Women's Economic Opportunity Index

Last updated
Women's Economic Opportunity Index, 2012 Women's Economic Opportunity Index, OWID.svg
Women's Economic Opportunity Index, 2012

The Women's Economic Opportunity Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit that measures the enabling environment for women's economic participation in 128 countries. The Economist Intelligence Unit's Women's Economic Opportunity Index is based on 29 indicators that measure a country's laws, regulations, practices, customs and attitudes that allow women to participate in the workforce under conditions roughly equal to those of men, whether as wage-earning employees or as owners of a business. [2] The index was first produced in 2010, with an updated index produced in 2012. Three indicators were added and 15 new countries were assessed in the 2012 version of the Index.

Contents

According to the latest issue of the Index, for 2012 Norway and Sweden kept their top positions from 2010 with scores of 90.4 and 88.3, respectively. [2] [3] Chad and Sudan remained at the bottom of the index with scores of 23.3 and 19.2, respectively. [2] [3] Countries that had the most changes from the 2010 index included Kenya, which went from 90th place to 86th place. [2] [3] The Index suggests that this change occurred because the Kenyan government enacted new policies mandating equal pay for equal work, and made sexual harassment in the workplace illegal. Thailand moved up one place from 2010 to 2012; [2] [3] the index claimed that Thai women gained greater support for business skills training more than any of their regional counterparts. Saudi Arabia's score increased from 35.9 in 2010 to 39.7 in 2012 mainly due to a ministerial order that included equal remuneration for men and women. [2] [3]

In 2019, the index was superseded by the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law index.

Methodology

The Women's Economic Opportunity Index uses a quantitative and qualitative scoring model, constructed from 29 indicators, measuring specific attributes of the environment for women employees and entrepreneurs in 128 economies. Five category scores are calculated from the unweighted mean of underlying indicators and scaled from 0-100, where 100=most favourable. These categories are: Labour policy and practice (which comprises two sub-categories: Labour policy and Labour practice); Access to finance; Education and training; Women's legal and social status; and the General business environment. Each category or sub-category features several underlying indicators. The overall score (from 0-100) is calculated from an average of the unweighted category and indicator scores. [2]

Data for the quantitative indicators are drawn from national and international statistical sources. Some qualitative indicators were created by the Economist Intelligence Unit, based on legal documents and texts; others have been drawn from a range of surveys and data sources and adjusted by the Economist Intelligence Unit. [2]

The sources used in the Women's Economic Opportunity Index are the Economist Intelligence Unit; the International Labour Organization (ILO); the World Bank Group; the International Monetary Fund; the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division; the UN Secretary-General’s database on violence against women; the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); Social Security Online; the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP); the World Economic Forum; the World Health Organization; Worldwide Governance Indicators; Freedom House; Vision of Humanity; and national statistical offices. [2]

