Even a cursory glance at the current composition of policy makers in any region shows that women still face many obstacles in expressing and shaping their own interests. Various surveys carried out by the United Nations at the end of the 1990s revealed a widening gap between the status of men and that of women in most societies. Investigations have revealed increasing rates of gender discrimination in recruitment, promotion, pay and dismissal. United Nations statistics indicate that around 1.8 billion people worldwide live in poverty and that 70 percent of this population is occupied by women. The gender income gap is seen all over the world, where the average woman's salary is 75 percent of a man's salary (excluding the salary of an agricultural worker).