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Gender equality? India ranks a poor 114th

October 27, 2009 20:38 IST

India has been ranked in the bottom half among 134 countries in terms of gender

equality, in WEF's latest ranking that assessed the distribution of resources

and opportunities among males and females.

Slipping one place from last year, India has cornered the 114th position in the

World Economic Forum's 'The Global Gender Gap Index 2009 rankings' which is

topped by Iceland.

Apart from Iceland, the list features three more Nordic nations at the top --

Finland (2), Norway (3) and Sweden (4) -- while New Zealand is at the fifth

spot.

Though placed way ahead of India, neighbouring China has dropped to the 60th

position. The country had cornered the 57th spot last year.

" India (114), Korea (115), Iran (128) and Pakistan (132) continue to hold some

of the lowest positions in the Asian rankings.

" While India, Iran and Pakistan perform very poorly on the economic, education

and health subindexes, their overall scores are partially bolstered by

relatively good performances on political empowerment, " the WEF said.

In 2007 too, India was ranked 114th, while the country had cornered the 98th

place in 2006.

Other countries in the top ten are South Africa [ Images ] (6), Denmark (7),

Ireland (8), Philippines (9) and Lesotho (10).

The United Kingdom is ranked 15th, while the United States is in the 31st spot.

Among other BRIC nations, Brazil [ Images ] is at the 82nd spot while Russia is

ranked 51st.

The report's index assesses countries on how well they are dividing their

resources and opportunities among their male and female populations, regardless

of the overall levels of these resources and opportunities.

South Africa and Lesotho made great strides in closing their gender gaps to

enter the top 10, at 6th and 10th position, respectively.

The latest data reveals that South Africa in particular made significant

improvements in female labour force participation.

Gains for women in parliament and women ministers in the new government also

helped close the gender gap in the country.

The Philippines (9) lost ground for the first time in four years but remains the

leading Asian country in the rankings.

Paraguay (66) climbed a record 36 spots, leading a charge by several Latin

American countries including Ecuador (23), Nicaragua (49), Costa Rica (27), Peru

(44), El Salvador (55), Chile (64) and the Dominican Republic (67).

Botswana (39) made the second biggest improvement of 26 places thanks to a major

increase in labour force participation according to the latest data from the

UNDP, plus greater wage equality for women.

Japan's [ Images ] (75) ranking improved by 25 places relative to last year

largely due to increases in the proportion of women in professional and

technical positions as well as legislators, senior officials and managers.

The United States (31) fell by three places, owing to minor drops in the

participation of women in the economy and improvements in the scores of

previously lower-ranking countries.

Germany [ Images ] (12) and the United Kingdom (15) again slipped down the Index

this year. Switzerland [ Images ] (13) advanced for a second consecutive year as

a result of greater female participation in the economy. Italy [ Images ] (72)

continues to hold one of the lowest positions among European countries and

dropped three spots relative to 2008 due to persistently poor scores in economic

participation.

At the bottom part of the rankings, India (114), Bahrain (116), Ethiopia (122),

Morocco (124), Egypt [ Images ] (126) and Saudi Arabia (130) all made

improvements relative to their rankings last year.

This was driven mainly by small improvements in the economic participation of

women. Iran (128), Turkey (129), Pakistan (132) and Yemen (134), already at the

bottom of the rankings, displayed an absolute decline relative to their

performance in 2008.

The Republic of Korea and Mongolia were among the top countries to narrow wage

gaps, while in Austria and Belgium income disparities widened the most.

Women entering senior official, managerial and legislator roles shot up most in

Japan and Uganda, while Croatia and Costa Rica saw these gaps widen markedly.

The Global Gender Gap Report measures the size of the gender inequality gap in

four critical areas:

1. Economic participation and opportunity: Outcomes on salaries, participation

levels and access to high-skilled employment

2. Educational attainment: Outcomes on access to basic and higher level

education

3. Political empowerment: Outcomes on representation in decision-making

structures

4. Health and survival: Outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio

The Index's scores can be interpreted as the percentage of the gap that has been

closed between women and men.

" Girls and women make up one half of the world's population and without their

engagement, empowerment and contribution, we cannot hope to achieve a rapid

economic recovery nor effectively tackle global challenges such as climate

change, food security and conflict, " said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive

chairman, World Economic Forum.