2012 rankings

RankCountryScore [2]
1Flag of Sweden.svg  Sweden 90.4
2Flag of Norway.svg  Norway 88.3
3Flag of Finland.svg  Finland 88.2
4Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium 87.7
5Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 87.1
6Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 86.3
7Flag of the Netherlands.svg  Netherlands 85.0
8Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 83.7
9Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 83.2
10Flag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 83.0
11Flag of Denmark.svg  Denmark 81.3
12Flag of France.svg  France 79.5
13Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 78.9
14Flag of the United States.svg  United States 78.4
15Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 77.3
16Flag of Lithuania.svg  Lithuania 77.0
17Flag of Austria.svg  Austria 76.3
18Flag of Slovenia.svg  Slovenia 76.2
19Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg  Switzerland 76.1
20Flag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 75.4
21Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary 74.9
22Flag of Hong Kong.svg  Hong Kong 74.7
23Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland 74.6
24Flag of Spain.svg  Spain 74.0
25Flag of Japan.svg  Japan 73.9
26Flag of Slovakia.svg  Slovakia 73.8
27Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria 73.5
28Flag of Latvia.svg  Latvia 72.1
29Flag of Estonia.svg  Estonia 71.7
30Flag of Israel.svg  Israel 71.5
31Flag of Singapore.svg  Singapore 71.4
32Flag of Italy.svg  Italy 70.9
33Flag of the Czech Republic.svg  Czech Republic 70.8
34Flag of Poland.svg  Poland 70.2
35Flag of South Korea.svg  South Korea 69.4
36Flag of Greece.svg  Greece 68.7
37Flag of Mauritius.svg  Mauritius 67.7
38Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa 65.3
39Flag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 65.3
40Flag of North Macedonia.svg  Macedonia 65.3
41Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico 64.6
42Flag of Chile.svg  Chile 64.2
43Flag of Romania.svg  Romania 62.2
44Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia 61.9
45Flag of Costa Rica.svg  Costa Rica 61.1
46Flag of Panama.svg  Panama 60.6
47Flag of Thailand.svg  Thailand 60.1
48Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 59.5
49Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 59.5
50Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina 59.2
51Flag of Montenegro.svg  Montenegro 58.2
52Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg  Bosnia and Herzegovina 58.1
53Flag of Malaysia.svg  Malaysia 57.7
54Flag of Albania.svg  Albania 56.5
55Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia 56.4
56Flag of Peru.svg  Peru 55.8
57Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine 55.4
58Flag of Colombia.svg  Colombia 55.3
59Flag of Georgia.svg  Georgia 54.5
60Flag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 54.5
61Flag of Kazakhstan.svg  Kazakhstan 54.5
62Flag of Belarus.svg  Belarus 53.8
63Flag of Namibia.svg  Namibia 53.6
64Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia 53.3
65Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey 53.2
66Flag of Russia.svg  Russia 52.9
67Flag of El Salvador.svg  El Salvador 52.4
68Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China 52.3
69Flag of Paraguay.svg  Paraguay 52.1
70Flag of Venezuela.svg  Venezuela 51.8
71Flag of Ecuador.svg  Ecuador 51.2
72Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 50.8
73Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg  Dominican Republic 50.5
74Flag of the Philippines.svg  Philippines 50.3
75Flag of Mongolia.svg  Mongolia 50.0
76Flag of Kuwait.svg  Kuwait 49.9
77Flag of Botswana.svg  Botswana 49.9
78Flag of Bahrain.svg  Bahrain 49.0
79Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 48.7
80Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 48.7
81Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 48.5
82Flag of Oman.svg  Oman 48.2
83Flag of Nicaragua.svg  Nicaragua 47.8
84Flag of Sri Lanka.svg  Sri Lanka 47.6
85Flag of Indonesia.svg  Indonesia 47.5
86Flag of Kenya.svg  Kenya 47.5
87Flag of Vietnam.svg  Vietnam 47.1
88Flag of Honduras.svg  Honduras 47.0
89Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco 47.0
90Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan 46.8
91Flag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 46.4
92Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg  Bolivia 46.0
93Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 45.9
94Flag of Kyrgyzstan.svg  Kyrgyzstan 45.7
95Flag of Tanzania.svg  Tanzania 45.4
96Flag of Cambodia.svg  Cambodia 44.6
97Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan 44.0
98Flag of India.svg  India 41.9
99Flag of Samoa.svg  Samoa 41.7
100Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan 41.5
101Flag of Benin.svg  Benin 40.8
102Flag of Uganda.svg  Uganda 40.4
103Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 39.7
104Flag of Algeria.svg  Algeria 39.7
105Flag of Bangladesh.svg  Bangladesh 39.2
106Flag of Vanuatu.svg  Vanuatu 39.1
107Flag of Malawi.svg  Malawi 39.0
108Flag of Senegal.svg  Senegal 38.7
109Flag of Laos.svg  Laos 38.6
110Flag of Tonga.svg  Tonga 38.6
111Flag of East Timor.svg  Timor-Leste 36.9
112Flag of Zambia.svg  Zambia 36.9
113Flag of Burkina Faso.svg  Burkina Faso 36.8
114Flag of Cameroon.svg  Cameroon 36.1
115Flag of Syria.svg  Syria 35.9
116Flag of Pakistan.svg  Pakistan 35.5
117Flag of Iran.svg  Iran 35.4
118Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan 34.4
119Flag of Nigeria.svg  Nigeria 33.4
120Flag of Madagascar.svg  Madagascar 32.7
121Flag of Cote d'Ivoire.svg  Côte d'Ivoire 30.8
122Flag of Togo.svg  Togo 30.7
123Flag of Ethiopia.svg  Ethiopia 30.3
124Flag of the Solomon Islands.svg  Solomon Islands 29.2
125Flag of Papua New Guinea.svg  Papua New Guinea 26.6
126Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen 24.6
127Flag of Chad.svg  Chad 23.3
128Flag of Sudan.svg  Sudan 19.2

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic development</span> Process and policies to improve economic well-being

In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and objectives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feminist economics</span> Gender-aware branch of economics

Feminist economics is the critical study of economics and economies, with a focus on gender-aware and inclusive economic inquiry and policy analysis. Feminist economic researchers include academics, activists, policy theorists, and practitioners. Much feminist economic research focuses on topics that have been neglected in the field, such as care work, intimate partner violence, or on economic theories which could be improved through better incorporation of gendered effects and interactions, such as between paid and unpaid sectors of economies. Other feminist scholars have engaged in new forms of data collection and measurement such as the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), and more gender-aware theories such as the capabilities approach. Feminist economics is oriented towards the goal of "enhancing the well-being of children, women, and men in local, national, and transnational communities."

