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2013-10-25 06:07:23
The gap between men and women has narrowed slightly in the past year in most
countries, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report.
Iceland, Finland and Norway top the list of 136 nations, based on political
participation, economic equality and rights like education and health.
The Middle East and North Africa were the only regions not to improve in the
past year, with Yemen at the bottom.
The Philippines and Nicaragua both feature in the top 10.
The WEF has produced the report annually for the past eight years.
The release of this year's edition comes as the BBC rounds off a month-long
focus on women and gender around the world with a major event at Broadcasting
House in London.
One hundred women from all around the world are gathering for a day of debate
and discussion as the 100 Women season comes to an end.
Yemen's challenge
Iceland's position at the top of the WEF rankings was the fifth year in a row
the country has been named the world's most equal.
Report founder and co-author Saadia Zahidi told the BBC that since the WEF
began compiling the index in 2006, 80% of countries had made progress.
"What's worrying though is that 20% of countries have made no progress or are
falling behind," she said.
Continue reading the main story
View from the Philippines (ranked 5th)
Marites Vitug Editor and author
We're a matriarchal society. Mothers are dominant - generally, they influence
their children to a large extent.
Women usually hold the purse. Even if they are not the major breadwinners, they
do the budget, decide how money is spent. Thus, men don't have a dismissive
attitude toward women.
It's a very liberal work atmosphere we have here. We're not stifled by men. But
there was - and is - one important thing going for women here: we have a
fantastic support network, from household help to extended families.
I was a beat reporter for a daily newspaper while raising a kid. If we didn't
have a full-time, home-based babysitter, I wouldn't have managed.
She singled out the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as countries that had
invested in education and health, but had not integrated women into the
economy.
Nadia al-Sakkaf, editor of the English-language Yemen Times, in London for the
100 Women conference, told the BBC that she had stopped counting the years her
country had languished at the bottom of the equality list.
"It comes down to everyday life. We had three women running for president in
2006. We have lots of women in senior positions," she said.
"But our levels of maternal mortality are very high, and 35% of girls aged 6-14
years old are not in school."
Human capital
Saadia Zahidi of the WEF said that by contrast many sub-Saharan countries had
not invested in women, but through necessity they played a major role in the
economy.
Nordic countries continued to lead the way because they had a long history of
investing in people, she said.
"They are small economies with small populations; they recognise that talent
matters, and that talent has to be men and women.
Overall, the report, entitled Global Gender Gap Report 2013, found Iceland to
be the most advanced country in the world in terms of gender equality for the
fifth year running.
Continue reading the main story
THE TOP 20 COUNTRIES
2013
2012
Iceland
1
1
Finland
2
2
Norway
3
3
Sweden
4
4
Philippines
5
8
Ireland
6
5
New Zealand
7
6
Denmark
8
7
Switzerland
9
10
Nicaragua
10
9
Belgium
11
12
Latvia
12
15
Netherlands
13
11
Germany
14
13
Cuba
15
19
Lesotho
16
14
South Africa
17
16
UK
18
18
Austria
19
20
Canada
20
21
Iceland, Finland (second), Norway (third) and Sweden (fourth) had all closed
over 80% of the gender gap, where 100% would represent full equality.
The highest-ranked Asian nation was the Philippines (fifth), praised for its
success in health, education and economic participation.
Asia's major economies performed poorly, with China in 69th place and Japan
105th.
Nicaragua in 10th place was the highest positioned country in North and South
America, and was praised for a "strong performance" in terms of political
empowerment.
Among major world economies Germany ranked 14th (down one), the UK held its
position at 18, with Canada at 20 and the United States 23rd.
On matters of health and survival, the report finds that 96% of the gap has now
closed.
In terms of education, the global gender gap is 93% closed, with 25 countries
now judged to deliver equal treatment to boys and girls at school.
It is a different picture on the core issue of economic equality, where the
gender gap has closed by 60%.
In developing and developed countries alike, women's presence in economic
leadership positions is limited.
And while women have made small gains in political representation - 2% this
year - only 21% of that global gender gap has closed
Ms Zahidi said the idea of the report was not to remind poor countries that
they had fewer opportunities than rich countries, but to give them a tool to
improve the situation.
"Women make up one half of the human capital available to any economy and any
company; if that talent isn't integrated, that is going to be a loss for both
women and men," she said.