Early this November, the World Economic Forum published its latest Gender Gap Report. And the results were less than satisfying. The 2016 Gender Gap Report found that it would take 170 years to close the global gender gap at our current rate of progress. Now? That number has increased to 217 years.

The truth of the matter is that a lack of gender equality is hurtful to society in so many ways. A McKinsey Global Institute Report found that equality for women in the workplace would add up to $28 trillion to the global economy by 2025, so preventing equality is preventing a drastic increase in the global economy. And according to Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and founder of Lean In, the key to equality is having more women leaders. But perhaps the biggest problem facing global gender equality is how many people don’t see it as a problem.

According to the survey The State Of The Union On Gender Equality, Sexism, And Women’s Rights, 39 percent of Republican men don’t see a gender inequality problem and say that we have achieved gender equality for women. Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) believe women have equal or more financial stability than men and close to half (46 percent) say there are equal or more women in positions of power in society than men. Finally, 51 percent of Republican men are more likely to say it is a “good time to be a woman in America.” The study went on to say that, “Four in ten (men) (40%) agree that women like to tease men and then refuse male advances. Three in ten (29%) say grabbing a woman by her genitalia without consent is either not sexual assault or they are not sure. Two-thirds of Republican men (65%) were not upset by Trump’s comments and behavior expressed in the Access Hollywood tape.” The survey also says that, “Fewer than half of Republican men in the survey say the following factors affect women’s rights or equality: sexism (48% perceive it affecting equality), violence against women (47%), unequal caregiving responsibilities (36%), racism (35%), access to abortion (34%), and access to birth control (32%). Only one in four Republican men (24%) say a lack of women in political office affects women’s rights and equality.”

If we are going to combat the problem of gender inequality in the near future, we must first get rid of the pervasive belief that there is no problem. So to do that, here are some fast facts and statistics about the current gender gap.

1. Women today are paid 83 cents for every dollar a man earns, according to Gallup, and this number has barely changed in the past decade.
2. According to a report from the National Women’s Law Center, “The average full-time working woman will lose more than $460,000 over a 40-year period in wages due only to the wage gap. To catch up she will need to work 12 additional years.”
3. A report by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey indicated that “Women are less likely to receive the first critical promotion to manager—so far fewer end up on the path to leadership—and they are less likely to be hired into more senior positions… Corporate America promotes men at 30 percent higher rates than women during early career stages…”
4. Women are not seeing the advances they want in the workplace and are dropping out. Gallup reports that in 2000, the percentage of women in the U.S. labor force was 59.9 percent, but had dwindled to 56.7 percent by 2015.
5. Women are more educated than men, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. For the class of 2013-1014, women earned more than half of Bachelor’s degrees (57.1 percent), Master’s degrees (59.9 percent), and Doctorate degrees (51.8 percent).
6. According to Catalyst, in 2015, men held 73.1% of S&P 500 new directorships, while women held 26.9%.
7. Women are the world’s most powerful consumers, controlling $12 trillion or 65 percent of consumer spending, according to Oxfam International. Women account for more than 70% of our sales and are the fastest growing group of consumers in the world today.

By: Cianna Allen