Women's Economic Opportunity Index

The Women’s Economic Opportunity Index is an index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit that measures the enabling environment for women’s economic participation in 128 countries. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Women’s Economic Opportunity Index is based on 29 indicators that measure a country’s laws, regulations, practices, customs and attitudes that allow women to participate in the workforce under conditions roughly equal to those of men, whether as wage-earning employees or as owners of a business.[1] The index was first produced in 2010, with an updated index produced in 2012. Three indicators were added and 15 new countries were assessed in the 2012 version of the Index.

According to the latest issue of the Index, for 2012 Norway and Sweden kept their top positions from 2010 with scores of 90.4 and 88.3, respectively.[1][2] Chad and Sudan remained at the bottom of the index with scores of 23.3 and 19.2, respectively.[1][2] Countries that had the most changes from the 2010 index included Kenya, which went from 90th place to 86th place.[1][2] The Index suggests that this change occurred because the Kenyan government enacted new policies mandating equal pay for equal work, and made sexual harassment in the workplace illegal. Thailand moved up one place from 2010 to 2012;[1][2] the index claimed that Thai women gained greater support for business skills training more than any of their regional counterparts. Saudi Arabia’s score increased from 35.9 in 2010 to 39.7 in 2012 mainly due to a ministerial order that included equal remuneration for men and women.[1][2]

Methodology

The Women’s Economic Opportunity Index uses a quantitative and qualitative scoring model, constructed from 29 indicators, measuring specific attributes of the environment for women employees and entrepreneurs in 128 economies. Five category scores are calculated from the unweighted mean of underlying indicators and scaled from 0-100, where 100=most favourable. These categories are: Labour policy and practice (which comprises two sub-categories: Labour policy and Labour practice); Access to finance; Education and training; Women’s legal and social status; and the General business environment. Each category or sub-category features several underlying indicators. The overall score (from 0-100) is calculated from an average of the unweighted category and indicator scores.[1]

Data for the quantitative indicators are drawn from national and international statistical sources. Some qualitative indicators were created by the Economist Intelligence Unit, based on legal documents and texts; others have been drawn from a range of surveys and data sources and adjusted by the Economist Intelligence Unit.[1]

The sources used in the Women’s Economic Opportunity Index are the Economist Intelligence Unit; the International Labour Organisation (ILO); the World Bank Group; the International Monetary Fund; the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD); the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division; the UN Secretary-General’s database on violence against women; the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); Social Security Online; the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP); the World Economic Forum; the World Health Organisation; Worldwide Governance Indicators; Freedom House; Vision of Humanity; and national statistical offices.[1]

2012 rankings

Rank Country Score[1]
1 Sweden 90.4
2 Norway 88.3
3 Finland 88.2
4 Belgium 87.7
5 Australia 87.1
6 Germany 86.3
7 Netherlands 85.0
8 New Zealand 83.7
9 Canada 83.2
10 Iceland 83.0
11 Denmark 81.3
12 France 79.5
13 United Kingdom 78.9
14 United States 78.4
15 Portugal 77.3
16 Lithuania 77.0
17 Austria 76.3
18 Slovenia 76.2
19 Switzerland 76.1
20 Luxembourg 75.4
21 Hungary 74.9
22 Hong Kong, China 74.7
23 Ireland 74.6
24 Spain 74.0
25 Japan 73.9
26 Slovak Republic 73.8
27 Bulgaria 73.5
28 Latvia 72.1
29 Estonia 71.7
30 Israel 71.5
31 Singapore 71.4
32 Italy 70.9
33 Czech Republic 70.8
34 Poland 70.2
35 Korea, Rep. 69.4
36 Greece 68.7
37 Mauritius 67.7
38 South Africa 65.3
39 Uruguay 65.3
40 Macedonia 65.3
41 Mexico 64.6
42 Chile 64.2
43 Romania 62.2
44 Croatia 61.9
45 Costa Rica 61.1
46 Panama 60.6
47 Thailand 60.1
48 Brazil 59.5
49 Tunisia 59.5
50 Argentina 59.2
51 Montenegro 58.2
52 Bosnia and Herzegovina 58.1
53 Malaysia 57.7
54 Albania 56.5
55 Serbia 56.4
56 Peru 55.8
57 Ukraine 55.4
58 Colombia 55.3
59 Georgia 54.5
60 Moldova 54.5
61 Kazakhstan 54.5
62 Belarus 53.8
63 Namibia 53.6
64 Armenia 53.3
65 Turkey 53.2
66 Russia 52.9
67 El Salvador 52.4
68 China 52.3
69 Paraguay 52.1
70 Venezuela 51.8
71 Ecuador 51.2
72 United Arab Emirates 50.8
73 Dominican Republic 50.5
74 Philippines 50.3
75 Mongolia 50.0
76 Kuwait 49.9
77 Botswana 49.9
78 Bahrain 49.0
79 Lebanon 48.7
80 Egypt 48.7
81 Fiji 48.5
82 Oman 48.2
83 Nicaragua 47.8
84 Sri Lanka 47.6
85 Indonesia 47.5
86 Kenya 47.5
87 Vietnam 47.1
88 Honduras 47.0
89 Morocco 47.0
90 Azerbaijan 46.8
91 Ghana 46.4
92 Bolivia 46.0
93 Jordan 45.9
94 Kyrgyz Republic 45.7
95 Tanzania 45.4
96 Cambodia 44.6
97 Uzbekistan 44.0
98 India 41.9
99 Samoa 41.7
100 Tajikistan 41.5
101 Benin 40.8
102 Uganda 40.4
103 Saudi Arabia 39.7
104 Algeria 39.7
105 Bangladesh 39.2
106 Vanuatu 39.1
107 Malawi 39.0
108 Senegal 38.7
109 Laos 38.6
110 Tonga 38.6
111 Timor Leste 36.9
112 Zambia 36.9
113 Burkina Faso 36.8
114 Cameroon 36.1
115 Syria 35.9
116 Pakistan 35.5
117 Iran 35.4
118 Turkmenistan 34.4
119 Nigeria 33.4
120 Madagascar 32.7
121 Côte d'Ivoire 30.8
122 Togo 30.7
123 Ethiopia 30.3
124 Solomon Islands 29.2
125 Papua New Guinea 26.6
126 Yemen 24.6
127 Chad 23.3
128 Sudan 19.2

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Women's Economic Opportunity Index 2012, Economist Intelligence Unit, retrieved March 14, 2012
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Women's Economic Opportunity Index 2010, Economist Intelligence Unit, retrieved March 14, 2012

External links

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