latest joint report by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs shows that the gap between legal opportunities, labor market participation, and access to income and decision-making power remains significant.

World Economic Group; October 11 is International Day of the Girl Child; An official occasion in the United Nations calendar that is held every year on this date. This day was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 19, 2011.

The purpose of naming this day is to draw global attention to the rights of girls under the age of 18 and the challenges they face; including child marriage, deprivation of education, violence, discrimination and limited economic opportunities.

Last year, the United Nations published a report on the "2025 picture of gender equality", which we are reviewing on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child:

Examining the status of women in different generations, according to changes in education, employment and economic laws, provides a relatively complete picture. The Beijing Platform for Action was adopted in 1995 with the participation of 189 countries and provided an international framework for advancing women's rights in areas such as the economy, education, health and political participation. The UN 2025 report, coinciding with the program's 30th anniversary, examines progress in achieving gender equality goals.

One of the most important changes is the expansion of educational opportunities for girls. According to the United Nations report, girls globally have surpassed boys in terms of enrollment and completion of education; However, in sub-Saharan Africa and Central and South Asia, they are still lagging behind in completing secondary education.

This educational change raises an important question about the new generation: has greater access to education increased job opportunities, income, and economic independence in the same proportion? Employment and management data show that the gap between educational achievement and achievement of economic positions remains one of the main policy issues.

employment of women; A distance that decreased by only four percentage points in three decades

According to the "Gender Equality Image 2025" report, in 2024, only 46.4% of working-age women were employed in the world; While this figure for men was 69.5%. In other words, the difference between the employment rates of men and women reached 23.1 percentage points.

The UN report also emphasizes that the gender employment gap has decreased by only four percentage points in the last 30 years. If this slow pace continues, it will take nearly two centuries to achieve parity in global employment.

These figures show that to compare the economic status of generations of women, it is not enough to only examine the number of working women. The employment rate indicates what share of the working-age population is employed, but does not provide direct information about earnings, job security, or the possibility of professional advancement.

The United Nations report says that the employment gap is also formed from a young age: in 2024, the gap between the employment rate of women and men aged 15 to 24 had reached 12.7 percentage points. Therefore, the difference in economic opportunities can begin before people's career paths are established.

management and decision-making power; Why is the progress of women slower?

Increasing employment does not necessarily mean equal access to decision-making positions. According to the United Nations report, in 2023, women held about 30% of the management positions in the world; This share had increased by only 2.4 percentage points since 2015.

This report predicts that if the current trend continues, the share of women in management positions will reach 32% by 2050; This means that even after 25 years, equality will not be achieved in this area.

This difference can also be seen in the education sector. In 65 of the 70 countries and regions surveyed, women are more likely to be secondary school teachers than to be principals. The average difference of women's share in these two positions is reported to be about 20 percentage points.

These data show that the presence of women in a profession does not necessarily mean their proportional presence at higher levels of the same profession. In order to compare the generations, it is important to examine the job promotion path, the contribution of women in management and the possibility of accessing positions with more income and authority.

housework; An expense that is not seen in the pay slip

One of the important indicators for understanding the difference between men and women's economic opportunities is the time spent on unpaid work. According to the "Gender Equality Picture 2025" report, women and girls in the world spend 2.5 times as much time as men on unpaid domestic and care work every day. This ratio reaches more than four times in North Africa and West Asia.

The report also estimates that unbalanced caregiving responsibilities keep an estimated 708 million women out of the workforce worldwide. Also, in 2024, working women would spend an average of 6 hours and 25 minutes less than men in paid work per week.

This issue is particularly important for generational comparison; Because increasing the presence of women in the labor market does not automatically determine how household responsibilities are divided among family members. To assess real change, employment, unpaid work time and access to care services should be considered simultaneously.

digital economy; New opportunity or new gap?

One of the important differences between previous generations and today's girls is the role of technology in education and employment. Internet and digital tools have provided access to education, financial services and new job opportunities; But access to these facilities is not equal among men and women.

According to the United Nations report, in 2024, about 70% of men and 65% of women in the world will use the Internet. In less developed countries, less than 29% of women were online; While this share was 41% for men. In high-income countries, Internet use was much higher: 93 percent of women and 94 percent of men.

The report also shows that 27.6% of women's employment in the world is potentially affected by productive artificial intelligence; This figure is 21.1 percent for men. The meaning of this index is the possibility of the impact of technology on job duties, and it should not be considered equivalent to the definite loss of this share of jobs.

The United Nations estimates that closing the digital gender divide could benefit about 343.5 million women and girls by 2050 and add about $1.5 trillion to the global economy by 2030. This figure is an estimate conditional on the realization of the scenario of reducing the digital divide, not the income generated so far.

poverty and economic security; Does the new generation have a more secure future?

The United Nations report shows that in 2025, about 9.2 percent of the world's women and girls would live in extreme poverty; This figure for men and boys was 8.6 percent. Based on current trends, it is predicted that more than 351 million women and girls will remain in extreme poverty in 2030.

There is also a significant gap in the field of social support. According to the same report, about two billion women and girls in the world do not have any kind of social support. Also, 77.2 percent of elderly women receive a pension based on insurance premiums or tax financing; This share among elderly men is 82.6%.

These data show that economic independence is not only dependent on having a job; Access to insurance, pensions, public services and support in old age also affects financial security throughout life.

economic laws; What obstacles remain from past generations?

Along with income and employment indicators, laws also play a role in determining women's economic opportunities. The UN report says that between 2019 and 2024, 99 positive legal reforms have been made to eliminate discriminatory laws and create gender equality frameworks in the world.

However, in 61 of the 131 countries surveyed, there was at least one legal restriction that prevented women from performing certain jobs in the same way as men. This means that legal reforms have progressed in many countries, but formal restrictions on equal access to the labor market have not yet been completely removed.

In terms of political participation, women held only 27.2% of the seats in the world's national parliaments until January 1, 2025; However, this share had increased by 4.9 percentage points compared to 2015.

This statistic shows that the change of generations occurs along with the change of laws and institutions. However, to measure the effect of any reform, it must be determined whether the legal change has led to an actual increase in women's employment, income, or decision-making power.