" The Forum works year-round with leaders on ways to close gender gaps through

its Women Leaders and Gender Parity Programme, and this report underpins their

work. "

The Global Gender Parity Group, a community of highly influential leaders from

business, politics, academia, media and civil society -- 50% women and 50% men

-- seeks to share best practices and identify strategies to optimize the use of

talent.

" Out of the 115 countries covered in the report since 2006, more than two-thirds

have posted gains in overall index scores, indicating that the world in general

has made progress towards equality between men and women, although there are

countries that continue to lose ground. We have included a section on the

dynamics of the gender gap and found that progress is achieved when countries

find ways to make marriage and motherhood compatible with the economic

participation of women, " said co-author Hausmann, director of the Centre

for International Development at Harvard University, USA.

" The Global Gender Gap Report demonstrates that closing the gender gap in all

aspects of life provides a foundation for a prosperous and competitive society.

Leaders should act in accordance with this finding as they rebuild their

battered economies and set them on course for sustainable long-run growth, " said

co-author Tyson, Professor of Business Administration and Economics,

University of California, Berkeley, USA.

" Countries that do not fully capitalize on one-half of their human resources run

the risk of undermining their competitive potential. We hope to highlight the

economic incentive behind empowering women, in addition to promoting equality as

a basic human right, " said co-author Saadia Zahidi, Head of the Forum's Women

Leaders and Gender Parity Programme. Watch the interview.

The Forum continues to expand geographic coverage in the report. Featuring a

total of 134 countries, this year's report provides insight into the gaps

between women and men in over 93% of the world's population. Thirteen out of the

14 variables used to create the Index are from publicly available hard data

indicators from international organizations, such as the International Labour

Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health

Organization.

Among the 134 countries covered in this report, Ireland has the lowest maternal

mortality ratio (1 death among 100,000 live births), while Chad has the highest

maternal mortality ratio (1,500 deaths among 100,000 live births). Twenty-four

countries have a maternal mortality ratio of greater than 500 deaths per 100,000

live births.

Annually, more than half a million women and girls die in pregnancy and

childbirth and 3.7 million newborns die within their first 28 days.

99% of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Half of these occur in

sub-Saharan Africa and another third in South Asia.

A woman in a least-developed country is 300 times more likely to die from causes

related to pregnancy and childbirth than a woman in an industrialized country in

her lifetime.

Maternal and newborn health are intimately linked. Children who have lost their

mothers are four times more likely to die prematurely than those who have not.

It is estimated that for every woman who dies, another 20 suffer from illness or

disability as a result of pregnancy or childbirth--around 10 million women a

year.

Many of these women not only face discomfort and emotional distress, but are

shunned by their families.

Every year about 1 million children are left motherless and vulnerable.7 They

are less likely to attend school, which in turn means that they risk a life

living in poverty as adults.

Approximately 80% of maternal deaths could be averted if women had access to

essential maternity and basic healthcare services.

The five major direct causes of maternal death in developing countries are

severe bleeding, infection, hypertension, complications from unsafe abortion and

prolonged/ obstructed labour.

About 20% of maternal deaths have indirect causes that complicate pregnancy or

childbirth such as malaria, anaemia, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.

Another serious factor is insufficient access for women and girls to nutritious

food and essential micronutrients.

Weak healthcare systems often do not prioritize women's health.

A lack of skilled health workers to support a woman through pregnancy,

childbirth and post-natal care. There is evidence that worker numbers and

quality are positively associated with maternal survival.

http://business.rediff.com/report/2009/oct/27/wef-india-ranks-a-poor-114th-in-ge\

nder-equality.htm

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Dear friends,

Re: /message/10879

Dr.Avinash garu brought up very good findings with regard to gender equality and

health care systems in our Country.

 

Let me share my experience with regard to health services, when I worked with 

Rastriya Seva Samithi as Health Coordinator, when our team used to provide

services of ante-natel and  post natel care,  the communities used to  very less

attention, especially when the newborn is a baby girl.

But after the sensitization of the family members, they realized to a certain

extent and started paying attention on taking care of mother and child.

However, this situation needs to be improved a lot.

 

With regards,

 

Bharathi Mupparapu

Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India.

+91- 9000018030 /9885730271

e-mail: <mupparapubharathi@...>

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