States urged action on gender stereotypes as AI threatens to deepen harm to women

The Committee warned that AI systems can reproduce gender stereotypes and compound discrimination against women, with generative and agentic AI creating particular concerns about technology being used to facilitate abuse.

States must take concrete steps to dismantle gender stereotypes that sustain discrimination and violence against women and girls, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) said, warning that these beliefs shape treatment and opportunities across every area of life.

At a public launch today, the Committee presented General Recommendation No. 41, setting out guidance on States' obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to tackle stereotypes and the attitudes, institutions and structures that keep them in place.

"Gender stereotypes determine who is seen and whose knowledge matters in a society," the Committee said, raising concerns that emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, could amplify existing prejudices and enable further gender-based violence.

AI safeguards must address abuse and discriminatory decisions

The Committee warned that AI systems can reproduce gender stereotypes and compound discrimination against women, with generative and agentic AI creating particular concerns about technology being used to facilitate abuse.

It identified non-consensual sexualised images and videos, deepfakes, impersonation, sexual extortion and targeted attacks on women leaders and politicians among the harms requiring action from governments and digital platforms.

States should regulate AI and digital platforms, require effective reporting systems and prompt removal of abusive or discriminatory content, and ensure that victims have access to remedies.

The guidance also calls for transparency, independent oversight and meaningful human review of AI-assisted decisions in education, employment, healthcare, financial services and the administration of justice, where discriminatory assumptions can affect access to essential opportunities and services.

Justice and economic policies must confront entrenched bias

Laws and institutional practices should be reviewed when they treat gender-based violence as a private or family matter, make women responsible for preventing or responding to abuse, or excuse men's aggression and control, the Committee said.

Stereotypes within courts and law enforcement can distort assessments of women's testimony and influence legal decisions, creating a risk of miscarriages of justice that requires both accountability and a way to review affected decisions.

The Committee called for measures to hold judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials accountable when they perpetuate discriminatory stereotypes, recognising the consequences such bias can have for women seeking protection or justice.

Economic inequality is also reinforced by assumptions that women should provide care and men should earn income, placing unequal responsibilities on women and restricting their opportunities at work and in financial services.

The recommendations call for a more equal sharing of unpaid care, maternity, paternity and parental leave policies, affordable care services, and action on unequal pay, barriers to promotion and discrimination in access to credit.

States should also reform discriminatory laws governing marriage, divorce, child custody, inheritance and property, addressing rules that embed inequality in family and economic life.

Healthcare and crisis responses must respect women's choices

Gender stereotypes can influence medical diagnoses, pain management and reproductive decisions, the Committee warned, calling for informed consent before medical procedures and measures to prevent obstetric violence.

Its healthcare recommendations include decriminalising abortion and ensuring affordable access to abortion care and contraception, placing women's choices and access to care among the issues requiring reform.

Armed conflicts, climate-related disasters and humanitarian crises can increase care responsibilities, normalise gender-based violence and reinforce portrayals of women solely as victims, limiting recognition of their role in making decisions about the responses that affect them.

The Committee called for women's effective participation in crisis responses and stronger accountability for discrimination and gender-based violence, making their involvement part of how those responses are designed and carried out.

Gender stereotypes often overlap with discrimination linked to race, age, disability, economic circumstances and migration status, requiring States to address these connected experiences through public awareness, monitoring of progress and effective remedies.