S.Africa, Lesotho among top 10 in gender equality: WEF
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Two southern African states -- South Africa and Lesotho -- have leapt into top 10 ranking of countries where women face the least discrimination, the World Economic Forum said Tuesday.
South Africa sprang from 22 to number six, while Lesotho climbed from 16 to number 10 in the WEF's Global Gender Gap Index which measures economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, health and survival of women in 134 countries.
"The latest data reveal that South Africa makes significant improvements in female labour force participation in addition to gains for women in parliament and in ministerial positions in the new government," said the WEF.
Lesotho also climbed into the top 10 "driven by large gains in the labour force participation of women and narrowing wage gaps", it added.
Overall, Nordic countries continue to offer women the most equal treatment compared to men, with Iceland ranking number one, followed by Finland, Norway and Sweden.
Ranked ninth, the Philippines was the only Asian country in the top 10. It had "closed the gender gap on both education and health and is among only 12 in the world to have done so," according to the WEF.
Sri Lanka was the next best performer among Asian countries, ranking 16th due to its "privileged position having the best performance in the region regarding political empowerment".
At the other end of the scale was Yemen, while Chad and Pakistan were ranked second and third worst in terms of equal opportunities for women.
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Comments
It is shocking that a 'quality' medium like The Independent prefers to relegate the WEF's report to the private sphere by putting it under the 'house and home' tab. The home is indeed the domain to which women's lives are confined most of the time, but that is exactly what the Gender Gap Index is trying to change! In case you didn't understand: the countries with the HIGHEST scores are the ones where women are no longer confined to the house but can fully participate in the social, economic and political spheres and can gain controll over their own health and chances of survival.
Either The Independent has not understood what the WEF's report is about, or it is blatantly distorting the central (ethical) message it is trying to convey. If the WEF should include in their index the way the media treat gender issues, no doubt The Independent would get a zero. Unless, of course, this scandalous misrepresentation is corrected, the issue relocated under the appropriate tab on the webpage, and an excuse offered to all the women of the world whose chances of a better life depend on efforts like those of the WEF.
Dr. Anne Snick, coordinator of FLORA, a Belgian network of organisations for training and jobcreation with poorly schooled women, and a centre of expertise on gender, economy and social sustainability.