Rich Cohen was quoted in the Profiles in Diversity Journal article, "Legalizing Discrimination: Women's Discrimination Around the World." Full text can be found in the September/October 2014, issue, but a synopsis is below.
Despite progress made toward female empowerment throughout the world, discrimination against women by laws, policies and other legislation is still a major impediment to gender equality.
"In a traditional, or a closed society, for example, some of the countries today we call the 'third world,' or where there is fundamentalism present, any attempt to change or break traditional cultural models, especially if it's done very rapidly, results in a death grip on the old ways. Whenever that veneer of paternalism is ripped away, those that are the most threatened try to regain the status quo," says Rich Cohen.
Cohen noted the importance of societal, grassroots change in reducing gender disparities, saying "most of these countries have enlightened laws against [gender discrimination]. Despite that, many of these countries are still pretty backwards. The law is a good first step, awareness of people's rights is a second step, but until you change the attitudes of people, nothing is going to change."
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