by Matthew Kirdahy, Forbes.com
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
provided by FORBES.
In the latest gender-equality ranking of countries, the U.S. doesn't even crack the top 25.
Female empowerment is embraced more today than any other time in world history. And in the global push for gender equality in everything from business to politics, education to health, it's Europe that has made the greatest strides to close the so-called gender gap.
Norway, Finland and Sweden are ranked the best countries for gender equality, according to a recent study from the World Economic Forum, the non-profit organization known for its annual economic summit in Davos, Switzerland, for global leaders. Those Nordic countries and their Western European neighbours account for 16 of the top 30 countries with the greatest gender parity in the world.
Meanwhile, the U.S. ranked surprisingly low at No. 27, behind Lesotho (No. 16), Mozambique (No. 18) and Moldova (No. 20). Not surprisingly, the worst-ranked countries were sprinkled throughout the Middle East and Asia. Garden spots like Chad (129th), Saudi Arabia (128th) and Pakistan (127th) populated the bottom of the list. Yemen ranked absolutely worst at No. 130.
The Global Gender Gap Report measures the size of the gender gap—the disparity in opportunities available for men and women—for 130 countries in four critical areas: economic participation and opportunity, health and survival, educational attainment, and political empowerment. A country's rank is based on the overall score, which is expressed in a percent. The score represents how much of the gender gap the country has been able to close. A score of 100 per cent would represent perfect equality. The majority of the data come from various non-government organizations, such as the International Labor Organization, United Nations Development Program and the World Health Organization.
Norway, ranked No. 1, scored 82 per cent. Finland came in second place with an estimated 82 per cent, while Sweden posted a score of 81.4 per cent. The U.S. has closed 72 per cent of its gender gap, according to the study, while Yemen has closed 47 per cent.
Other countries in the top 10 include Iceland (80 per cent), New Zealand (79 per cent), the Philippines (76 per cent), Denmark (75 per cent) and the Netherlands (74 per cent). The U.K. ranked 13th (74 per cent), while Canada ranked 31st (71 per cent), hurt by poor showings in educational attainment and political empowerment.
"Personally, the U.S. was a surprise," said Saadia Zahidi, one of the study's authors. According to Zahidi, much of the year-to-year fluctuations in the list depend on politics. An election year could easily change a country's overall score depending on how many women are elected to public office.
Among the four ranking categories, the U.S. scored lowest in "political empowerment." Finland's score was helped by Tarja Halonen, its female president.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, ranked No. 19had the highest score, thanks to lots of female elected officials. Barbados, included for the first time this year, ranked a surprisingly high 26th.
Israel was the highest-ranked country in the Middle East and North Africa region, at 56th. And in Asia and Oceania, the Philippines and Sri Lanka scored spots in the top 20 for the third straight year.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
provided by FORBES.
In the latest gender-equality ranking of countries, the U.S. doesn't even crack the top 25.
Female empowerment is embraced more today than any other time in world history. And in the global push for gender equality in everything from business to politics, education to health, it's Europe that has made the greatest strides to close the so-called gender gap.
Norway, Finland and Sweden are ranked the best countries for gender equality, according to a recent study from the World Economic Forum, the non-profit organization known for its annual economic summit in Davos, Switzerland, for global leaders. Those Nordic countries and their Western European neighbours account for 16 of the top 30 countries with the greatest gender parity in the world.
Meanwhile, the U.S. ranked surprisingly low at No. 27, behind Lesotho (No. 16), Mozambique (No. 18) and Moldova (No. 20). Not surprisingly, the worst-ranked countries were sprinkled throughout the Middle East and Asia. Garden spots like Chad (129th), Saudi Arabia (128th) and Pakistan (127th) populated the bottom of the list. Yemen ranked absolutely worst at No. 130.
The Global Gender Gap Report measures the size of the gender gap—the disparity in opportunities available for men and women—for 130 countries in four critical areas: economic participation and opportunity, health and survival, educational attainment, and political empowerment. A country's rank is based on the overall score, which is expressed in a percent. The score represents how much of the gender gap the country has been able to close. A score of 100 per cent would represent perfect equality. The majority of the data come from various non-government organizations, such as the International Labor Organization, United Nations Development Program and the World Health Organization.
Norway, ranked No. 1, scored 82 per cent. Finland came in second place with an estimated 82 per cent, while Sweden posted a score of 81.4 per cent. The U.S. has closed 72 per cent of its gender gap, according to the study, while Yemen has closed 47 per cent.
Other countries in the top 10 include Iceland (80 per cent), New Zealand (79 per cent), the Philippines (76 per cent), Denmark (75 per cent) and the Netherlands (74 per cent). The U.K. ranked 13th (74 per cent), while Canada ranked 31st (71 per cent), hurt by poor showings in educational attainment and political empowerment.
"Personally, the U.S. was a surprise," said Saadia Zahidi, one of the study's authors. According to Zahidi, much of the year-to-year fluctuations in the list depend on politics. An election year could easily change a country's overall score depending on how many women are elected to public office.
Among the four ranking categories, the U.S. scored lowest in "political empowerment." Finland's score was helped by Tarja Halonen, its female president.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, ranked No. 19had the highest score, thanks to lots of female elected officials. Barbados, included for the first time this year, ranked a surprisingly high 26th.
Israel was the highest-ranked country in the Middle East and North Africa region, at 56th. And in Asia and Oceania, the Philippines and Sri Lanka scored spots in the top 20 for the third straight year.