A/HRC/26/39 political participation, but others do not. These countries have an untapped educated talent pool and would have much to gain through women’s greater participation in the economy. 39. Gender diversification in academic disciplines and professional training are necessary. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization points out that quality reforms include those that address the content or mode of provision of particular educational inputs, such as revising curricula and textbooks, or improving teachers’ skills in gender-aware teaching and learning methods. B. Adulthood 40. Women’s adult lives both reflect the quality of their girlhood and predict the quality of their older age. Their adult lives are the period of their economic activity and productive capacity, which are characterized by duality. Women function in the cash economy (as employees, self-employed, entrepreneurs or decision makers in economic and financial institutions) and also as the primary unpaid carers (for dependent family members, including children and elderly parents). Discrimination in employment, formal and informal8 1. 41. Participation rates of women in the global labour force continue to be lower than men’s, hovering steadily from 1990 to 2010 at around 52 per cent. 42. Gender inequality in economic participation and opportunity remains a pressing problem. 43. In many countries, a high percentage of employed women are in formal employment. However, in many low-income countries, formal employment is scarce and the only economic resource, especially for women, is informal work. The formal labour market 44. In some States, discriminatory legislation persists, including through the delegation of authority to religious personal law systems, obstructing women’s participation in the labour market. However, in many countries, discriminatory legislation has been eliminated and equal employment opportunity laws have been enacted: 101 countries have laws prohibiting employment discrimination and 117 have equal pay laws. 45. Nevertheless, there is not full equality of results in any labour market. Discrimination in hiring, promotion, conditions and wages and dismissal exists in all countries. In many high- and middle-income countries, gender gaps in unemployment have worsened since the economic crisis. Furthermore, cultural and structural barriers close opportunities for women in the labour force. Maternity is a focus for discrimination for women in most countries. Women’s hours of workforce participation are, generally, reduced by motherhood, while men’s are increased by fatherhood. 46. The gender wage gap persists: women’s wages represent between 70–90 per cent of men’s wages in most countries. Research shows that differences in women’s working hours, which are lower than men’s, cannot justify the wage gap, and the wage gap cannot be attributed solely to a motherhood penalty. Furthermore, wage gaps remain substantial despite women’ gains in education. Indeed, wage gaps are usually wider between men and women with tertiary education. 8 10 This section draws upon the background papers by Sandra Fredman and Mayra Gómez. See also the bibliography for this section.