<i>The Economist Democracy Index</i> Measure of the state of democracy by The Economist

The Democracy Index is an index measuring democracy compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit of the Economist Group, a UK-based private company which publishes the weekly newspaper The Economist. Akin to other democracy indices, such as V-Dem Democracy indices or Bertelsmann Transformation Index, this index attempts to measure the state of democracy and is centrally concerned with political institutions and freedoms. The index includes 167 countries and territories, of which 166 are sovereign states and 164 are UN member states. The index is based on 60 indicators grouped in five categories, measuring pluralism, civil liberties, and political culture. In addition to a numeric score and a ranking, the index categorizes each country into one of four regime types: full democracies, flawed democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian regimes. The first Democracy Index report was published in 2006. Reports were published every two years until 2010 and annually thereafter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Peace Index</span> Measures the relative position of nations and regions peacefulness

Global Peace Index (GPI) is a report produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) which measures the relative position of nations' and regions' peacefulness. The GPI ranks 163 independent states and territories according to their levels of peacefulness. In the past decade, the GPI has presented trends of increased global violence and less peacefulness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fragile States Index</span> Annual report for politically vulnerable countries

The Fragile States Index is an annual report mainly published and supported by the United States think tank the Fund for Peace. The FSI is also published by the American magazine Foreign Policy from 2005 to 2018, then by The New Humanitarian since 2019. The list aims to assess states' vulnerability to conflict or collapse, ranking all sovereign states with membership in the United Nations where there is enough data available for analysis. Taiwan, Northern Cyprus, Kosovo and Western Sahara are not ranked, despite being recognized as sovereign by one or more other nations. The Palestinian Territories were ranked together with Israel until 2021. Ranking is based on the sum of scores for 12 indicators. Each indicator is scored on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being the lowest intensity and 10 being the highest intensity, creating a scale spanning 0−120.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Where-to-be-born Index</span> Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s where-to-be-born index attempts to measure which country will provide the best opportunities for a healthy, safe and prosperous life in the years ahead.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Financial Centres Index</span> Ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres

The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The first index was published in March 2007. It has been jointly published twice per year by Z/Yen Group in London and the China Development Institute in Shenzhen since 2015, and is widely quoted as a top source for ranking financial centres.

A number of indicators of economic freedom are available for review. They differ in the methods by which they have been constructed, the purposes to which they have been put, and the conception of economic freedom they embody.

This is a list of key international rankings of Costa Rica

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Gender Gap Report</span> Index designed to measure gender equality

The Global Gender Gap Report is an index designed to measure gender equality. It was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender Parity Index</span> Socioeconomic index

Released by UNESCO, the Gender Parity Index (GPI) is a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the relative access to education of males and females. It is used by international organizations, particularly in measuring the progress of developing countries. For example, some UNESCO documents consider gender parity in literacy.

The Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) is an index that measures discrimination against women. It solely focuses on social institutions which are formal and informal laws, social norms and customary practices that impact the roles of women. The SIGI is a multifaceted measure that focuses on four dimensions: Discrimination in the family, Restricted physical integrity, Restricted access to productive and financial resources, and Restricted civil liberties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrahim Index of African Governance</span> Annual assessment of African countries

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), established in 2007, provides an assessment of the quality of governance in African countries. The IIAG is compiled by 81 indicators and 265 variables from 54 data projects, coming from 47 independent African and international data sources. Published every two years, the IIAG is one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of data on African governance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gender Inequality Index</span> United Nations index for gender inequality

The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is an index for the measurement of gender disparity that was introduced in the 2010 Human Development Report 20th anniversary edition by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). According to the UNDP, this index is a composite measure to quantify the loss of achievement within a country due to gender inequality. It uses three dimensions to measure opportunity cost: reproductive health, empowerment, and labor market participation. The new index was introduced as an experimental measure to remedy the shortcomings of the previous indicators, the Gender Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM), both of which were introduced in the 1995 Human Development Report.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Female labor force in the Muslim world</span>

Female participation and advancement in majority Muslim countries, or nations in which more than 50% of the population identifies as an adherent of the Islamic faith, have traditionally been areas of controversy. Several Western nations, such as the United States and Western Europe, have criticised majority Muslim nations for the lack of involvement and opportunity for women in the private sector.

Gender equality issues are becoming of increasing importance internationally, and in order to bridge gaps in the equality of men versus women, a thorough understanding of differing culture, gender norms, and the legal framework of a country is necessary to give policy suggestions that will decrease the discrimination women everywhere face. Tonga, a Pacific island kingdom, has low gender equality as measured by the Gender Inequality Index (GII).

International comparisons, or national evaluation indicators, focuses on the quantitative, qualitative, and evaluative analysis of one country in relation to others. Often, the objective is to compare one country's performance to others in order to assess what countries have achieved, what needs to change in order for them to perform better, or a country's progress in reaching certain objectives.

Measures of gender equality or inequality are statistical tools employed to quantify the concept of gender equality.

Foreign aid for gender equality in Jordan includes programs funded by governments or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that aim to empower women, close gender based gaps in opportunity and experience, and promote equal access to education, economic empowerment, and political representation in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

References

  1. "Women's Economic Opportunity Index". Our World in Data. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Women's Economic Opportunity Index 2012, Economist Intelligence Unit , retrieved March 14, 2012
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Women's Economic Opportunity Index 2010, Economist Intelligence Unit , retrieved March 14, 2012