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Root causes of gender inequality must be tackled: OECD
The Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) 2014 report shows that countries at varying levels of development have made important strides in reducing gender discrimination through promising initiatives that tackle discriminatory social norms
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he Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) 2014 report shows that countries at varying levels of development have made important strides in reducing gender discrimination through promising initiatives that tackle discriminatory social norms.
However, gaps and challenges remain across key areas affecting women's socio-economic and political rights as well as freedom from violence, both in developing and OECD countries.
"What is not counted does not count. This is why the OECD Development Centre strives to measure discriminatory social norms and institutions. It is everyone's responsibility to change those norms and make gender equality a reality", OECD Development Centre deputy director Federico Bonaglia said in a release made available to The Jakarta Post on Thursday.
He was speaking at the launch of the 2014 edition of the SIGI at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Oslo, Norway.
According to the index, discriminatory social institutions have a heavily detrimental effect on socioeconomic performance and development outcomes.
Since its launch in 2009, the Gender and Institutions Database underpinning the SIGI has included OECD member countries in its analysis, extending its profile coverage to 160 countries. 108 of which provide comprehensive data allowing comparison of their level of discrimination in social institutions.
The SIGI classifies them into five groups, from very low levels of discrimination, including countries with robust legal frameworks and measures that provide equal rights in most of the SIGI dimensions, to very high levels of discrimination, which includes countries with discriminatory legal frameworks and customary practices across most areas.
Among the 108 countries by which the overall SIGI is computed, Argentina, Belgium, Mongolia and Trinidad and Tobago have the lowest levels of gender inequality related to social institutions. At the other end of the spectrum, gender inequality in social institutions is a major problem in Bangladesh, Egypt, Niger and Yemen.
'Unpaid domestic work is mainly performed by women, who spend on average three times more of their time on such work than men, ranging from 1.3 times more in Denmark to 10 times more in Pakistan,' said Bonaglia, adding that violence against women was a global pandemic perpetuated by social norms. (ebf)(+++)
