The Global Gender Gap Index, introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time. The rankings are designed to create greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them. The methodology and quantitative analysis behind the rankings are intended to serve as a basis for designing effective measures for reducing gender gaps. The first part of Part 1 reviews the underlying concepts employed in creating the Global Gender Gap Index and outlines the methods used to calculate it. The second part presents the 2013 rankings, global patterns and regional performances and calls attention to notable country cases. Next, we provide an overview of the links between gender gaps and the economic performance of countries. In the fourth part, we include information on the trends revealed by the Index in the eight years that we have been producing it. The Country Profiles contained in Part 2 of this Report give a more detailed picture of the relative strengths and weaknesses of each country’s performance compared with
that of other nations. The first page of each profile contains key demographic and economic indicators as well as detailed information on the country’s performance in 2013. The second page shows the trends between 2006 and 2013
on the overall Index and four subindexes, as well as nearly 40 gender-related variables that reflect some of the legal and social factors that affect gender disparity in each country.
MEASURING THE GLOBAL GENDER GAP
Three underlying concepts There are three basic concepts underlying the Global Gender Gap Index. First, it focuses on measuring gaps rather than levels. Second, it captures gaps in outcome variables rather than gaps in means or input variables. Third, it ranks countries according to gender equality rather than women’s empowerment. These three concepts are briefly outlined below. For a description of how these concepts are captured by the construction techniques used in the creation of the Index, please see the section below, Construction of the Index.
The Global Gender Gap Index 2013
Source: World economic forum
