Chapter 9 Section 3 Where Does Level of Development Vary by Gender?

Development and Gender Gender-related development index ◦Economic indicator of gender differences ◦Social indicators of gender differences ◦Demographic indicator of gender differences Gender empowerment ◦Economic indicators of empowerment ◦Political indicators of empowerment

Gender Sex is what someone is biological- male or female Gender is associated with sex- what males are supposed to be like, what females are supposed to be like Sex is science, gender is societal It varies from place to place

Gender A country’s level of development is often influenced by gender Gender inequality exists in every country, from the least to the most developed Some MDCs have allowed women to achieve near equality To measure the extent of each country’s gender inequality, the UN devised two indexes: the Gender-Related Development Index (GDI) and the Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM)

Gender-Related Development Index The Gender-Related Development Index (GDI) compares the level of development of women with that of both sexes The GDI uses the same indicators that the HDI uses- per capita income, literacy, education levels, and life expectancy The GDI penalizes a country in rating for having a large disparity between the well- being of men and women

Gender-Related Development Index Some countries with similar measures, like education in Mexico and Iran, have different GDI because of gender inequality in schools (Iran has far fewer girls attending school, whereas in Mexico, it is closer to equal) A country with complete gender equality would have a GDI of 1.0- none have this The highest ranking is Norway with.96

Gender-Related Development Index Western Europe and North America also have higher GDIs The US is not at the very top but is highly ranked The lowest GDIs, like HDIs, are in Sub- Saharan Africa

Gender-Related Development Index (GDI), 2005 Fig. 9-13: The GDI combines four measures of development, reduced by the degree of disparity between males and females.

Gender-Related Development Index Economic indicators: In all countries, women average less in per capita income In the US, men get on average 46,456 dollars a year, while women get 29,017 dollars a year on average Women average 2/3s of a man’s income in MDCs In LDCs, the percentage of the gap is much larger

Female-Male Income Differences Fig. 9-14: Female income as a percent of male income, Women’s income is lower than men’s in all countries, but the gender gap is especially high in parts of the Middle East, South Asia, and Latin America.

Gender-Related Development Index Social indicators: Education level: women are less likely to attend school in LDCs than MDCs The gap is high in primary schools but higher in secondary schools The ratio of women to men in schools in MDCs is 99/100 In LDCs, it is 60/100

Gender-Related Development Index Some countries really restrict females in schools Certain religions, when read certain ways, do not promote gender equality Many Islamic countries, like Iran and other in the Middle East, do not promote gender equality and in some cases are completely against it Some governments, like the Taliban in Afghanistan, prohibited girls from attending school (changed after 2001 when the Taliban was removed from power)

Gender Differences in School Enrollment Fig. 9-15: As many or more girls than boys are enrolled in school in more developed countries, but fewer girls than boys are enrolled in many LDCs.

Gender-Related Development Index In MDCs, literacy is almost universal among men and women In Latin America and Asia, literacy is not universal, but have similar levels among men and women In Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East, literacy rates are lower and even lower for women than men

Male & Female Literacy Rates Fig. 9-16: Female literacy (bottom) is lower than male literacy (top) in many LDCs, with substantial gender gaps in parts of the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

Male Literacy Rates, 2005 Fig. 9-16a: Percent of males literate, Literacy is close to 100% among males in MDCs, but it is below 60% in some of the world’s poorest countries.

Female Literacy Rates, 2005 Fig. 9-16b: Low rates of female literacy are much more common than male literacy. Female literacy is also lower than male literacy in parts of the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

Gender-Related Development Index Life expectancy is the oddball in gender- related development Women tend to live longer than men The gender gap is greater in life expectancy in MDCs than in LDCs

Gender-Related Development Index In MDCs, a female baby is expected to live several years longer than a male baby- 6 years in the US, for example In LDCs, the gap is lower- only a year or two The inability for women in LDCs to achieve the 5 plus years common in MDCs over males is because of the hazards of childbearing More women bear more children in LDCs and are more likely to die in childbirth

Life Expectancy & Gender, 2005 Fig. 9-17: Differences between male & female life expectancy. Women’s life expectancy is several years longer than men’s in MDCs, but only slightly longer in many LDCs.

Gender Empowerment GEM is the Gender Empowerment Measure It compares the ability of women and men to participate in economic and political decision making In all countries, fewer women hold positions of economic and political power than men The gap has been closing some since the 1970s worldwide though

Gender Empowerment It is calculated by combining two indicators of economic power (income and professional jobs) and two indicators of political power (managerial jobs and elected jobs) A country with complete equality of power between men and women would score a 1.0 As with GDI, MDCs have the highest GEM- the lowest scores are in Africa and Asia Lack of data from some countries also skews the results at times

Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) Fig. 9-18: The GEM combines two measures of economic power and two of political power by women. (Little data are available for LDCs.)

GEM Economic Indicators The percentage of women occupying professional and technical jobs is important- these pay the best and offer the most opportunities for advancement The highest percentages for women in these are in Northern Europe MDCs score higher than LDCs Much of this is sexism and cultural or religious barriers

Women Professional & Technical Workers Fig 9-19: Half or more of professional and technical workers are women in most MDCs and some LDCs, such as Brazil, but only a small proportion are women in most LDCs.

GEM Economic Indicators Women also earn less on average than men worldwide But in MDCs, women tend to earn more and more women work outside the home In LDCs, they tend to earn much less They also tend to work more in the home

GEM Political Indicators The percentage of women holding the country’s administrative and managerial jobs (jobs where they are in a boss role) is less than men worldwide The gap is less between men and women in MDCs than LDCs though The highest percentages are in North America, Northern Europe, and the South Pacific 1/3 of managerial jobs are held by women in those areas Women hold less than ¼ in LDCs

Women Administrators & Managers Fig. 9-20: More than one-third of top administrators are women in North America and some other MDCs and LDCs, but 20% or fewer top administrators are women in many other countries.

GEM Political Indicators The number of women serving in elected positions is less than men worldwide But more women are elected in MDCs than LDCs Northern Europe has the highest percentage (1/3 of government officials elected are women) Around 1/5 in other MDCs Less than 1/10 in LDCs Women are 15% of the US Senate Every country has a lower GEM than GDI

Women as Legislators Fig 9-21: Over 30% of legislative seats in northern Europe and over 20% of those in China and other nations are held by women. In many other LDCs, under 10% are held by women.

1/01/27/ /in- tunisia-women-play- equal-role-in-revolution 1/01/27/ /in- tunisia-women-play- equal-role-in-revolution The Role of Women in the Revolution in Tunisia