Human Development Report 2016

FIGURE 3
Women are discriminated against with respect to opportunities
18 countries
Free from legal
impediments
100 countries
Prevented from
pursuing some
careers only
because of
their gender
(countries)
100
193
32 countries
Procedures to
obtain a passport
differ from those for men
Women are
discriminated against
with respect
to opportunities
More than 150 countries
Legally discriminated
against
18 countries
Required to
have husband’s
approval
to get a job
Source: Human Development Report Office.
Realizing universal
human development
in practice is possible,
but the key barriers
and forms of exclusion
must first be overcome
fiscal resources and development assistance,
continuing gains in technology and better data
for monitoring and evaluation.
But some barriers are deeply embedded in
social and political identities and relationships
— such as blatant violence, discriminatory laws,
exclusionary social norms, imbalances in political
participation and unequal distribution of
opportunities. Overcoming them will require
putting empathy, tolerance and moral commitments
to global justice and sustainability at
the centre of individual and collective choices.
People should consider themselves part of a
cohesive global whole rather than a fragmented
terrain of rival groups and interests.
Moving towards universal human development
requires an awareness and understanding
of the drivers and dynamics of how groups are
marginalized, which inevitably varies across
countries and regions. Realizing universal human
development in practice is possible, but
the key barriers and forms of exclusion must
first be overcome (figure 4).
Whether intentional or unintentional,
exclusion can have the same results — some
people will be more deprived than others, and
not all people will have equal opportunities to
realize their full potential. Group inequalities
reflect divisions that are socially constructed
and sustained because they establish a basis for
unequal access to valued outcomes and scarce
resources. The dimensions and mechanisms of
exclusion are also dynamic, as are the characteristics
groups use as a basis for exclusion.
6 | HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2016