Women’s unequal world
Sudan and Afghanistan are among countries whose traditional social institutions result in the highest levels of discrimination against women, while Croatia and Paraguay are among those with the lowest levels of discrimination, according to the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) of 102 non-OECD countries.
Unlike existing measures of inequality which show women’s educational attainment, health or economic and political participation, the SIGI index looks at the causes inequality –social institutions, codes of behaviour, traditions and formal and informal laws. As the map below shows, many of the countries with the worst discrimination and gender inequality are found in a belt stretching from Mali to Pakistan. In most parts of sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa region, women face high levels of discrimination and inequality in social institutions. The darker the colour the higher the inequality index.
The index measures the prevalence of such practices as early marriage, polygamy and female genital mutilation and the extent of freedom of movement, of dress, of parental authority and of violence against women. Other indicators taken into account include access to land, property and credit.
The Social Institutions and Gender Index has been constructed by the OECD Development Centre, in collaboration with a research team from Göttingen University under the leadership of Professor Stephan Klasen. More information can found at www.oecd.org/dev/gender/sigi.