The power imbalances that impede the attainment of partnership and gender equality, within and outside families, operate at many levels in all societies, including the family itself. Discrimination--as it relates to gender, age, and ability-- often starts in the earliest years of life in the family. Equality and partnership within the family are crucial if they are to be achieved in society at large, particularly because it is families that mostly influence the individual and his or her opportunities in life.

The numerous obstacles to achieving partnership within the family, particularly between members of both sexes, create inequality in other levels and spheres of life . There are significant differences in terms of the involvement of women and men in family life, the tasks they perform and the responsibilities they assume. When women are assigned a lower status than men, they may have less access to education, training, employment and ultimately, less income earning capacity. A woman's contribution as unpaid caregiver and home-maker may not be as highly valued as that of her male partner as a paid employee, yet women and girls are frequently required to take full responsibility for child care and household work, which may restrict their access to education and paid employment. In many parts of the world, women continue to bear most of the responsibility for the upbringing of children, caring for other family members and carrying out household work, even when they engage in gainful employment. In addition, men generally fare better in almost every socio-economic indicator: women and girls work longer hours than men; their nutritional and health status is lower because they receive less food and medical care; and they get less than their fair share of the family's income and have limited control or none at all over income property or assets (insert statistics--graphs and/or tables--that support the points mentioned above).

Men may have jobs that demand very long hours of work or long absences from home and that keep them from fulfilling family responsibilities. A man is also much less likely than a woman to be granted legal custody of children when marriage breaks down. Similarly, parental leave may not be

available to men when it is available to women, and when legally accessible to men, it is not encouraged. Balancing work and family responsibilities is a problem for many women and men. Given the extent to which family responsibilities are perceived as the province of women, balancing their work and family responsibilities may be even more difficult for those men who wish to assume their share of domestic responsibilities.

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