United Nations, June 13 : Almost nine out of 10 men and women worldwide still hold biases against women, according to a new UN report. "Half of people worldwide still believe men make better political leaders than women, and more than 40 per cent believe men make better business executives than women," according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in its latest Gender Social Norms Index report on Monday. "Social norms that impair women's rights are detrimental to society more broadly, dampening the expansion of human development," said Pedro Conceicao, head of UNDP's Human Development Report Office. According to the World Values Survey, 25 per cent of people believe it is justified for a man to beat his wife, Xinhua news agency reported. These biases are contributing to the dismantling of women's rights in many parts of the world, with movements against gender equality gaining traction and human rights violations spiking in some countries. The underrepresentation of women in leadership is also a reflection of bias. On average, the share of women as heads of state or heads of government has remained around 10 per cent since 1995 and in the labor market, women occupy less than a third of managerial positions. The report also sheds light on a broken link between women's progress in education and economic empowerment. Women are more skilled and educated than ever before, yet even in the 59 countries where women are now more educated than men, the average gender income gap remains a 39 per cent in favour of men. "Lack of progress on gender social norms is unfolding against a human development crisis," Conceicao said, noting that the global Human Development Index declined in 2020 for the first time on record and again the following year. "Everyone stands to gain from ensuring freedom and agency for women," he added. The UNDP report emphasised that governments have a crucial role in shifting gender social norms, from adopting parental leave policies, that have changed perceptions around care work responsibilities, to labor market reforms that have led to a change in beliefs around women in the workforce. "An important place to start is recognising the economic value of unpaid care work," said Raquel Lagunas, director of UNDP's gender team. "This can be a very effective way of challenging gender norms around how care work is viewed. In countries with the highest levels of gender biases against women, it is estimated that women spend over six times as much time as men on unpaid care work." Data shows that despite the continued prevalence of bias against women, change is possible. In 27 of the 38 countries surveyed, the share of people without bias increased. The report authors said that to drive change towards greater gender equality, the focus needs to be on expanding human development through investment, insurance, and innovation. This includes investing in laws and policy measures that promote women's equality in political participation, scaling up insurance mechanisms, such as strengthening social protection and care systems, and encouraging innovative interventions that could be particularly effective in challenging harmful social norms, patriarchal attitudes, and gender stereotypes. According to the report, combating online hate speech and gender disinformation can help shift pervasive gender norms towards greater acceptance. Several recommendations were made in the report, including addressing social norms directly through education, recognising women's rights in all spheres of life, and increasing participation in decision-making and politics. /IANS