WASHINGTON – Fewer countries made strides toward improving equality between men and women this year, while Nordic countries held the top spots in a ranking of 135 nations, according to a report by the World Economic Forum.
Iceland claimed the No. 1 position for the third year in a row, followed by Norway, Finland and Sweden, according to the 2011 Global Gender Gap Index released Tuesday by the Geneva-based group. Of the countries surveyed, 55 percent narrowed the gender gap, compared with 59 percent the previous year, which measures the difference between men’s and women’s economic participation and opportunities, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment.
Eighty-five percent of nations have improved their gender-equality ratios since the survey began in 2006.
“Women make up one-half of the brain power of the human capital that’s available to an economy,” Saadia Zahidi, head of the World Economic Forum’s Women Leaders and Gender Parity program and co-author of the report, said in an interview. “If that one-half is not fully integrated into a particular country’s development and into its development over time, it’s fairly evident that there would be a detrimental effect.”
While differences between men’s and women’s health and education are disappearing, women still lag in economic participation, which includes salaried and skilled jobs, and political representation, according to the report.
The review looks at how countries divide resources and opportunities, regardless of the level of resources available.
“You can be a rich country or you can be a poor country and you can still do very well in the rankings,” Zahidi said.
The Philippines came in eighth, followed by Lesotho, a sub-Saharan Africa country, in ninth place. It was the only sub-Saharan country found to have no gap in education and health.
The United States rose two positions to No. 17. It was followed by Canada in 18th place. The lowest rated country was Yemen at 135, then Chad at 134 and Pakistan at 133.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.