Nine in 10 of all people hold bias against women

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Nearly 90 percent of the world’s population -- of every gender -- holds some prejudice against women, according to a UN study published on Friday, ahead of International Women’s Day.

The United Nations Development Programme studied 75 countries representing 80 percent of the world’s population and found that nine in 10 people -- including women -- hold such beliefs. The prejudiced views include: that men are better politicians and business leaders than women; that going to university is more important for men than women; and that men should get preferential treatment in competitive job markets.

The percentage of those holding at least one sexist bias was largest in Pakistan -- where 99.81 percent of people held similar prejudices -- followed by Qatar and Nigeria, both at 99.73 percent.

Countries with the lowest population of those with sexist beliefs were Andorra, at 27.01 percent, Sweden with 30.01 percent and the Netherlands, 39.75 percent. France, Britain and the United States each came in with similar scores, 56 percent, 54.6 percent and 57.31 percent of people respectively holding at least one sexist belief.