Feministien väärä meemi

The World Bank’s latest World Development Report, which focuses on gender equality around the world, offers some stark facts about how women and girls fare in developing countries despite decades of progress: World Bank: Women Still Face Wage, Mortality Gaps Decades of Progress - Real Time Economics - WSJ

Wealth: Women represent 40% of the world’s labor force but hold just 1% of the world’s wealth.

Wages: Salaried women workers earn 62 cents for every $1 that men earn in Germany, 64 cents in India and about 80 cents in Mexico and Egypt. Women entrepreneurs fare far worse, earning 34 cents for every $1 men earn in Ethiopia and just 12 cents in Bangladesh relative to every $1 for men.

Mortality: Women and girls are more likely to die relative to men and boys in low and middle-income countries, with 3.9 million “missing” women and girls each year under the age of 60, the report says. At least 40% of those are never born, one-sixth die in infancy and a third in their reproductive years. The problem is worst in sub-Saharan Africa and countries hit by HIV/AIDS.

Education: Women now account for more than half the world’s university students, and 60 countries have more young women than men in universities. Primary-education disparities between boys and girls have closed in almost all nations. And in secondary education, girls now outnumber boys in 45 developing countries. But ethnicity combined with poverty can be a barrier: two-thirds of out-of-school girls around the world belong to ethnic minority groups.

Miten on muka mahdollistaa, että naisilla on vain 1 % maailman varallisuudesta, kun esim. USA:ssa ja Britanniassa naisilla on jo nyt hallussaan suurin osa henkilökohtaisesta varallisuudesta? Ei se olekaan.

Stop that feminist viral statistic meme « Family Inequality

That thing you might have heard, about women’s work, income and property ownership — it’s not true. (And yes, I really am a feminist.)

If you’re a feminist you’ve probably seen this. You may have even repeated it: verbally, on your blog, on a flyer, on Twitter, in your book or an academic article. It goes something like this: “While women represent half the global population and one-third of the labor force, they receive only one-tenth of the world income and own less than one percent of world property. They are also responsible for two-thirds of all working hours.”

That’s how it appeared in 1984, on page one, in Robin Morgan’s introduction to the classic collection called Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women’s Movement Anthology.

Meemin ensimmäisessä lähteessä vuodelta 1978 sanotaan seuraavasti:

A world profile on women, using selected economic and social indicators, reveals that women constitute one half of the world population and one third of the official labour force; perform nearly two-thirds of work hours; but according to some estimates receive only one-tenth of the world income and possess less than one-hundredth of world property.

Kirjoituksessa viitataan "joihinkin arvioihin". Arviot lienevät peräisin Krishna Ahooja-Patelilta:

What about the dramatic conclusion, that women “possess less than one-hundredth of world property”? She offers only this explanation: “if the average wage of women is so low, it can be assumed that they do not normally have any surplus to invest in reproducible or non-reproducible assets.” Hence, less than 1%. That’s it. In fact, she adds, “In reality the figure may be much lower.”

Eli kaikki on vain hatusta vedettyä arvausta.