Institutions, Laws and Practices Hampering Women Engagement (II)
SAHWA Background Paper, nº. 4 (II)
Social indicators and gender statistics reveal that women in the SEM countries suffer from conditions of disadvantage if compared to men, and to both men and women from other regions of the world.
SEM women are on average more disadvantaged economically, politically, and socially than are women in other regions. In particular, SEM women are more disadvantaged than women in regions with similar income levels or at similar stages of economic development (e.g., Latin America, Southeast Asia, East Asia).Similar conditions are present when it comes to other gender related statistics such as women’s earned income, literacy and educational attainment rates. Women also are under-represented in governance and decision-making positions