Chapter 9 Key Issue 3 Where does level of development vary by gender?

GDI (Gender-Related Development Index) No country has complete equality UN created the GDI –compares the level of development of women with that of both sexes GEM (Gender Empowerment Measure) – compares the ability of women and men to participate in economic and political decision making

GDI like the HDI uses –Income –Literacy –Education –life expectancy Reflect differences in the accomplishments and conditions of men and women

Mexico & Iran are similar in that 2/3 of kids in school but Mexico has a higher GDI because Iran girls are not attending school

Penalizes countries with large disparity between the well-being of men and women.

The higher the GDI the more gender equality No one has reached 1.0 Highest ranking country in 2001 was Norway with.941

Economic Indicator of Gender Differences Avg. income of women is lower than men in EVERY country of the world US 2001, $43K for men and $26K for women Gap for MDC is around $15K, LDC difference is low in dollar terms but high on % basis

Social Indicators of Gender Differences Two indicators are education and literacy Women less likely to attend school That rate is higher in high school Ratio in MDC is 99/100, only 60/100 in LDC LDC is improving…in 1970 it was 45/100

Kenya

Literacy In MDC literacy is nearly universal between men & women In SS Africa and ME female literacy is low and substantially lower for males Low female literacy is a cause and consequence of the low contributions made by women to the economy and culture of their region Correlates to the rights women are given

Demographic Indicator of Gender Differences Life Expectancy- gender gap is greater in more developed countries than in less developed ones A female born today will live about 6 years longer than a boy in a MDC, while that gap is only one-two years in a LDC Women in LDC bear more children and usually in much worse medical conditions

Economic Indicators of Empowerment Professional and technical jobs are regarded as offering women the greatest opportunities for advancement to positions of influence in a country’s economy Highest % in N. Europe Fewer than ¼ of these jobs are held by women in LDCs

Political Indicators of Empowerment Administrative and managerial jobs Again higher % in MDCs then LDCs NA, N Europe, S Pacific more than 1/3 Other MDCs only about 10% LDCs less than 5% Other indicator is women who hold public office 1 in 10 in MDCs, less than 1 in 20 in LDCs 13% in United States