'Women Own 1% of World Property': A Feminist Myth That Won't Die

Article here. Excerpt:

'If you're a feminist you've probably seen this. You may have even repeated it: verbally, on your blog, on a flyer, on Twitter, in your book or an academic article. It goes something like this:

"While women represent half the global population and one-third of the labor force, they receive only one-tenth of the world income and own less than one percent of world property. They are also responsible for two-thirds of all working hours."

That's how it appeared in 1984, on page one, in Robin Morgan's introduction to the classic collection called Sisterhood Is Global: The International Women's Movement Anthology. That's more or less how it was tweeted by untold numbers of people a quarter-century later, on #IWD 2011 (a.k.a. International Women's Day). ...
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There is no information on the indicators used or their sources, or what is meant by "some estimates." That is where the trail goes cold—the oldest source, completely unsourced.
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So it's too simple to say the famous facts are wrong. The burden of proof is not on us (me) to show they are wrong, but rather to point out that they were never demonstrably true, so we shouldn't use them. (I'm not sure the truth will set you free, but I'm pretty sure this won't, either.)'