Index shows how social norms can drive gender gaps in pay, education and more

Jul 24, 2023

Gender bias is a pervasive problem that affects women and girls around the world. Image: Pexels/Chevanon Photography

Pedro Conceição

Director, Human Development Report Office, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

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Dimensions and indicators of the Gender Social Norms Index Image: UNDP. 2023. Breaking Down Gender Biases: Shifting Social Norms Towards Gender Equality. New York: United Nations Development Programme.

Based on 80 countries and territories with data from wave 6 (2010–2014) or wave 7 (2017–2022) of the World Values Survey, accounting for 85 percent of the global population. Image: UNDP. 2023. Breaking Down Gender Biases: Shifting Social Norms Towards Gender Equality. New York: United Nations Development Programme.

Each dot shows coefficient estimate in a linear regression model of gender gaps in income on gender gaps in education across countries. The vertical lines above and below the dots represent the 95 percent confidence interval. Image: UNDP. 2023. Breaking Down Gender Biases: Shifting Social Norms Towards Gender Equality. New York: United Nations Development Programme.

The figure shows the estimated coefficients of a model regressing gender gaps in income on gender gaps in education and on Gender Social Norms Index (GSNI) values using the latest year of data in tables A1 and A4. The vertical lines above and below the dots represent the 95 percent confidence interval. Image: UNDP. 2023. Breaking Down Gender Biases: Shifting Social Norms Towards Gender Equality. New York: United Nations Development Programme.

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