Guyana ranks 38 in gender equality report

After being labelled the 35th country in terms of equality for women in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index rankings in 2009, Guyana slipped three places to number 38 in the 2010 report.

The Global Gender Gap Index is an annual report compiled by the World Economic Forum based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it assesses more than 30 gender-related variables affecting women from 134 countries across the world. The index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education, and health-based criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups 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 in the respective countries.

In the report, Guyana ranked at number 93 for women’s involvement in economic participation and opportunity; 33 for educational attainment; 43 for health and survival; and 27 for political empowerment. While there are certain areas that show inequality, economic participation and opportunity and educational attainment showed the country achieved equality for women in these areas.

A further analysis on Guyana showed that the average age women were married was 20. Further, the birth rate per woman was 2.30. The country ranked 108 for labour force participation, and based on a survey conducted on wage equality for similar work, Guyana was ranked at number 48.

In the labour force (non-agricultural), women’s involvement stood at 35 per cent, while the adult female unemployment rate was 15 per cent compared to 10 per cent for men. For women legislators, senior officials and managers, Guyana was ranked number 78, but the report showed there was equality among technical and professional workers.

Points for equality were also received for the literacy rate of women and their enrolment in primary and tertiary institutions. Moving onto maternity and child bearing, the report stated that there were 46 infant deaths per 1,000 live births and 470 maternity deaths per 100,000 births. Eighty-three per cent of women giving birth were attended by skilled health staff, while contraceptive acceptance for family planning (among married women) was 34 per cent.

The Caribbean region was well represented among the top 50, but the report shows that with the exception of Jamaica, the other countries in the top 50 slipped from better positions.

Trinidad secured the 21st spot, dropping from 19th place in 2009; along with The Bahamas, from 28th to 36th place; Barbados is number 31, moving from 21; Jamaica remained at 44. While the country’s progress is commendable, since 2006, Jamaica has slipped down the ranking from 25th place.

Yemen was ranked as the last (of 134) country on the list. Among the lower ranked countries are Chad, Mali, Pakistan, Saudia Arabia, and several other Middle Eastern countries and countries from Africa. 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 for tracking their progress. Gap Index ranks countries according to their proximity to gender equality rather than to women’s empowerment.

“Our aim is to focus on whether the gap between women and men in the chosen variables has declined, rather than whether women are “winning” the ‘battle of the sexes’,” the writers of the report said. The sources for the findings of the report were agencies such as USAID, UNESCO, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the International Labour Organisation.