“Just as slavery and colonialism were a stain on previous centuries, women’s inequality should shame us all in the 21st.  Because it is not only unacceptable; it is stupid”, he said. 

For the UN chief, gender inequality and discrimination against women and girls remains an overwhelming injustice across the globe. 

“From the ridiculing of women as hysterical or hormonal, to the routine judgment of women based on their looks; from the myths and taboos that surround women’s natural bodily functions to mansplaining and victim-blaming – misogyny is everywhere”, he said. 

At the heart of the issue is power, as male-dominated power structures underpin everything from national economies, to political systems, to the corporate world and beyond.  But he pointed out that patriarchy also has an impact on men and boys, trapping them in rigid gender stereotypes, declaring that a systemic change is long overdue. 

“It is time to stop trying to change women, and start changing the systems that prevent them from achieving their potential.  Our power structures have evolved gradually over thousands of years. One further evolution is long overdue. The 21st century must be the century of women’s equality”, he said. 

More Information: https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/02/1058271